Macroinvertebrate Diversity and Forest Density

• Janie S Corbin

  Juniata College

  Author

• Siena F Guttormson

  Juniata College

  Author

We hypothesize streams with higher foliage and vegetation densities will have a higher number of macroinvertebrates present. In other words, larger quantities of larvae including caddisflies, mayflies, stoneflies, and more indicate better water quality. Our null hypothesis is that there is no relationship between forest density and macroinvertebrate diversity. Our study is important because streams in Huntingdon contribute to the drinking water supply. Identifying the quality of a stream based on foliage can help determine how to treat the site or water. For example, if a stream has lower quality water because of a lower vegetation density, planting vegetation in the riparian buffer area would make the water cleaner and could be treated in a facility differently. Results of our study indicated that there was no significant relationship between vegetation and count of macroinvertebrates. However, limitations to this study, including sample size and time restraints, contributed to the lack of data we were able to analyze. Using a multivariate linear analysis, our p-value was 0.88, which is greater than the 0.05 threshold. The findings of our study imply that streams in the Huntingdon area are not largely impacted by vegetation density.

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