Pre-Restoration ecological assessment of Bowman Creek, an Urban Tributary of the St. Joseph River in South Bend, Indiana

Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

McCord, Elzie

Keywords

Urban Stream Ecology, Stream Restoration, Benthic Macroinvertebrates, Culverts

Area of Concentration

Ecology

Abstract

Bowman Creek is one of the most ecologically impaired tributaries of the St. Joseph River, a large river in the Lake Michigan drainage system. It has been rerouted underground through pipes and culverts for more than half of its downstream length. The City of South Bend is planning to restore portions of the stream to a more natural aboveground condition, with goals of improving hydrological, ecological, education and aesthetic values. In this study, I investigated the effects of culverts on the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the stream ecosystem. Deployable dataloggers were used to characterize diel respiration curves. Water samples were analyzed for ammonium, nitrate, soluble reactive phosphorus and dissolved organic carbon. Biofilm samples were analyzed for chlorophyll a concentration and ash-free dry mass. Benthic macroinvertebrate samples were used to calculate indices of biotic integrity. The effect of culverts on stream ecosystem function could not be determined from this study. However, collected baseline data can be used to assess the progress of restoration efforts. Further research and continued long-term monitoring is needed to characterize the dynamics of underground urban streams and evaluate the restoration of Bowman Creek.

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