Data for effects of watershed and in-stream liming on macroinvertebrate communities in acidified tributaries to an Adirondack lake

Abstract

In 2012, a program was initiated using in-stream and aerial (whole-watershed) liming to improve water quality and Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) recruitment in three acidified tributaries of a high-elevation Adirondack lake in New York State. Concurrently, macroinvertebrates were sampled annually between 2013 and 2016 at 3 treated and 3 untreated reference sites to assess the effects of each liming technique on this community. Macroinvertebrate communities were monitored at 6 study sites: T16, T8A (50 m upstream of lime application point), T8 (50 m downstream of lime application point), T6 (1230 m downstream of the lime application point), and at two unlimed reference streams, T24 and T20. T24 is of similar orientation, drainage area, discharge, and water chemistry as T16 and was selected as a reference site to assess the impacts of the watershed liming. T20 is a relatively well-buffered tributary that was monitored as a reference site for the in-stream liming effort. This dataset includes macroinvertebrate community data from 4-years (2013-2016) of macroinvertebrate sampling using artificial substrate basket samplers at six sites on tributaries to Honnedaga Lake, NY. Baskets were deployed in pairs at five stations (replicates) distributed longitudinally within each site (10 total baskets per site) and were placed on the bottom in pools where they were unlikely to become desiccated during water level fluctuations. Baskets were deployed between May 12 and May 16 and retrieved between July 10 and July 17 during each year, resulting in a colonization period of approximately two months. At the end of the colonization period, macroinvertebrates were extracted from each basket through a shaking and rinsing process. The contents from each pair of baskets were preserved together in 95-percent ethanol, resulting in 5 replicate samples collected from each site. A 200-organism subsample, or an exhaustive pick when less than 200 organisms were present, was sorted from each replicate using a gridded tray and identified to the lowest possible taxonomic resolution (usually genus or species). These identifications were then used to generate metrics of macroinvertebrate community condition for subsequent analyses. Data are provided in CSV and XLSX (MS Office 2013) format, a sample site location map is also provided (latitude/longitude datum and projection: NAD 1983 UTM Zone 18N).