Conclusion
Mussel Population Estimates
Lower Rocky Creek:
JSM 250
Vico 306
Stun 13
2 tagged mussels found alive downstream
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29 samples have been taken
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26 dead tagged mussels have been found since the beginning
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Estimated populations as of 4/31/21 using Schnaebel Index
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Upper Rocky Creek:
JSM 79
Vico 0
Stun 131
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7 Samples have been taken as of 4/31/21
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2 tagged mussels have been found since the beginning
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Estimated populations as of 4/31/21 using Schnaebel Index
Mussel Counts
Upper Rocky Creek:
JSM:
Overall tagged: 54
New this academic year: 26
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Vico:
Overall tagged: 0
New this academic year: 0
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Stun:
Overall tagged: 103
New this academic year: 29
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Lower Rocky Creek:
JSM:
Overall tagged: 241
New this academic year: 24
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Vico:
Overall tagged: 281
New this academic year: 23
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Stun:
Overall tagged: 14
New this academic year: 1
P Value
What creeks are most similar and why:
Buck and Booth are most similar because there is only a 59.46% chance that the observed difference is by random chance.
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Which river is the best match to Buck mountain:
After comparing our 2 sample sights (Rocky upper and Upper lower), we have concluded that rocky upper is more similar to buck mountain than rocky lower.
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What parameters are most similar and which differ the most:
Turbidity is the most similar, while temperature is the most different.
Benthic
Most common species in each season:
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Water pennies, netspinners, and hellgrammites all appeared most commonly in fall
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Asian clams and gilled snails were most commonly found in winter.
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Trueflies, midges, beetles, caddisflies, dragonflies, mayflies, stoneflies, and worms were all most commonly found in spring
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Spring was the season with the greatest variety of species
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May was the month in which the benthic scores were the highest, with mayflies and caddisflies appearing the most.
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Most common species at each creek:
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At Rocky Creek, the Midge was the primary species recorded.
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At Upper Rocky, the Caddisfly was species recorded the most.
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At Lower Rocky and Buck Creek, the mayfly was the most recorded species
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Benthic scores:
Out of the three locations, lower Rocky received the highest average benthic score of 116, while Buck’s average was 81, and Rocky’s average, the lowest, was 76.
General Conclusions
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We found 2 live JSM and 2 Stuns in the Meechum’s River upstream of the Barracks Road Bridge
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We isolated Asian clam DNA, ran a gel indicating the presence of the DNA
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Each student designed and conducted their own research project related to water quality