@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{line_shaffer_blackwell_2011, title={Sediment export from a highway construction site in central North Carolina}, volume={54}, DOI={10.13031/2013.36264}, abstractNote={Sediment export and turbid runoff from active construction sites continue to be a source of impairment to surface water resources. Few studies have been published that include monitoring data from construction sites, particularly highway construction sites. In this study, water quality monitoring of runoff originating from three sections of a highway construction corridor was conducted during a 4.5-year period. Two unnamed tributaries, referred to as Tilly and Ellery for this study, were monitored at two locations downstream of the highway corridor, and one tributary, referred to as King's Mill, was monitored upstream and downstream of the highway corridor. At each station, discharge was continuously monitored and flow-proportional samples were collected. Samples were analyzed for total suspended solids, total solids, and turbidity. A recording raingauge was also maintained at one of the highway monitoring stations. Monitoring data at all stations documented increased sediment export and turbidity levels during the construction period as compared to the pre- and post-construction periods. During construction, sediment export rates ranged from 2.7 to 17.7 Mg ha-1 year-1, while mean turbidity levels ranged from 466 to 1,607 NTU for the five stations downstream of the highway corridor. For the station with the greatest sediment export, about 32% of the export occurred during two back-to-back tropical storms. At this time, one section of the highway was particularly susceptible to erosion because more than 6 m of fill material had recently been added to bring the road surface to near grade and vegetation had not yet been established. Increases in sediment export and turbidity at the other four downstream stations during highway construction were less pronounced. Mean turbidity levels during construction at all downstream stations were greater than 50 NTU. Post-construction mean turbidity levels were much less than during construction but were still greater than pre-construction at four of the five stations. Post-construction turbidity levels on the King's Mill tributary downstream of the highway were not significantly different from upstream.}, number={1}, journal={Transactions of the ASABE}, author={Line, D. E. and Shaffer, M. B. and Blackwell, J. D.}, year={2011}, pages={105–111} }