Presentation Type
Presentation
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
Ben Colman
Faculty Mentor’s Department
Environmental Science and Sustainability
Abstract / Artist's Statement
Dam removal is increasingly used to restore stream ecosystems, however the ecological effects of this type of restorative action is under-studied. Benthic macroinvertebrates are commonly used as biological indicators of stream integrity when monitoring stream restorations. This study assesses the response of benthic macroinvertebrates to a small dam removal in Rattlesnake Creek, Montana. We examined benthic macroinvertebrate data collected from 2019-2021 to determine variation in community abundance and composition upstream, downstream, before and after dam removal and restoration. Macroinvertebrate community metrics were assessed, in relation to Montana specific biological and ecological integrity measures, to gain insight into the current states of Rattlesnake Creek macroinvertebrates. We measured indices values indicative of high biological diversity and environmental sensitivity, representative of relatively pristine stream systems of Western Montana. Our results show that there is variation from year to year, and that changes in macroinvertebrate communities were modest and largely confined to sites directly downstream and immediately following dam removal. It also showed that the macroinvertebrate community in the reach that had been restored was very similar to those both upstream and downstream. These results indicate that this dam removal and restoration project had a relatively limited influence on the benthic macroinvertebrate community within the adjacent stream reaches.
Category
Life Sciences
Assessing Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community Response to Dam Removal and Restoration Rattlesnake Creek, Montana
UC 331
Dam removal is increasingly used to restore stream ecosystems, however the ecological effects of this type of restorative action is under-studied. Benthic macroinvertebrates are commonly used as biological indicators of stream integrity when monitoring stream restorations. This study assesses the response of benthic macroinvertebrates to a small dam removal in Rattlesnake Creek, Montana. We examined benthic macroinvertebrate data collected from 2019-2021 to determine variation in community abundance and composition upstream, downstream, before and after dam removal and restoration. Macroinvertebrate community metrics were assessed, in relation to Montana specific biological and ecological integrity measures, to gain insight into the current states of Rattlesnake Creek macroinvertebrates. We measured indices values indicative of high biological diversity and environmental sensitivity, representative of relatively pristine stream systems of Western Montana. Our results show that there is variation from year to year, and that changes in macroinvertebrate communities were modest and largely confined to sites directly downstream and immediately following dam removal. It also showed that the macroinvertebrate community in the reach that had been restored was very similar to those both upstream and downstream. These results indicate that this dam removal and restoration project had a relatively limited influence on the benthic macroinvertebrate community within the adjacent stream reaches.