Haverford Reserve Wildlife and Aquatic Ecological Assessment

1. Haverford ReserveWildlife and Aquatic Ecological Assessment December 15, 2008 Haverford, PA Trevor Conlow and Christine Altomari Princeton Hydro, LLC caltomari@princetonhydro.com www.princetonhydro.com pH

2. Project Partners • Haverford Township • Haverford Hospital Citizens Advisory Board • National Fish & Wildlife Foundation • Darby Creek Valley Association • Natural Lands Trust • Princeton Hydro, LLC – Trevor Conlow and Paul Cooper

3. Project Goals and Objectives • To conduct and analyze baseline inventories of • upland and wetland vegetation, • submerged and floating aquatic vegetation, • fish and macroinvertebrate species, and • terrestrial wildlife species • To identify threats to the natural features of the site and assess the ecological condition of the property and its ecological value to the Darby Creek Watershed • To provide recommendations for the sustainable stewardship of the natural areas that is compatible with the plans for passive public use of the site, including: • maintain and restore riparian corridors, • enhance ecological resources, and • increase recreation and environmental education opportunities

4. Haverford Reserve 40 acres as private development45 acres as active recreation124 acres as passive open space

5. Vegetative Habitats Influence Wildlife Communities The natural areas on the property include: • two terrestrial (upland) forest communities • red oak mixed hardwood /tuliptree-beech-maple forest • red maple, ash, tuliptree, and hickory forest • two palustrine (wetland) forests • Red maple, sycamore, box elder forests • a small shrub land area, • upland field or meadows and • marsh/wetland meadows

6. Haverford Plant Communities pH

7. Birding Surveys • PA DEP reports the biggest declines in bird populations have occurred in grassland, wetland and early successional habitats, which are all found at the Haverford Reserve.

8. Bird Survey at Haverford • Birding surveys were conducted in Fall 2007 and Spring 2008 separately for the upland forests, meadow and riparian/ wetlands. • 62 bird species were recorded with potentially 130 species utilizing the site. • The birding survey at Haverford identified a healthy, diverse forest habitat and bird community.

9. Birding Survey Results • Species found in “The Meadow” include: Gray catbird, Northern cardinal, Carolina wren, American goldfinch, Eastern towhee, Song sparrow, Indigo bunting, Yellow warbler, and Blue-winged warbler. • These are generalist and edge-habitat species

11. Birding Survey Results • Forest interior birds include: Scarlet tanager, Red-eyed vireo, Ovenbird, Wood thrush, Veery, Cooper’s hawk, Great horned owl, White-breasted nuthatch, and Red-bellied woodpecker.

13. Birding Survey Results • Species found in the Darby Creek area include: Northern rough-winged swallow, Spotted sandpiper, Great blue heron, Mallard duck, Belted kingfisher, Cedar waxwing, Northern oriole, and Wood duck.

15. Macroinvertebrate Sampling • The Sampling evaluates the species diversity and populations of the insects, crustaceans, and mollusks living on the stream substrate (bottom). • Certain species are known to be more sensitive to stream flows, stream substrates and pollutant loading. • The presence of sensitive macroinvertebrates such as mayflies and stoneflies generally indicates high quality stream health. • The presence of less sensitive macroinvertebrates such as black fly larvae, midges, worms or leeches, indicates impaired streams.

16. Advantages of Macroinvertebrate Assessments • good indicators of localized water conditions due to limited mobility. • holistic indicators of overall water quality and sensitive to impacts from: environmental variations (low flow conditions), pollutant loadings, increased temperatures, excessive sediment loading, or eutrophication. • normally abundant and sampling is easy • primary food source for aquatic food web • When monitored with chemical/physical parameters, they can help identify sources of impairment.

17. Macroinvertebrates

18. Macroinvertebrate Assessments • Macroinvertebrate species, diversity and abundances can provide inferences about: • stream health and stream functions • sediment loading and substrate suitability • water quality, temperature and pollutant loading, and • hydrology conditions • Stream impairments

19. Macroinvertebrate Method

21. Macroinvertebrate Results • North Brook • Upstream – Moderately Impaired, possibly resulting from the natural low flow of the stream • Downstream – Not Impaired • Confluence with Darby Creek – Moderately Impaired There is a major sewer line in this area that could affect water quality and species diversity. • South Brook • Upstream – Not Impaired (sustained, stable flow) • Downstream – Moderately Impaired • Confluence with Darby Creek – Moderately Impaired

22. Fishery Survey • Fish are the most familiar component of stream ecosystems to many people and are more easily understood. • Fish, like macroinvertebrates, are useful indicators of stream ecological function and biological impairment because they form the top level of most food webs in stream ecosystems. • Fish surveys are reliable indicators of water quality conditions, but they tend to be more sensitive to physical conditions than pollutants.

23. Fish Survey • Fish communities are the result of channel morphology, hydrology, and water quality. • Fish are mobility and can avoid degraded areas. • Factors such as dissolved oxygen levels, pH, food availability, substrate quality and structure, and adequate hydrology tend to be the most important factors affecting fish utilization of a site • Fish colonization of a particular site can also be used to gauge the presence of barriers to movement and other factors in streams.

24. Fishery Surveys • The fishery community for the Haverford site was used to make inferences about water quality and hydrology, and biological integrity of the stream • Electrofishing surveys were conducted in May 2008.

25. Fish Survey - Darby Creek • Darby Creek is chiefly larger in size with different substrate and greater hydrology (flow) which supports larger fish and a greater diversity of species and biomass. • Darby Creek supported 8 species and 144 fish were caught.

26. Darby Creek

27. Common Fish Species Blacknose dace, Creek Chub, White Sucker, Spotfin Shinner, Am. Eel

28. Fish Survey – South Brook • South Brook has a more balanced community structure than North Brook • with increased fish diversity (balance) and abundance • the addition of a larger fish (American Eel), and greater biomass • and more complete colonization throughout the surveyed reach • 4 species and 210 fish captured

29. Fish Survey – South Brook

30. Fish Survey – North Brook • The fishery of North Brook had • low diversity (dominated by a single species) • smaller size and biomass • Fish were limited by the small stream size and hydrology and a major barrier to fish passage, the Route 476 culvert. • 4 species and 106 specimens

31. Fish Survey – North Brook

32. Thank You Questions or Comments? Trevor Conlow and Christine Altomari Princeton Hydro, LLC 1108 Old York Road Ringoes, New Jersey 08551 Phone: (908) 237- 5660 Fax: (908) 237-5666 caltomari@princetonhydro.com www.princetonhydro.com