NAWQA | Water | Geology | Biology | Geography |
National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA)
Ozark Plateaus Study Unit Activities | ||
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Topical study of nutrient enrichment and ecology (NEET)
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Objectives: The primary objectives of this topical study are to determine the effects of nutrient enrichment on biological communities (fish, macroinvertebrates, periphyton (attached algae), and phytoplankton (floating algae)) and to determine the effects of nutrients on stream metabolism, which is defined as the gain and loss in dissolved oxygen associated with photosynthesis and plant and animal respiration. The study in the Ozark Plateaus is part of a larger study being conducted in several areas of the United States. Approach: Water quality and biological samples were collected from more than 30 sites (see map, see list of sites ) with drainage areas of approximately 40 to 100 square miles and with a range of nutrient concentrations. Sites were sampled in the Springfield and Salem Plateaus of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. Water-quality and biological data will be described and analyzed using a number of statistical approaches such as box plots, descriptive statistics, non-parametric multiple comparison tests, correlation, and multivariate procedures. Timing: Sites were selected in 2005 and 2006 with input from state and federal agencies. Water quality and biological samples were collected from all sites in the spring and summer of 2006. A sub-set of these sites were sampled throughout much of 2007 to look at seasonal variability (see list of sites). Targeted constituents: Constituents include nutrients, dissolved organic carbon, pH, dissolved oxygen, alkalinity, and suspended sediment. Fish, macroinverterate, and algal communities were sampled. Several measures of algal biomass also were collected. |
U.S. Department of the Interior , U.S. Geological Survey URL: <http://ar.water.usgs.gov/nawqa/ozark/act8.html> Questions and/or comments btjackson@usgs.gov Last Modified: Monday, 28-Jan-2008 13:55:19 CST btj Privacy Statement || Disclaimer || FOIA || Accessibility |
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