Macroinvertebrate communities in Delmarva Peninsula streams, 2022

From 2 April - 29 April 2022, a Virginia Tech team of 2-3 sampled the macroinvertebrate community in 30 Coastal Plain streams (Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, USA) as part of a larger stream-health study including other teams who surveyed geomorphology, water quality, flow, temperature,fish community, and fish health at the same 30 streams. Macroinvertebrates were sampled using a 250 micrometer mesh slack sampler on a known area. At each stream, samples were collected in two ways. 1) Five slack samples were taken in riffles according to the USGS National Water-Quality Assessment protocol, and 2) Five additional slack samples were collected in the most productive available habitat types such as woody debris, undercut banks or leaf packs. Additionally, water quality and habitat measurements were collected including water temperature, electrical conductivity, and clarity, and percent of the reach comprising pool, riffle, and run habitats.