An Evaluation of Stillwater Watershed

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An Evaluation of Stillwater Watershed

• YWSI Computer Camp
• JUNE 25-30 2000
• GROUP 1 Angela Black Nicole Marie
  Pugh Kristen Schulte

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Location of Stillwater Watershed

• This map shows where our watershed is located
  in Ohio!

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Surrounding Counties
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Assignment

• Study current conditions of our watershed
• Compare to a healthy watershed such as Big Darby
• Compare land use to biology measures
• amount of riparian zone available
• population (urban vs. rural)
• agriculture
• Study data to find effects of human use on the
  biology measures
• Interpret data and find correlations

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Definitions

• IBI- index of biotic integrity (fish count)
• ICI- invertebrate community index
  (Macroinvertebrates)
• MAXTN- maximum total nitrogen
• QHEI- quantitative habitat evaluation index

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Hypothesis

• 1.The IBI ICI are directly effected by the
  
  nitrogen level.
• 2.The IBI is directly effected by the QHEI.
• 3. The ICI is effected by the QHEI.
• 4. There is a higher level of sediment in
  Stillwater than in Big Darby.

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Current Conditions
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Areas of Concern

• Nutrient enrichment- compared ICI IBI to
  Nitrogen levels
• spreading of fertilizers and pesticides by humans
  on farm land causes an increase in nitrogen
  levels
• Other habitat alterations- compared QHEI to ICI
  IBI
• clearing of land and altering of stream habitat
  by humans lowers biological diversity

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IBI Count vs. Nitrogen Levels
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Graph Findings

• High Nitrogen Low IBI
• Low Nitrogen High IBI
• My hypothesis was proven correct because when the
  nitrogen levels were high the fish were low.
• This is because high nitrogen levels are toxic to
  fish populations.

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Habitat vs. IBI
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Graph Findings

• Low Habitat Low IBI
• High Habitat High IBI
• My hypothesis is correct because in areas of
  dense habitat there is a large fish population.
• This is because fish need a healthy habitat. So
  when there is a low QHEI there is a low IBI.

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Habitat vs. ICI
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Graph Findings

• Low Habitat Low ICI
• High Habitat High ICI
• Macroinvertebrates flourish when the quality of
  the habitat increases. So my hypothesis was
  proved correct.

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Effects of Nitrogen on Macroinvertebrates
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Graph Findings

• My hypothesis was proved correct because there
  was a small trend when the nitrogen levels were
  high the macroinvertebrates levels did decrease
  slightly.

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Darby vs. StillwaterSuspended Sediment
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Results of Darby vs. Stillwater

• Results show that the sediment levels in Big
  Darby were lower than Stillwater.
• Although further investigations showed little
  correlation between sediment levels and IBI.

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Conclusion

• There are many causes that lead to an unhealthy
  watershed, but we found chemical levels and
  habitat loss to be the most significant to the
  quality of Stillwater Watershed.
• Increase in nitrogen levels cause a decrease in
  biological diversity.
• Quality and Quantity of available habitat effect
  the health of the watershed.

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Way to Preserve the Stillwater Area

• Rebuilding the riparian zone
• Controlling agricultural runoff
• Regulating industrial waste
• Setting standards for future development

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Acknowledgements

• We Would Like To Specially Thank
• Chaperones-Lori Summers, Paula Williams, Fen
  Lewis, Virginie Bouchard, Sharon Shannon
  Schraegle
• Organizers-Sue Brown and Elaine Landwehr
• Instructors-Steve Gordon, Leslie Southern, and
  Kathryn Kelly