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Georgia Water Resources Conference

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Author: Golladay, Stephen W. × Author: Vellidis, George ×

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Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Using Adopt-A-Stream in the coastal plain: a look at the macroinvertebrate index
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005-04) Muenz, Tara K. ; Golladay, Stephen W. ; Vellidis, George
    As major threats to Georgia’s waterways continue, volunteer-based monitoring groups such as Georgia Adopt-A-Stream (GA AAS) have become a vital source of information on aquatic ecological condition. Biological monitoring is an important component of the program, with macroinvertebrates serving as the primary tool for assessing water quality. We evaluated the validity and applicability of the GA AAS macroinvertebrate index on three impacted and two reference streams within an agricultural landscape in the Coastal Plain region of southwest Georgia. We compared these findings to a concurrent study that examined the condition of streams impacted by grazing livestock, through water quality, physical and vegetative parameters as well as macroinvertebrate metrics. The GA AAS index for macroinvertebrates proved to be effective in separating sites with different impacts, showing similar results as most invertebrate indices, and appears to be a valid tool to assess the ecological condition of Coastal Plain streams.
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    Stream macroinvertebrates and amphibians as indicators of ecosystem stress: a case study from the Coastal Plain, GA
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2003-04) Muenz, Tara K. ; Golladay, Stephen W. ; Vellidis, George ; Smith, Lora L.
    Conservation buffers are one strategy adopted by various federal and state agencies to aid in the reduction of agricultural impacts on surface and ground water systems. A diversified row crop and beef cattle operation located on a tributary of the Lower Chattahoochee River in Early County, southwest Georgia was the selected site for this study. A suite of indicators were chosen to evaluate the impact of agriculture on three unfenced and two fenced stream sites. Preliminary results provide no discernible differences in herpetofaunal captures between sites, except for larval salamanders captured within bimonthly invertebrate samples, which were more abundant at fenced sites. Percentages of EPT, Coleoptera and Crustacea were also higher at fenced sites, which also showed lower levels of nitrate-N, suspended solids, and fecal coliforms. Exclusion sites, which had been fenced out three years prior to this study, suggest some recovery from cattle impacts.
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    Assessing Biological Effects of Animal Production on Intermittent Coastal Plain Streams
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 1999-03) Davis, Stephanie N. ; Golladay, Stephen W. ; Vellidis, George ; Pringle, Catherine M.
    Biotic indices increasingly are being used by state and federal agencies to evaluate water quality. The application of existing biotic indices to intermittent Coastal Plain streams is problematic because of unique habitat and flow characteristics. Managers must field test biotic indices before accepting them for use in this area. This study in South Georgia evaluated the appropriate sampling season for biological monitoring and tested whether existing biotic indices correlated to physical and chemical impacts. Early results showed that index scores changed drastically with season and that different indices yielded conflicting assessments of stream health in intermittent streams of the Coastal Plain. At these sites, the EPT Index (Ephemeroptera/ Plecoptera/ Trichoptera) was a better indicator of stream health than the North Carolina Biotic Index because it accurately reflected physical and chemical stream conditions.