SREL Reprint #3376

A stream multimetric macroinvertebrate index (MMI) for the Sand Hills ecoregion of the Southeastern Plains, USA

Ely Kosnicki1, Stephen A. Sefick1, Michael H. Paller2, Miller S. Jerrell1, Blair A. Prusha3,
Sean C. Sterrett4, Tracey D. Tuberville5, and Jack W. Feminella1

1Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
2Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, SC, USA
3Midwest Biodiversity Institute, 5530 Olentangy River Rd, Columbus, OH 43235, USA
4Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
5University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecological Laboratory, Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802, USA

Abstract: A macroinvertebrate multimetric index is an effective tool for assessing the biological integrity of streams. However, data collected under a single protocol may not be available for an entire region. We sampled macroinvertebrates from the full extent of the Sand Hills ecoregion Level IV of the Southeastern Plains with a standard protocol during the summers of 2010–2012. We evaluated the performance of 94 metrics through a series of screening criteria and built 48 macroinvertebrate multimetric indexs with combinations of the best performing metrics, representing richness, habit, functional feeding guild, sensitivity, and community composition. A series of narrative-response tests for each macroinvertebrate multimetric index was used to find the best performing macroinvertebrate multimetric index which we called the Sand Hills macroinvertebrate multimetric index. The Sand Hills macroinvertebrate multimetric index consisted of the measures Biotic Index, % Shredder taxa, Clinger taxa2/total taxa, Plecoptera and Trichoptera richness, and Tanytarsini taxa2/Chironomidae taxa. Comparison of the Sand Hills macroinvertebrate multimetric index with existing assessment tools calculated with our data indicated that the Sand Hills macroinvertebrate multimetric index performs at a high level with regard to identifying degraded sites and in its response to stress gradients.

Keywords: Multimetric index; Sand Hills ecoregion; Lotic ecosystems; Biological integrity; Macroinvertebrates; Biotic assessment

SREL Reprint #3376

Kosnicki, E., S. A. Sefick, M. H. Paller, M. S. Jerrell, B. A. Prusha, S. C. Sterrett, T. D. Tuberville, and J. W. Feminella. 2016. A stream multimetric macroinvertebrate index (MMI) for the Sand Hills ecoregion of the Southeastern Plains, USA. Environmental Management 58(4): 741-751.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).