Susquehanna River Initiative
Bucknell University Environmental Center
Aquatic ecology of Miller Run
Students conduct fish and macro invertebrate assessments in the channel
Matthew E. McTammany, Associate Professor of Geology
In September and October, 2009, students in the UNIV 238 (Stream Restoration) class conducted an aquatic assessment of Miller Run from the Art Building, near the 7th Street Cafe, in front of the Field House, and near the Art Barn.
Sondes were used to automatically record stream conditions such as temperature, pH, specific conductivity, and dissolved oxygen.
Water samples were also taken manually during normal flow and high flow events, and analyzed for chemical composition.
Two sites were sampled for each reading; MR-1 was upstream at the Art Barn crossing and MR-2 was downstream at Bucknell Hall.
A backpack shocker was used to determine the dominant fish present in the stream. Six taxa of fish were found, mostly minnows and sunfish in the deeper pools.
Macroinvertebrates were collected using kick nets and counted to assess the diversity of benthic animals in the stream. Most were typical of impaired warm water streams and included midges and blackflies, worms, beetles, snails, isopods (sowbugs) and amphopods (scuds).
IBI scores ranged from 14 on campus to 28 at the Art Barn, but all were well below 63, the criteria for assessing a stream PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). No pollution-sensitive species were found.
Sondes were used to automatically record stream conditions such as temperature, pH, specific conductivity, and dissolved oxygen.
Water samples were also taken manually during normal flow and high flow events, and analyzed for chemical composition.
Two sites were sampled for each reading; MR-1 was upstream at the Art Barn crossing and MR-2 was downstream at Bucknell Hall.
A backpack shocker was used to determine the dominant fish present in the stream. Six taxa of fish were found, mostly minnows and sunfish in the deeper pools.
Macroinvertebrates were collected using kick nets and counted to assess the diversity of benthic animals in the stream. Most were typical of impaired warm water streams and included midges and blackflies, worms, beetles, snails, isopods (sowbugs) and amphopods (scuds).
IBI scores ranged from 14 on campus to 28 at the Art Barn, but all were well below 63, the criteria for assessing a stream PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). No pollution-sensitive species were found.
