Unionid Distribution Within Nearshore Portions of 10 Streams in Northwest Ohio

1. Unionid Distribution Within Nearshore Portions of 10 Streams in Northwest Ohio Trevor Prescott Cleveland State University Master of Science Candidate

2. Nearshore? • Estuaries/Flooded River Mouths • Attempted to get as close to the lake as possible • Private property • Businesses / Residential • Other access points

3. Methods

4. Streams • Western portion • Cedar Creek, Turtle Creek, Toussaint River • Central portion • Yellow Swale, South Creek, Raccoon Creek • Eastern portion • Plum Brook, Old Woman Creek, Cranberry Creek, Chappel Creek

6. Cedar Creek • Small riparian zone, incised banks • ~ 10 – 30 feet • Surrounded by agriculture • 50%+ canopy cover • CPOM, garbage, Corbicula • Generally hard, cobble substrate • 3 – 5 feet deep

7. Cedar Creek Results

8. Turtle Creek • Very small to no riparian zone, banks ~ 6 feet higher than stream • 10 feet of riparian at most on northern bank • Agriculture to south, marina to north • No canopy cover • Other life observed • Very soft substrate • 1 – 6 feet deep, wide open stream

9. Turtle Creek Results

10. Toussaint River • Similar to Turtle Creek but bigger • Surrounded by variety of landscapes • Recovering riparian, residential, agriculture • Wide river, slow current • No canopy cover • Soft, muddy substrate

11. Toussaint River Results

12. Yellow Swale • Established, larger riparian zone • Residential areas outside of riparian • Canopy cover near banks • Wide stream, slow current • Soft muddy substrate with pockets of sand

13. Yellow Swale Results

14. South Creek • North = established riparian zone of trees and shrubs. • Muddier substrate than southern portion, not as muddy as Turtle or Toussaint • Diverse wildlife • Canopy cover near banks • South = Riparian of cattails and grass • 50/50 sand and mud substrate • No canopy cover • Residential outside of riparian zone

15. South Creek Results

16. Raccoon Creek • Near/Under route 6 bridge • Area of mud and deposition (70/30 mud to sand) • To the north • 90 – 100% canopy cover • Similar to Cedar Creek • Allochthonous input • Hard substrate • Thinner stream

17. Raccoon Creek Results

18. Plum Brook • Healthy, wide, gently sloping riparian on banks • Part of Erie co. metroparks • 3 substrate types • Hard, compact mud • Soft mud, vegetation covered • Soft mud, free of vegetation • Canopy cover near banks

19. Plum Broom Results

20. Old Woman Creek • Gently sloping, wide riparian on banks • No agriculture near preserve, only residential • Canopy cover near banks • Soft muddy substrate • Healthy stream with diverse wildlife

21. Old Woman Creek Results

22. Cranberry Creek • Generally thin riparian zone • Residential/agricultural to the upstream • Marina downstream • Culverted under route 6 • More compact, thin stream • Semi-compact, muddy substrate • “Medium softness”

23. Cranberry Creek Results

24. Chappel Creek • Thin to no riparian • Shrubs, residential lawns backed up to creek upstream • Parking lot, thin riparian downstream • Variance in depth • Very little to no canopy cover • Unique substrate • Cobble, gravel over hard, muddy substrate • No mussels – live or dead

25. Water Chemistry Data

26. Generalities • Healthy tendencies • Wider riparian • Wider stream (bankfull width) • Less incision on banks • Less canopy cover • Less agriculture in close proximity

27. Future Work/Analysis • GIS • Analyze land use/cover patterns • Error-check sites • Problems • Scale of analysis – How far away from the stream should land use/cover be analyzed? • Topography? • Literature on small streams

28. Questions