Macroinvertebrate survey and biological assessment of water quality: tributaries of Canadarago Lake; Otsego County, NY

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1 Macroinvertebrate survey and biological assessment of water quality: tributaries of Canadarago Lake; Otsego County, NY Marina Brown 1 INTRODUCTION New York State has used benthic invertebrates to assess stream water quality since 1972 (NYSDEC 2012). Benthic invertebrate communities can be used to conduct a biological assessment of water quality and estimate overall stream health. Invertebrate community assemblages shift with changes in water quality since invertebrate organisms are able to tolerate varying levels of water pollution (Hilsenoff 1988). A degraded site and a clean site will thus be occupied by different communities of benthic organisms. If pollution events occur regularly, invertebrates that are better able to tolerate pollution will dominate over those taxa which are more sensitive. Evaluating water quality will provide insight into changes in pollution on a short term scale, though that might not represent conditions on a longer scale. A benthic invertebrate study may provide more insight into long term water quality conditions and ecosystem health. This study is a reevaluation of a 2009 assessment of Canadarago Lake s main tributaries (Bailey 2010). METHODS AND MATERIALS Benthic invertebrates were collected from the four main tributaries of Canadarago Lake on 2 June Tributaries that were included are shown in Figure 1. Oaks Creek, the lake s outlet, was not sampled because of high water levels. Samples were collected using a Wildco Hess sampler fitted with a mesh sock and a 600 um mesh sample cup. The Hess sampler was inserted into the substrate with a current flowing through it. As water flowed through the sampler, the user stirred up the sediment and allowed invertebrates to flow into the mesh sock. Five samples were taken at each site and combined into a single sample. Collected invertebrates were preserved with 70% ethanol and identified to the family level. Data were used in three water quality indices to assess relative water quality and levels of pollution. Water quality assessments were based on three water quality indices: Ephemeroptera- Plecoptera-Tichoptera (EPT) richness, Percent Model Affinity (PMA), and Family-level Biotic Index (FBI) (Hilsenoff 1988). EPT richness is based on the abundance of three orders of insects that tolerate only low levels of pollution. The Percent Model Affinity test is a comparison to the abundance of specific organisms in a sample compared to New York State s ideal benthic community. The Family-level Biotic Index assigns each family a numerical rating associated with its ability to tolerate pollution. Higher numbers indicate greater tolerance to pollution. 1 SUNY Oneonta Biological Field Station Intern, summer Funding was provided by the Otsego land Trust. Current Affiliation: Department of Biology, SUNY Oneonta.

2 Figure 1. Map of Canadarago Lake and its tributaries. Herkimer Creek, Hyder Creek, Trout Brook and Ocquionis Creek were sampled. Oaks Creek was not sampled in this study.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION A summary of collected organisms in each of Canadarago Lake s tributaries is presented in Tables 1-4. Results of the indices are given in Figures 1-4. Family-level Biotic Index values from 2010 (Bailey 2010) are compared to 2016 in Table 5. Table 6 provides a comparison of average PMA values of 2010 (Bailey 2010) compared to the data collected in Herkimer Creek had the highest diversity of invertebrate organisms (Table 2) and the highest count of EPT (Figure 2). The results of the biotic indices imply that condition of Herkimer and Hyder Creeks have improved since 2010, while the Trout Brook and Ocquionis Creek benthic communities indicate degraded conditions, with Trout Brook having an FBI of 7.0 and Ocquionis Creek with a score of 6.0 (Figure 5). Table 6 compares the PMA values of the 2010 study with recent data. Trout Brook consistently scored low on the water quality indices. It also has the highest levels of fecal coliform in comparison to the other tributaries (Perry and Brown 2017). Phosphorous levels were the highest over the summer of 2016 and nitrogen levels were the second highest. High levels of nutrients can cause plant and algal production in receiving waters (i.e., Canadarago Lake) to increase, increasing eutrophication. Phosphorous levels could be elevated by inadequately treated residential wastewater, residential development or agricultural runoff. Bacteria counts were high in Hyder Creek over the summer (Perry and Brown 2017) despite the results from this benthic invertebrate study, which indicate improved conditions since 2010 (Figures 5 and 6). Fecal coliform bacteria, and the associated organic pollution, could have been increased and the invertebrates haven t responded to the changes. Ocquionis Creek has relatively low levels of fecal coliform but consistently rates low on the water quality indices.

4 Table 1. Summary of collected benthic invertebrate organisms found in Hyder Creek on June 2, (*organisms did not have specific information to qualify for water quality tests.) Table 2. Summary of collected benthic invertebrate organisms found in Herkimer Creek on June 2, (*organisms did not have specific information to qualify for water quality tests.) Order Family Count Plecoptera Capniidae 1 Plecoptera Leuctridae 7 Plecoptera Perlodidae 11 Tricoptera Hydropsychidae 1 Ephemeroptera Leptophlebidae 5 Ephemeroptera Heptageniidae 10 Ephemeroptera Caenidae 5 Ephemeroptera Baetidae 29 Coleoptera Psephenidae 8 Coleoptera Elmidae 54 Arthropoda Hylellidae 7 Isopoda Asellidae 2 Diptera Chironmidae 21 Diptera Tipulidae 2 TOTAL 163 Nematoda* Unknown 1 Order Family Count Plecoptera Capniidae 4 Plecoptera Perlodidae 17 Plecoptera Perlidae 9 Ephemeroptera Heptageniidae 53 Ephemeroptera Caenidae 12 Ephemeroptera Baetidae 3 Tricoptera Limnephilidae 2 Tricoptera Hydropsychidae 15 Coleoptera Psephenidae 5 Coleoptera Dytiscidae 1 Coleoptera Elmidae 147 Diptera Chironmidae 144 Diptera Athericidae 1 Diptera Tipulidae 6 Diptera Simulidae 2 Arthropoda Hylellidae 5 Arthropoda Gammaridae 1 Isopoda Asellidae 1 TOTAL 428 Unionoida* Saphaeriidae 1 Diptera* Unknown Pupa 69 Gastropoda* Physidae 2 Tricoptera* Adult 2

5 Table 3. Summary of collected benthic invertebrate organisms found in Trout Brook on June 2, (*organisms did not have specific information to qualify for water quality tests.) Table 4. Summary of collected benthic invertebrate organisms found in Ocquionis Creek on June 2, (*organisms did not have specific information to qualify for water quality tests.) Order Family Count Plecoptera Perlidae 1 Ephemeroptera Heptageniidae 6 Ephemeroptera Caenidae 19 Ephemeroptera Baetidae 3 Tricoptera Limnephilidae 8 Coleoptera Psephenidae 2 Coleoptera Elmidae 91 Arthropoda Hylellidae 102 Hemiptera Corixidae 6 Diptera Chironmidae 14 Diptera Athericidae 1 TOTAL 253 Tricoptera* Adult 2 Diptera* Adult Culicidae 1 Order Family Count Plecoptera Perlidae 1 Ephemeroptera Leptophlebidae 3 Ephemeroptera Heptageniidae 3 Ephemeroptera Isonychiidae 2 Ephemeroptera Baetidae 6 Tricoptera Hydropsychidae 5 Tricoptera Limnephilidae 4 Tricoptera Ryacophilidae 3 Coleoptera Psephenidae 1 Coleoptera Dytiscidae 1 Coleoptera Elmidae 18 Diptera Chironmidae 164 Diptera Tipulidae 6 Arthropoda Hylellidae 37 TOTAL 254 Diptera* Unknown pupa 3 Nematoda* Unknown 1

6 Number of Organisms EPT Taxa EPT Taxa Total Taxa Hyder Ocquionus Trout Herkimer Figure 2. Ephemeroptera-Plecoptera-Trichoptera taxa counts for all sites sampled. EPT values greater than 10 imploy a non-impacted site. Values between 6 and 10 show a slightly impacted site. Values between 2-6 are moderately impacted and any number below 2 is a severely impacted community (NYSDEC 2012).

7 Family Biotic Index Hyder Ocquionus Trout Herkimer FBI Score WQ Category Level of Organic Pollution Excellent No apparent organic pollution Very Good Possible slight organic pollution Good Some organic pollution Fair Fairly significant organic pollution Fairly Poor Significant organic pollution Poor Very significant organic pollution Very Poor Severe organic pollution Figure 3. Family-level Biotic Index (FBI) results for the sampled tributaries. A number is assigned to a specific family to show its tolerance to polluted water. Values range from 1-10 with 1 being no apparent organic pollution and 10 being severe organic pollution.

8 100 Percent Model Affinity Percent Hyder Ocquionus Trout Herkimer PMA ORDER NYSDEC Model Community Ephemeroptera 40% Plecoptera 5% Trichoptera 10% Chironomidae 20% Coleoptera 10% Oligochaeta 5% Other 10% Figure 4. Percent model affinity is the total percent of a family in a sample compared to the states stream model for perfect water quality. The results for Canadarago s tributaries are shown. A result closer to 100% indicates low levels of pollution.

9 Table 5. Family-level Biotic Index values from 2010 are compared to Values range from A number closer to 10 means higher organic pollution. Tributary 2010 FBI Data 2016 FBI Data Hyder Ocquionis Trout 6 7 Herkimer Table 6. Average PMA of Carter Baileys study in 2010 is compared to the data collected in 2016 is shown. A number closer to 100% indicated less pollution. Tributary 2010 PMA Data 2016 PMA Data Hyder Ocquionis Trout Herkimer CONCLUSION Trout brook ranked as the most impaired tributary with the lowest ratings in most of the water quality tests and the highest level of fecal coliform (Perry and Brown 2017). The tributary has declined in status in the last 6 years. There is likely an outside process affecting this tributary such as polluted residential wastewater or a change in wastewater treatment. Hyder Creek assessments were consistent and showed moderate pollution across the community indices even though fecal coliform levels were high (Perry and Brown 2017). More research is needed to assess why bacteria levels have increased since Herkimer creek had the poorest quality in 2010 with an FBI score of 7.70 (Bailey 2010). Today, Herkimer creek has an FBI score of Herkimer Creek has improved in quality but the source is unknown. Continued monitoring should be conducted to record any changes in the sites sampled.

10 REFERENCES Bailey, C Macroinvertebrate survey and biological assessment of water quality: tributaries of Canadarago Lake; Otsego County, NY. In 43rd Ann. Rept. (2010). SUNY Oneonta Biol. Fld. Sta., SUNY Oneonta. Heilveil, J Personal communication. Associate professor, SUNY Oneonta Dept. of Biology, Oneonta, NY Hilsenhoff, W.L Rapid field assessment of organic pollution with a family-level biotic index. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, Vol. 7 No. 1 pp Merritt, R, and K. Cummins An introduction to aquatic insects of North America. 3rd ed. Kendall Hunt Publishing. Dubuque, Iowa. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Standard operating procedure: Biological monitoring of surface waters in New York State. Albany NY. Peckarsky, B.L., P.R. Fraissinet, M.A. Penton and D.J. Conklim Freshwater macroinvertebrates of northeastern North America. Comstock Publishing. Cornell University Press. Ithaca, NY. Perry, T. and M. Brown Water Quality Monitoring and Analysis of Fecal Coliform of Canadarago Tributaries. In 49 th Ann. Rept (2016). SUNY Oneonta Biological Field Station, SUNY Oneonta.