Date of Award

2016

Degree Name

Biological Sciences

College

College of Science

Type of Degree

M.S.

Document Type

Thesis

First Advisor

Charles Somerville

Second Advisor

Thomas G. Jones

Third Advisor

Shane Welch

Abstract

Analysis of West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) agency’s Stream Condition Index and habitat assessment data compared two cycles of data. Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to develop a kriging model to project scores. Scores were calculated for Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) eight and ten using Zonal statistics. The Getis-Ord Gi Star was used to identify high and low value clusters. Land use and impervious surface data was gathered from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to assess impacts to watersheds. The results for WVSCI and habitat assessment showed that there was an improvement between cycles. Negative WVSCI trends were associated with human impacts. The percent impervious surface increased between cycles and the land use changed by 0.57 percent. The findings suggested that WVSCI scores increased as macroinvertebrate habitats improved. The land use and impervious surface study showed that stability in watersheds correlated to healthier macroinvertebrate populations.

Subject(s)

Water-supply -- Management -- West Virginia.

Watersheds -- West Virginia -- Research.

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