Hester-Dendy (HD) multi-plate samplers have been widely used by state and federal government agencies for bioassessment of water quality through use of macroinvertebrate community data. To help guide remediation and restoration efforts at the Niagara River Great Lakes Area of Concern site, a multi-agency study was conducted in 2014 to assess the contribution of seven major urban tributaries on the US side of the river toward the impairment of the Niagara River. As part of this study, macroinvertebrate communities were sampled using two co-located versions of HD samplers: one version used by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and another by the US Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development. Samplers were deployed in tributaries in highly developed watersheds with high percent impervious surface. The two sampling methods varied in terms of number and size of plates, between-plate spacing, and deployment method. Comparison of the similarity/grouping of communities with multivariate ordination techniques, Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling and Multi-Response Permutation Procedure, showed that both methods were able to detect differences in communities at stations, despite some grouping by month and method. The indices and metrics derived from the two HD methods were found to give comparable but not identical assessments of water quality. Despite their differences, the methods were robust with respect to water quality categories derived from indices used nationally (HBI) and by NY state (BAP). For the common richness metrics, total taxa and EPT richness, there was no statistical difference between means from 3 samplings. Some metrics, especially percent tolerant collector-gatherer individuals, did show significant differences at certain stations. Indicator Species Analysis showed some taxa associated with each method. The observed community differences were thought mostly due to the difference in sampler deployment position.
KeywordsHester-DendyMulti-Plate SamplersMacroinvertebrateBioassessmentGreat LakesMethodsArea of Concern
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Environment Canada (EC) (2012) Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Protocol Amending the Agreement between Canada and the United States of America on Great Lakes Water Quality, 1978, as Amended on October 16, 1983, and on November 18, 1987. U.S. EPA, Chicago.
Niagara River Secretariat (2007) Niagara River Toxics Management Plan (NRTMP) Progress Report and Work Plan.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (1994) Niagara River Action Plan Summary. https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/water_pdf/niagararap94.pdf
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (2012) Remedial Action Plan Stage 2 Addendum. Niagara River Area of Concern. https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/water_pdf/niagarastg2rap.pdf
Kimbrough, K., Johnson, W.E., Jacob, A., Edwards, M. and Davenport, E. (2018) Great Lakes Mussel Watch: Assessment of Contaminants of Emerging Concern. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 249, Silver Spring.
Kimbrough, K., Jacob, A., Regan, S., Davenport, E., Edwards, M., Leight, A.K., Freitag, A., Rider, M. and Johnson, W.E. (2021) Characterization of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Characterization in the Great Lakes Basin Using Dreissenid Mussels. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 193, Article No. 833. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09401-7
Carter, J.L. and Resh, V.H. (2001) After Site Selection and before Data Analysis: Sampling, Sorting, and Laboratory Procedures Used in Stream Benthic Macroinvertebrate Monitoring Programs by USA State Agencies. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 20, 658-682. https://doi.org/10.2307/1468095
Goodrich, C., Huggins, D.G., Everhart, R.C. and Smith, E.F. (2005) Kansas Biological Survey. Summary of State and National Biological and Physical Habitat Assessment Methods with a Focus on EPA Region 7 States. Report No. 135 of the Kansas Biological Survey, Central Plains Center for Bioassessment, Lawrence.
Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) (2015) Biological Sampling and Physical Habitat Assessment Standard Operating Procedure for Iowa Wadeable Streams and Rivers. Environmental Services Division. Revised by: IDNR Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Section and the Limnology Section of the State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Water Division (2014) Standard Operating Procedure. Biological Monitoring of Surface Waters in New York State. SOP 208-14.
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. (2015) Biological Criteria for the Protection of Aquatic Life: Volume III. Standardized Biological Field Sampling and Laboratory Methods for Assessing Fish and Macroinvertebrate Communities. Ohio EPA Technical Report EAS/2015-06-01, Division of Surface Water, Ecological Assessment Section, Columbus.
WI DNR (2015) Large River Macroinvertebrate Sampling (V2.0) DNR Water Quality Monitoring Program. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison.
Weigel, B.M. and Dimick, J.J. (2011) Development, Validation, and Application of a Macroinvertebrate Based Index of Biotic Integrity for Nonwadeable Rivers of Wisconsin. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 30, 665-679. https://doi.org/10.1899/10-161.1
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1996) Summary of State Biological Assessment Programs for Streams and Rivers. Office of Policy, Planning and Evaluation, Washington DC.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1990) Macroinvertebrate Field and Laboratory Methods for Evaluating the Biological Integrity of Surface Waters. EPA/600/ 4-90/030.
Buss, D.F., Carlisle, D.M., Chon, T.S., Culp, J., Harding, J.S., Keizer-Vlek, H.E., Robinson, W.A., Strachan, S., Thirion, C. and Hughes, R.M. (2014) Stream Biomonitoring Using Macroinvertebrates around the Globe: A Comparison of Large-Scale Programs. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 187, Article No. 4132. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-014-4132-8
Lenat, D.R. (1988) Water Quality Assessment of Streams Using a Qualitative Collection Method for Benthic Macroinvertebrates. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 7, 222-233. https://doi.org/10.2307/1467422
Hilsenhoff, W.L. (1987) An Improved Biotic Index of Organic Stream Pollution. Great Lakes Entomologist, 20, 31-39. https://doi.org/10.22543/0090-0222.1591
Cairns, J., Jr. and Pratt, J.R. (1993) A History of Biological Monitoring Using Benthic Macroinvertebrates. In: Rosenberg, D.M. and Resh, V.H., Eds., Freshwater Biomonitoring and Benthic Macroinvertebrates, Chapman & Hall, Inc., London.
George, S.D., Duffy, B.T., Baldigo, B.P., Damianos, S. and Smith, J.S. (2021) Condition of Macroinvertebrate Communities in the Buffalo River Area of Concern Following Sediment Remediation. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 48, 183-194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2021.11.002
North American Land Change Monitoring System (NALCMS) (2022). http://www.cec.org/north-american-environmental-atlas/land-cover-30m-2015-landsat-and-rapideye/
Smith, A.J. and Tran, C.P. (2010) A Weight-of-Evidence Approach to Define Nutrient Criteria Protective of Aquatic Life in Large Rivers. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 29, 875-891. https://doi.org/10.1899/09-076.1
Mandaville, S.M. (2002) Benthic Macroinvertebrates in Freshwaters-Taxa Tolerance Values, Metrics, and Protocols. Soil & Water Conservation Society of Metro Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Hilsenhoff, W.L. (1988) Rapid Field Assessment of Organic Pollution with a Family-Level Biotic Index. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 7, 65-68. https://doi.org/10.2307/1467832
Hilsenhoff, W.L. (1998) A Modification of the Biotic Index of Organic Stream Pollution to Remedy Problems and Permit Its Use throughout the Year. Great Lakes Entomologist, 31, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.22543/0090-0222.1944
McCune, B. and Grace, J.B. (2002) Analysis of Ecological Communities. MjM Software Design, Gleneden Beach.
Wiggins, G.B. (1977) Larvae of the North American Caddisfly Genera (Trichoptera). University of Toronto Press, Toronto and Buffalo.
Angradi, T.R., Bartsch, W.M., Trebitz, A.S., Brady, V.J. and Launspach, J.J. (2017) A Depth-Adjusted Ambient Distribution Approach for Setting Numeric Removal Targets for a Great Lakes Area of Concern Beneficial Use Impairment: Degraded Benthos. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 43, 108-120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2016.11.006
Carter, J.L. and Resh, V.H. (2013) Analytical Approaches Used in Stream Macroinvertebrate Biomonitoring Programs of State Agencies in the United States. U.S. Geological Survey. Open File Report 2-13-1129. https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20131129
Elias, J. (2021) Effectiveness of Macroinvertebrate Species to Discern Pollution Levels in Aquatic Environment. Open Journal of Ecology, 11, 357-373. https://doi.org/10.4236/oje.2021.114025
Yeardley Jr., R., Jacobs, S., Fritz, K. and Thoeny, W. (2020) Comparison of Three Macroinvertebrate Sampling Methods for Use in Assessment of Water Quality Changes in Flashy Urban Streams. Journal of Environmental Protection, 11, 585-609. https://doi.org/10.4236/jep.2020.118035
Merritt, R.W., Cummins, K.W. and Berg, M.B. (2008) An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America. 4th Edition, Kendall Hunt Publishing Co., Dubuque, IA 52004-1840.
Allan, J.D. (1975) The Distributional Ecology and Diversity of Benthic Insects in Cement Creek, Colorado. Ecology, 56, 1040-1053. https://doi.org/10.2307/1936145
Cummins, K.W. and Lauff, G.H. (1969) The Influence of Substrate Particle Size on the Microdistribution of Stream Macrobenthos. Hydrobiologia, 34, 145-181. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00141925
Khalaf, G. and Tachet, H. (1980) Colonization of Artificial Substrata by Macro-Invertebrates in a Stream and Variations According to Stone Size. Freshwater Biology, 10, 475-482. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2427.1980.tb01220.x
Minshall, G.W. and Minshall, J.N. (1977) Microdistribution of Benthic Invertebrates in a Rocky Mountain (U.S.A.) Stream. Hydrobiologia, 55, 231-249. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00017555
Dudgeon, D. (1996) The Influence of Refugia on Predation Impacts in a Hong Kong Stream. Archives of Hydrobiology, 138, 145-159. https://doi.org/10.1127/archiv-hydrobiol/138/1996/145