Short-term variation in temperature and precipitation is not correlated with MiCorpsaquatic macroinvertebrate scores

Abstract

Watersheds provide many important ecological services. Some such services include water purification, flood mitigation, water retention, and nourishing the flora and fauna that make their home there. Watersheds are integral for humanities agriculture, recreation, and industry. In order to receive these ecological services in the future, people and policy need to focus on creating more sustainable model. To create more sustainable policy and infrastructure, data about the watersheds health, features, and creatures needs to be established and trusted. One such volunteer operation that monitors Kalamazoo county’s watersheds is MiCorps(Michigan Clean Water Corps). MiCorpsstream health data was taken by sampling macroinvertebrates and using those as a bio indicator of health and pollution. Disturbances, such as precipitation and temperature, can kill off or benefit certain species. In order for data to be trusted for policy the short term effects on MiCorpsscores needs to be looked at. This study examined short term precipitation and temperature changes taken over a 15 day span before sampling to see if MiCorpsscores were negatively correlated with more extreme weather changes.