PowerPoint Presentation

Standard River Code & RMStream NameNew Station IDLocation DescriptionDateScorerLat/Long

QHEI Header

1Substrate Metric

2Identify Two Predominant Substrate TypesBy Amount or FunctionTwo boxes in case one type is only dominant type (e.g., bedrock)Lines after boxes for checking or estimating % of all substrate types presentPebble count procedure provides good training for assessment of substrate

Substrate Metric3Substrate Size CategoriesBoulder: > 10Boulders as slabs: flat rather than round piecesCobble: 2.5 to 10Gravel: 1/12 to 2.5 (note wide range)Sand: gritty textureSilt: greasy texture, inorganicMuck: decayed organic materialDetritus: leaves, sticks, woodHardpan: usually clay, hard gummy surface4Boulder-Cobble

5Clean Gravel Substrates

6Substrate DiversityNumber of substrate typesMore substrate types = more nichesMany fish and macroinvertebrate species are associate with specific substrate typesSubstrate OriginInformationalFrom where did the substrates originate?Bedrock, tills, alluvial sediments, colluvial sediments?

Substrate Metric7Substrate OriginLimestone: Often contains fossils, easily scratched with knife, usually bedrock or flat boulders and cobblesTills: Sediments deposited by glaciers; particles often rounded. Can be carried into non-glaciated areasWetlands: Usually organic muck and detritusHardpan: Clay smooth, usually slipperySandstone: Contains rounded fragment of sand cemented togetherRip/Rap: Artificial bouldersLacustrine: Old lake bed sedimentsShale: Claystone, sedimentary rock made of silt/clay, soft and cleaves easilyCoal Fines: Black fragments of coal, generally SE Ohio only8Pebble Count Methodologies

Wolman Pebble CountZig-Zag Pebble CountRiffle Stability IndexOthers9

Pebble Count10

Pebble Count - Trends11Pervuasiveness of silt cover & embeddednessSmother habitatsReduce oxygen penetrationFines fill interstitial spacesSilt Cover & Embeddedness12Silt Cover

13Embeddedness Side View

14Embeddedness

Sands, other fines cover larger substratesDunes indicate high bedloadCan often dig down to larger substrates15Embeddedness - Aggradation

Import of fines > exportResults in aggradation of sediments in riffles and poolsSymptom can be spongy deposits of sands and fine gravels that smother larger riffle particles16Low Embeddedness: Fish-eye View

High Embeddedness: Fish-eye View

Substrate Embeddedness

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Fish IBI22Affects overall community structureDecrease substrate quality leads to loss of sensitive speciesDecreasing substrate quality leads to increase in omnivoresDecrease substrate quality leads to decrease in many sport fish species (e.g., smallmouth bass).Substrate Metrics Strongly Correlated with IBI, Metrics23Substrate Score vs IBI

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TIVs for Substrate Score

Substrate Effects: Strong on Individual Species:QHEI Substrate Score26Smallmouth Bass vs QHEI Substrate

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