@article{doll_jennings_spooner_penrose_usset_blackwell_fernandez_2016, title={Can rapid assessments predict the biotic condition of restored streams?}, volume={8}, url={http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/8/4/143}, DOI={10.3390/w8040143}, abstractNote={Five rapid visual stream assessment methods were applied to 65 restored streams in North Carolina, and the results were correlated with measured macroinvertebrate community metrics to evaluate predictive ability. The USEPA Rapid Bioassessment Protocol (RBP), USDA Stream Visual Assessment Protocol (SVAP), Peterson’s Riparian Channel and Environmental Inventory (RCE), NCSU Eco-Geomorphological Assessment (EGA), and NCSU Stream Performance Assessment (SPA) were applied by teams with expertise in hydrology, fluvial geomorphology, and aquatic ecology. Predictions of most macroinvertebrate metrics were improved by re-weighting assessment variables using principal component analysis (PCA) and including watershed factors (e.g., size, slope, land use). The correlations of EGA, RCE, SPA and SVAP assessment results to macroinvertebrate metrics were most improved by variable re-weighting using PCA, while the correlations of RBP were most improved by adding watershed parameters. Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC) indicates that PCA re-weighting including watershed parameters improves the predictor model for the total number of dominant EPT taxa more than using the sum total raw points for all five assessment methods. To demonstrate the application of the study results, a single-value index was generated for the RBP method using principal component regression (PCR) based on the EPT (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera) taxa metric.}, number={4}, journal={Water}, author={Doll, B. and Jennings, G. and Spooner, J. and Penrose, D. and Usset, J. and Blackwell, J. and Fernandez, M.}, year={2016} }
 @article{doll_jennings_spooner_penrose_usset_blackwell_fernandez_2016, title={Identifying watershed, landscape, and engineering design factors that influence the biotic condition of restored streams}, volume={8}, url={http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/8/4/151}, DOI={10.3390/w8040151}, abstractNote={Restored stream reaches at 79 sites across North Carolina were sampled for aquatic macroinvertebrates using a rapid bioassessment protocol. Morphological design parameters and geographic factors, including watershed and landscape parameters (e.g., valley slope, substrate), were also compiled for these streams. Principal component regression analyses revealed correlations between design and landscape variables with macroinvertebrate metrics. The correlations were strengthened by adding watershed variables. Ridge regression was used to find the best-fit model for predicting dominant taxa from the “pollution sensitive” orders of Ephemeroptera (mayflies), Plecoptera (stoneflies), and Trichoptera (caddisflies), or EPT taxa, resulting in coefficient weights that were most interpretable relative to site selection and design parameters. Results indicate that larger (wider) streams located in the mountains and foothills where there are steeper valleys, larger substrate, and undeveloped watersheds are expected to have higher numbers of dominant EPT taxa. In addition, EPT taxa numbers are positively correlated with accessible floodplain width and negatively correlated with width-to-depth ratio and sinuosity. This study indicates that both site selection and design should be carefully considered in order to maximize the resulting biotic condition and associated potential ecological uplift of the stream.}, number={4}, journal={Water}, author={Doll, B. and Jennings, G. and Spooner, J. and Penrose, D. and Usset, J. and Blackwell, J. and Fernandez, M.}, year={2016} }
 @article{doll_jennings_spooner_penrose_usset_2015, title={EVALUATING THE ECO-GEOMORPHOLOGICAL CONDITION OF RESTORED STREAMS USING VISUAL ASSESSMENT AND MACROINVERTEBRATE METRICS}, volume={51}, ISSN={["1752-1688"]}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jawr.12233}, DOI={10.1111/jawr.12233}, abstractNote={Abstract}, number={1}, journal={JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION}, author={Doll, Barbara A. and Jennings, Gregory D. and Spooner, Jean and Penrose, David L. and Usset, Joseph L.}, year={2015}, month={Feb}, pages={68–83} }
 @article{violin_cada_sudduth_hassett_penrose_bernhardt_2011, title={Effects of urbanization and urban stream restoration on the physical and biological structure of stream ecosystems}, volume={21}, number={6}, journal={Ecological Applications}, author={Violin, C. R. and Cada, P. and Sudduth, E. B. and Hassett, B. A. and Penrose, D. L. and Bernhardt, E. S.}, year={2011}, pages={1932–1949} }
 @article{tullos_penrose_jennings_cope_2009, title={Analysis of functional traits in reconfigured channels: implications for the bioassessment and disturbance of river restoration}, volume={28}, ISSN={["0887-3593"]}, DOI={10.1899/07-122.1}, abstractNote={Abstract Channel reconfiguration is a popular but controversial approach to river restoration, and ecological responses to channel reconfiguration have not been rigorously assessed. We compared physical-habitat variables, taxonomic and functional-trait diversities, taxonomic composition, and functional-trait abundances between 24 pairs of upstream (control) and downstream reconfigured (restored) reaches in 3 catchment land uses (urban, agricultural, rural) across the North Carolina Piedmont. We asked how environmental filters and functional species traits might provide insight to biological responses to restoration. Taxonomic and functional-trait differences between control and restored reaches suggest that restoration affected aquatic assemblages only in agricultural and rural catchments. Our results highlight 2 important aspects of channel reconfiguration as a restoration practice. First, responses to restoration differ between agricultural/rural and urban catchments, possibly because of modified hydrological regimes caused by urbanization. Second, we find evidence that channel reconfiguration disturbs food and habitat resources in stream ecosystems. Taxa sensitive to disturbance were characteristic of control reaches, whereas insensitive taxa were characteristic of restored reaches. Abundances of traits related to reproduction (voltinism, development, synchronization of emergence, adult life span), mobility (occurrence in drift, maximum crawling rate, swimming ability), and use of resources (trophic and habitat preferences) differed significantly between control and recently restored reaches. Our results suggest that taxa in restored habitats are environmentally selected for traits favored in disturbed environments. Our work suggests how functional-trait approaches could benefit the practice of river restoration when used to target restoration activities and to develop informed expectations regarding recovery following restoration activities.}, number={1}, journal={JOURNAL OF THE NORTH AMERICAN BENTHOLOGICAL SOCIETY}, author={Tullos, Desiree D. and Penrose, David L. and Jennings, Gregory D. and Cope, W. Gregory}, year={2009}, month={Mar}, pages={80–92} }
 @misc{tullos_penrose_jennings_2006, title={Development and application of a bioindicator for benthic habitat enhancement in the North Carolina Piedmont}, volume={27}, ISSN={["1872-6992"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.ecoleng.2006.03.001}, abstractNote={This paper describes the development, application, and evaluation of a method for assessing the effectiveness of stream restoration activities in enhancing four lotic habitats based on the presence of habitat specialists. Three genera were identified as specialists for indicators of the enhancement of woody debris, coarse bed substrate, fine roots, and leaf pack habitats. These indicator genera were determined for each habitat type through indicator species analysis, extensive literature review, and consultation with local experts and a statewide distribution database. Water quality influences were isolated by excluding taxa with low tolerance to degraded water quality conditions. The difference in the presence of indicator genera between pairs of upstream-restored reaches was used to evaluate the success of the restoration activities in re-establishing benthic habitats. Application of this methodology to 27 paired reaches in the North Carolina Piedmont indicated that no change in specialists was the most frequent result of restoration, particularly for the woody debris habitats, when each habitat was examined individually. By combining the habitats into a composite score, a distinction by land use emerged, with habitats in urban areas indicating the greatest enhancement, while presence of the indicator genera at the agricultural and rural sites showed no clear trend of improvement or degradation in response to the restoration activities. When this composite IG metric was compared to the EPT taxa richness metric and RBP scores, the dependency of the EPT taxa richness metric on upstream conditions and the improvement in discriminatory ability over the RBP score suggest that this indicator genera (IG) metric provides a distinct signal for representing the biological perspective on the enhancement of benthic habitats by stream restoration activities. While further development of the methodology is desirable, this framework introduces a valuable alternative for evaluating benthic habitat enhancement in various hydrogeographic and land use conditions, and is constructive for guiding restoration designs to maximize biotic integrity.}, number={3}, journal={ECOLOGICAL ENGINEERING}, author={Tullos, Desiree D. and Penrose, David L. and Jennings, Gregory D.}, year={2006}, month={Oct}, pages={228–241} }