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Albemarle-Pamlico NAWQA

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1991-2000 Ecology Study Design Cycle I

Albemarle-Pamlico Study (ALBE), National Water-Quality Study (NAWQA)

From 1993 to 1995, over 800 biological samples were collected and analyzed as part of the ALBE study. Community-level investigations of fish, invertebrates, and periphyton provided an ecological assessment. The bed-sediment and tissue collection provided information about the occurrence and distribution of trace elements and organic contaminants in the study area. Habitat- and water-chemistry data also were collected to aid in the interpretation of environmental factors that affect aquatic communities.

List of Ecological Sampling Sites

The objectives of the ecological assessment were:

1. To describe macroinvertebrate, fish, and periphyton community structure at ALBE fixed sites using sampling techniques that permit comparisons among sites.
2. To compare macroinvertebrate, fish, and periphyton community structure among ALBE sites.
3. To explore relations among macroinvertebrate, fish, and periphyton community structure and environmental conditions, including water chemistry, physical habitat, and land use.
4. To evaluate whether the ALBE fixed sites are representative by comparing macroinvertebrate community structure and environmental conditions at ALBE sites to other small Coastal Plain streams in the Study Unit.
5. To explore the relative utility of winter versus spring macroinvertebrate sampling for water-quality assessments of small Coastal Plain streams using the NAWQA sampling protocols.
6. To explore within-site variability of macroinvertebrate, fish, and periphyton community structure at selected streams in the Coastal Plain.

The objectives of the bed-sediment and tissue collection were:

1. To characterize the occurrence of potential trace-element and hydrophobic organic contaminants in bed sediments and organism tissues at ALBE fixed sites.
2. To investigate the occurrence of potential trace-element and hydrophobic organic contaminants in bed sediments and organism tissues at other selected sites, particularly in small Coastal Plain streams.

For the ecological assessment, data for the first two objectives were obtained by collecting at least one sample from each of the ALBE NAWQA indicator and integrator fixed sites (see Site Type description in Cycle I Surface-Water Study Design). Data for the third, fourth, and fifth objectives were obtained through a series of fish, invertebrate, and algal synoptic surveys. These surveys were designed to collect samples from as many sites as possible across a gradient of environmental conditions in the Coastal Plain physiographic province. Finally, data needed to meet the sixth objective were obtained by sampling (1) three different streams (multiple-reach sampling) at selected indicator fixed sites, and (2) fish communities from nine, 50-meter contiguous stream segments at two indicator synoptic sites (extended-reach sampling).

For information about the bed-sediment sampling and analysis, see Woodside and Simerl (1995). For the tissue component, Asiatic clams (Corbicula fluminea) and redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus) were collected and analyzed. Whole fish and clam soft tissues were analyzed for organic compounds; fish livers and clam soft tissues were analyzed for trace elements. For more information see Smith and Ruhl (1996) and Ruhl and Smith (1996).

Methods Publications

Biological data were collected according to nationally consistent methods.

• Methods for collecting algal samples
• Methods for sampling fish communities
• Methods for collecting benthic invertebrate samples
• REVISED methods for characterizing stream habitat
• Methods for characterizing stream habitat
• Guidelines for collecting and processing samples of streambed sediment for analysis of trace elements and organic contaminants
• Processing, taxonomy, and quality control of benthic macroinvertebrate samples

More about the role of ecology in NAWQA

Photographs of study activities: Cycle I (1991-2001) ecological sampling

Video of study activities: Cycle I (1991-2000)

Data Page

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U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey URL: http://nc.water.usgs.gov/albe/General/1991-2000/ecology.html Page Contact Information: North Carolina Web Development Team Page Last Modified: Thursday, June 30 2005, 10:11:50 AM

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