Poster Details
THE EFFECTS OF BEAVER ACTIVITY ON AMMONIUM AND NITRATE IN URBAN STREAM WATERS
The purpose of this research is to study the effects of beaver activity on water quality an urban stream-wetland system in Atlanta, Ga, USA that was impacted by development activity. This is conducted by gathering water samples from different areas throughout the stream and wetland and analyzing the nitrate and ammonium levels over 2 years. Nitrate was determined using a new spectrophotometric method, and the results were compared to samples analyzed on an ion chromatograph. In general, there was no clear evidence of consistent nutrient removal due to the beaver activity in the system, but the changes in nutrient concentrations suggest evidence of nitrification occurring in the stream and of denitrification occurring in the wetland. Continued beaver activity in the system could be expected to increase movement of streamwater through the wetland, enhancing denitrification. However, the high flashiness of this urban stream tends to damage beaver dams or remove them entirely with every storm event, likely limiting the effectiveness of these urban beavers in nutrient removal.
Tiandra Manns (Primary Presenter/Author), Georgia Gwinnett College, tmanns1@ggc.edu;
Elizabeth Sudduth (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Georgia Gwinnett College, esudduth@ggc.edu;
Thomas Gluick (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Georgia Gwinnett College, tgluick@ggc.edu;