Superior Streams Algal Assessment Protocol
2019-09-30
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Superior Streams Algal Assessment Protocol
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2019-09-30
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University of Minnesota Duluth
Type
Technical Report
Abstract
This project involved collaboration between the University of MN- Duluth, the City of Duluth, the MPCA,
and a new Citizen Science/Crowdsourcing collaborative to develop quantitative and semi-quantitative
protocols for assessing the biomass of periphyton (algae attached to rocks) during summer in Duluth
Area trout streams for use by professional aquatic scientists and by citizen scientists. Traditional
techniques based on chlorophyll-a and organic matter from rock scrapes (adapted from EPA and USGS)
were combined with Visual Assessment techniques developed and well vetted in New Zealand and
Montana. Summer 2018 and 2019 measurements established baseline conditions for trout streams
currently being assessed as part of a State led WRAPS (Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy)
demonstration project for Duluth’s 43 named streams. In addition, historical periphyton data generated
by federal and university research projects over the past 20 years were compiled and summarized to
allow for a first assessment of the temporal and spatial patterns in wadeable stream algae in the region.
The Visual Assessment tools were tested for potential use in a new citizen science and crowd sourcing
collaborative in the western Lake Superior region promoting participatory public engagement to
improve watershed and water resource understanding and stewardship in the Lake Superior
Basin. Results and protocols are described and disseminated to the public and stakeholder groups via
the LakeSuperiorstreams.org website.
Overall Project Objectives
1. Generate baseline quantitative (epilithic algal biomass/m2 of rock substrate) and semi-quantitative
(visual assessment index and images) periphyton data from designated trout streams in the Duluth Area
in summer 2018-9 for use by MPCA and MDNR in assessing the condition of these streams and for
potential inclusion in the State’s water resource assessment process.
2. Develop and field test an attached algal biomass index (epilithic [rock substrate] periphyton) for use in
Lake Superior Basin trout streams adapted from existing federal (EPA, USGS), international (New
Zealand), and state (Montana, California) protocols for wadeable streams and lakeshores. It will build on
a prior MLSCP funded project for the Superior shoreline.
3. Compile and report to the State comparable historic attached trout stream algae data collected since
1996 by EPA-MED and NRRI/UMD scientists along with 2017 data for MPCA and MDNR to use in
determining temporal trends, comparing streams, and examining longitudinal changes within several
trout streams having a gradient of watershed land use and land cover.
4. Promote a new tool for use by citizen scientists in the western Lake Superior region, especially the St.
Louis River RiverWatch community (serving ~ 800 students each year). The sites established for testing
the tool will be drawn from a newly created set of CrowdHydrology.org in Duluth sites (within a national
USGS network) that was funded by MLSCP in collaboration with MPCA’s current Duluth Metropolitan
Area WRAPS project for protecting Duluth’s urban trout streams.
5. All data and information, and its rationale will be made available via tabulations, map-based data
finders, and narrative statements on the LakeSuperiorStreams.org for use by partner outreach
professionals (MN and WI Sea Grant, LS NERR, UMN-Extension, MPCA, MDNR, RSPT, et al.) in helping
people better understand how streams “work”, and how negative impacts on habitat and aquatic
organisms and water quality can result from inadequate land use planning and implementation.
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This report was prepared by Elaine M. Ruzycki using Federal funds under award NA17NOS4190062 from
the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended, administered by the Office for Coastal
Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of
Commerce provided to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for Minnesota’s Lake
Superior Coastal Program.
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Ruzycki, Elaine; Axler, Richard P. (2019). Superior Streams Algal Assessment Protocol. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/223212.
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