Poster Details
BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATE AND PERIPHYTON RESPONSE TO ANTIMYCIN DURING BROOK TROUT RESTORATION IN A SMALL HEADWATER STREAM
The piscicide antimycin has been used as an alternative to rotenone to eradicate nuisance fish in small streams. In many cases, antimycin is a better piscicide than rotenone because it is not as detectable by fish and is highly effective in eradicating coldwater fishes such as trout. The objective of this study is to identify potential negative effects of both the antimycin and potassium permanganate detoxifier treatments on non-target organisms. The study was done during a brook trout restoration project in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Fall 2017. Nine sites within adjacent treated and untreated streams were sampled five times bracketing an antimycin treatment to remove nonnative rainbow trout. At each site, periphyton chlorophyll and ash-free dry mass, macroinvertebrate composition, and water quality were collected. Preliminary results suggest small effects on macroinvertebrates. While this study is ongoing, it is predicted that the antimycin treatment will have no large effect on periphyton and water quality in the stream, but the effect of the detoxifying agent is unclear. If minimal effects are found, this study would reinforce the idea that antimycin is a preferred piscicide to use in coldwater streams.
Aden Blackburn (Primary Presenter/Author), Tennessee Technological University, ajblackbur42@students.tntech.edu;
Justin Murdock (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Tennessee Technological University, jnmurdock@tntech.edu;
Keith Gibbs (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Tennessee Technological University, kgibbs@tntech.edu;