The effects of a stream lab on the diatom community in the Maple River.

Abstract

Most rivers of the world have been altered in some way by manmade structures such as dams and hydroelectric plants. Stream labs are another type of alteration. The UMBS in Pellston, Michigan, has such a Stream Lab located on the Maple River. The Stream Lab diverts water onto a research pad in order to create artificial streams for scientific purposes. The water is then deposited back into the river along with well water. An experiment was designed to determine whether the Stream Lab is having any effect on the diatom community in the river. Four sites were chosen from which to collect diatoms on four sampling days. Diatoms of the genera Fragilaria and Cocconeis were found to be the most abundant. The upstream diatom communities differed the most from the other sites while the midstream and downstream communities were fairly similar. Most of these differences may be attributed to physical differences in sampling sites. The University of Michigan Stream Lab seems to have few negative impacts on the Maple River.