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<p>Eutrophication from agricultural runoff is a global issue, and can often result in degradation and loss of aquatic habitat. The overall objective of this study is to gain a better understanding of the factors that influence variation in water chemistry of low-order streams in an agricultural watershed. The first chapter finds significant differences between the effects of livestock- vs and crop-based operations on water chemistry while modeling the relationship between independent landscape variables and major water-quality parameters in an agroecosystem. I also determine significant differences exist in dependent variables among seasons and are best described by the agriculturally relevant calendar (ARC). In Chapter 2, I compared the effectiveness of discrete and continuous sampling programs for monitoring the impacts of cattle disturbances on water quality. I found that daily total phosphorus (TP) concentrations (integrated sample taken every 6 hours) were not significantly correlated with precipitation and were significantly lower than discrete water samples. Turbidity readings (recorded every half hour) showed spikes that corresponded with cattle hydration events and increased levels of nutrients through backwash. . In Chapter 3, I find a significant relationship between periphyton growth and the level of primary nutrients (TP, soluble reactive phosphorus, total-ammonia nitrogen). Thus, for low-order streams influenced by small family farms, acrylic rods may be an inexpensive indicator of excess limiting nutrients. In such environments stream length may be a stronger measure of streams than stream order since total nitrogen, TP and pH were significantly correlated with stream length.</p> / Master of Science (MSc)

Central Appalachian headwater streams in coalfield areas are prone to mining disturbances, and compensatory mitigation is required in cases of documented impacts. Stream construction on reclaimed mines is a common mitigation strategy. Streams constructed as compensatory mitigation are meant to restore structural and functional attributes of headwater streams and are often evaluated by measuring structural ecosystem characteristics. However, replacement of stream ecosystem functions is essential for mitigation of mining disturbances from an ecosystem perspective. This research compared selected structural and functional measures in eight constructed streams on mined areas to those of four forested reference streams across two years. Three organic matter functions were evaluated: riparian litterfall input, leaf breakdown, and periphyton accrual. Constructed streams were typically warmer than reference streams and also had elevated specific conductance, elevated oxidized nitrogen concentrations, depressed benthic macroinvertebrate richness, and lower levels of canopy cover. Functionally, litterfall input and total leaf breakdown means for constructed streams were approximately 25% and 60% of reference means, respectively. Leaf breakdown in constructed streams appeared to be inhibited as a result of reduced processing by benthic macroinvertebrates as well as inhibition of microbial and physicochemical pathways. Constructed streams with total breakdown rates most similar to reference-stream levels had the coldest stream temperatures. Areal periphyton biomass, benthic algal standing crop, and senescent autotrophic organic matter in constructed streams were roughly quadruple, double, and quintuple those of reference streams, respectively. Indicator ratios also suggested stream-type differences in periphyton structure. Mean algal accrual was greater in constructed streams than in reference streams during leaf-on seasons. My results suggest that light is likely the primary factor driving accrual rate differences during summer and fall, but that temperature may also be important during fall. Planting a diverse assemblage of native riparian trees and ensuring their successful development can inhibit benthic irradiance and thermal energy inputs while providing similar quantity and quality of OM to constructed streams, thereby fostering replacement of reference-like OM functions in some streams. / Ph. D.

A good ecological status of streams and rivers is crucial for maintaining ecological functionality of running waters. Worldwide eutrophication threatens to change structure and function of freshwater ecosystems (Dodds et al., 2008). To reduce the symptoms of eutrophication in streams and rivers an additional approach, besides the reduction of external nutrient inputs from catchment areas, is needed. Therefore the goal has been set to transfer the approach of biomanipulation, which is widely accepted as tool in water quality management in lakes and reservoirs, to streams. The objective of this study was accordingly to analyse and evaluate some crucial preconditions for top-down control of stream food webs. For that purpose the present thesis examined effects of fish predation (stone loach and gudgeon) on grazer-periphyton interaction in small streams by assessing predator avoidance by benthic grazers, effects of benthic grazers on periphyton community composition during fish presence/absence and the possibility of top-down control on algal biomass by benthivorous fish.

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde die Beeinflussung der Wechselwirkungen zwischen Oberflächenwasser, Interstitial und Grundwasser durch eutrophierungsbedingte Kolmationszyklen in einem anthropogen belasteten Fließgewässer (Lahn, Hessen) untersucht. Dabei wurden Mesokosmosexperimente und Freilanduntersuchungen an einer hyporhithralen Pool-Riffle-Sequenz miteinander kombiniert und die Ergebnisse vergleichend interpretiert. Im Rahmen der Arbeit wurde ein experimenteller Versuchsstand aufgebaut, der aus einer kontinuierlich durchströmten Sedimentsäule bestand und in einem mobilen Laborcontainer an der Lahn installiert war. Mit Hilfe dieses mesoskaliges Sedimentkörperexperimentes wurden jahreszeitliche Verlaufsmuster der inneren Kolmation analysiert, parametrisiert und mit physikalischen (Schwebstoffdynamik) und biologischen Kolmationskomponenten in Beziehung gesetzt. Besonderer Fokus lag dabei auf der Entwicklung des Periphytons, das in eutrophierten Fliessgewässern verstärkender Faktor der Kolmation werden kann. Ferner ließ sich mit dem aufgebauten Sedimentkörperexperiment der Einfluss von Kolmation auf Stoffumsetzungsprozesse (O2) im Interstitial modellhaft erfassen. In einem zweiten mesoskaligen Versuchsstand wurde die Bedeutung der hyporheischen Meiofauna für biogene Dekolmationsvorgänge (Fraß und Bioturbation) untersucht.

A good ecological status of streams and rivers is crucial for maintaining ecological functionality of running waters. Worldwide eutrophication threatens to change structure and function of freshwater ecosystems (Dodds et al., 2008). To reduce the symptoms of eutrophication in streams and rivers an additional approach, besides the reduction of external nutrient inputs from catchment areas, is needed. Therefore the goal has been set to transfer the approach of biomanipulation, which is widely accepted as tool in water quality management in lakes and reservoirs, to streams. The objective of this study was accordingly to analyse and evaluate some crucial preconditions for top-down control of stream food webs. For that purpose the present thesis examined effects of fish predation (stone loach and gudgeon) on grazer-periphyton interaction in small streams by assessing predator avoidance by benthic grazers, effects of benthic grazers on periphyton community composition during fish presence/absence and the possibility of top-down control on algal biomass by benthivorous fish.

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde die Beeinflussung der Wechselwirkungen zwischen Oberflächenwasser, Interstitial und Grundwasser durch eutrophierungsbedingte Kolmationszyklen in einem anthropogen belasteten Fließgewässer (Lahn, Hessen) untersucht. Dabei wurden Mesokosmosexperimente und Freilanduntersuchungen an einer hyporhithralen Pool-Riffle-Sequenz miteinander kombiniert und die Ergebnisse vergleichend interpretiert. Im Rahmen der Arbeit wurde ein experimenteller Versuchsstand aufgebaut, der aus einer kontinuierlich durchströmten Sedimentsäule bestand und in einem mobilen Laborcontainer an der Lahn installiert war. Mit Hilfe dieses mesoskaliges Sedimentkörperexperimentes wurden jahreszeitliche Verlaufsmuster der inneren Kolmation analysiert, parametrisiert und mit physikalischen (Schwebstoffdynamik) und biologischen Kolmationskomponenten in Beziehung gesetzt. Besonderer Fokus lag dabei auf der Entwicklung des Periphytons, das in eutrophierten Fliessgewässern verstärkender Faktor der Kolmation werden kann. Ferner ließ sich mit dem aufgebauten Sedimentkörperexperiment der Einfluss von Kolmation auf Stoffumsetzungsprozesse (O2) im Interstitial modellhaft erfassen. In einem zweiten mesoskaligen Versuchsstand wurde die Bedeutung der hyporheischen Meiofauna für biogene Dekolmationsvorgänge (Fraß und Bioturbation) untersucht.

As land use transformations are the main driver of biological diversity loss at the global scale, it is essential to provide predictions and understanding of their impacts in order to improve the mitigation of ecosystem perturbations. The first objective of this project was to describe the response of biological assemblages along a gradient of urbanization and to compare metrics of watershed imperviousness in order to determine, as has been suggested in the literature, whether effective imperviousness, which represents the proportion of impervious area directly connected to the stream by storm sewers, is a better predictor of stream impairement than total imperviousness in the watershed. Decline in sensitive taxa abundance is initiated at 14% total imperviousness and 3% effective imperviousness in the Ottawa-Carleton region and, total and effective imperviousness have equivalent predictive power. The second objective of this project was to describe how the structure of metazoan assemblages in urban streams, as described by size spectra attributes (i.e. slopes, intercepts, number of logarithmic size classes occupied, and residual variance), varies with watershed size, land use and water quality. Streams size spectra of the Ottawa-Gatineau region have relatively shallow slopes, reflecting relatively higher densities of organisms in the larger size classes compared to other ecosystem types (e.g. lakes, oceans, soils, coastal waters). Size spectra slopes, density corrected for size, number of size classes, and residual variance vary predictably along gradients of watershed size, watershed proportion of natural land use and periphyton chlorophyll a. A systematic trend of declining spectra slopes with increasing periphyton biomass suggests that ecological efficiency declines in urban eutrophic streams.