The USGS and Virginia Tech are determining if and how the implementation of conservation practices, such as best management practices (BMPs), in watersheds have improved the health of Chesapeake nontidal streams. Our goal is to identify the effects of BMPs and land-use on stream ecosystems by linking upstream landscape change to stream physical habitat, water quality, flow and temperature, and macroinvertebrate and fish responses. We are also determining the specific sources of stress to streams and fish populations to help identify which management practices are most likely to improve stream health. Each year from 2021 to 2024 we study a different Chesapeake landscape setting that is a focus area for stakeholders to implement management [...]
Summary
The USGS and Virginia Tech are determining if and how the implementation of conservation practices, such as best management practices (BMPs), in watersheds have improved the health of Chesapeake nontidal streams. Our goal is to identify the effects of BMPs and land-use on stream ecosystems by linking upstream landscape change to stream physical habitat, water quality, flow and temperature, and macroinvertebrate and fish responses. We are also determining the specific sources of stress to streams and fish populations to help identify which management practices are most likely to improve stream health. Each year from 2021 to 2024 we study a different Chesapeake landscape setting that is a focus area for stakeholders to implement management actions to improve water quality and stream health. By sampling broad gradients of BMP implementation and land use among individual stream reaches, and by making standardized stream measurements everywhere, we identify the direct effects of management on macroinvertebrate and fish response as well as the indirect effects of how management influences stream habitat which then influence organismal responses.