Urbanization Impacts on Invertebrate Traits in the Spokane River Watershed
Faculty Mentor
Camille McNeely
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
May 2025
End Date
May 2025
Location
PUB NCR
Primary Discipline of Presentation
Biology
Abstract
Changes in land use, such as urbanization, have impacted stream systems by modifying discharge, substrate diversity and morphology of streams. The Spokane Tribe of Indians is beginning the process to reintroduce extirpated salmonid species into the Spokane River Watershed. The first step of this reintroduction is to perform habitat studies, to inform allocation of restoration efforts. As part of this effort, we performed benthic macroinvertebrate surveys throughout the watershed. These invertebrate communities will be examined for taxonomic and trait composition. The traits will include habit, trophic relations, voltinism, ventilation mechanism, and egg-laying behavior. Macroinvertebrate traits are increasingly used as a bioassessment tool, as they are directly impacted by abiotic factors within waterways. We hypothesize that urbanization will reduce invertebrate diversity and abundance, and favor species with more generalist trait profiles. In the summer of 2024, 32 of 60 planned stream reaches were sampled. The remaining stream reaches will be sampled in the summer of 2025. Stream reaches span multiple land use types. In each reach, four subsamples, each comprising 0.192 m, were collected from the riffles of the stream reach, using a 500 μm mesh D-frame net. Subsamples were then combined for each sample location. Preliminary data shows a strong difference in taxonomic composition between stream reaches, with several streams dominated by Diptera populations. When complete, our data will provide insight into the factors impacting invertebrate communities in our region’s waterways and support the habitat restoration efforts for native salmonids.
Recommended Citation
Abell, Kaitlin L., "Urbanization Impacts on Invertebrate Traits in the Spokane River Watershed" (2025). 2025 Symposium. 27.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2025/ps_2025/p1_2025/27
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Urbanization Impacts on Invertebrate Traits in the Spokane River Watershed
PUB NCR
Changes in land use, such as urbanization, have impacted stream systems by modifying discharge, substrate diversity and morphology of streams. The Spokane Tribe of Indians is beginning the process to reintroduce extirpated salmonid species into the Spokane River Watershed. The first step of this reintroduction is to perform habitat studies, to inform allocation of restoration efforts. As part of this effort, we performed benthic macroinvertebrate surveys throughout the watershed. These invertebrate communities will be examined for taxonomic and trait composition. The traits will include habit, trophic relations, voltinism, ventilation mechanism, and egg-laying behavior. Macroinvertebrate traits are increasingly used as a bioassessment tool, as they are directly impacted by abiotic factors within waterways. We hypothesize that urbanization will reduce invertebrate diversity and abundance, and favor species with more generalist trait profiles. In the summer of 2024, 32 of 60 planned stream reaches were sampled. The remaining stream reaches will be sampled in the summer of 2025. Stream reaches span multiple land use types. In each reach, four subsamples, each comprising 0.192 m, were collected from the riffles of the stream reach, using a 500 μm mesh D-frame net. Subsamples were then combined for each sample location. Preliminary data shows a strong difference in taxonomic composition between stream reaches, with several streams dominated by Diptera populations. When complete, our data will provide insight into the factors impacting invertebrate communities in our region’s waterways and support the habitat restoration efforts for native salmonids.
