Effects of golf course operation on invertebrate, fish, and nutrients of Carp Lake River.

Abstract

Golf courses are numerous and popular, and golf courses typically apply insecticides, and fertilizers regularly (Morse, 1993). Research suggests that the position of golf courses in close proximity to streams result in higher alkalinity, phosphorus, nitrogen, and mercury runoff (Winter, 2004). The Carp Lake River is most likely heavily influenced by fertilizer runoff from the Wilderness Golf Course. The possible degraded aquatic conditions have been directly linked to higher productivity from nitrogen loading. My hypothesis is that the golf course is adding excess nutrients, especially nitrate from fertilizing, into the stream causing degraded aquatic conditions which would involve decreased Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Tricoptera Index value, lowered fish abundance and diversity, and increased nutrients. I sampled water nutrients with acid washed bottles from one upstream and two downstream sites in relation to the golf course. I sampled invertebrates with a Surber sampler at all three sites, and sampled relative fish abundance and diversity with an electro fisher. Nitrate significantly increased downstream from the golf course. Ammonium and soluble phosphorus were highest upstream of the course and decreased downstream. The percent of EPT was higher downstream, and percent of Diptera was found to be higher upstream. The percent of invertebrate functional feeding group, scrapers, were highest in downstream sites, which supports the hypothesis of higher nutrients and algal growth downstream. Fish abundance and diversity were highest upstream but not statistically significant. In contrast, the percent of intolerant fish was surprisingly highest downstream. I conclude with statistically significant evidence that nitrate increases downstream from the golf course, and this is the strongest evidence in support of my main hypothesis that downstream sites have increased nutrient levels from the golf course.