Comparison of the Water Quality, Fish and Macroinvertebrate Characteristics of Two Class A Trout Waters with other Impaired Streams

Elaine Langone Center, Terrace Room

Two class A trout streams, both named Hagerman’s Run (one a tributary of Lycoming Creek; the other a tributary of West Branch Susquehanna River) in Lycoming County were sampled for the last 5 years and will be compared to seven other streams from impaired sites. The Hagerman streams show high species diversity when it comes to the macroinvertebrates but low diversity of fish. In addition, one of these creeks is also showing some impairment due to erosion from gravel roads which may threaten its classification. The seven other streams are tributaries to or part of the Sugar Creek watershed which is a tributary to the North Branch of the Susquehanna River. All 7 of these streams had no trout, and showed low macroinvertebrate diversity. All of these streams were located near, or next to farms, and there is a high possibility that a lot of run off is occurring from these farms not using Best Management Practices. The fish diversity was higher compared to the two Hagerman’s Run streams. The water chemistry also showed higher concentrations of Phosphorous and Nitrogen. An attempt will be made to find correlations between the influence of chemistry, habitat and biota on these creeks.