Macroinvertebrates

The Kootenai River (Kootenay in Canada) rises from the Canadian Rockies and flows south in an arc through Montana and Idaho before swinging back into British Columbia and the Columbia River. The uplifted sedimentary rocks forming the southern Canadian Rockies have rich coal deposits that have been mined for many decades. The coal beds and associated rock layers are enriched with other minerals as...

For decades, the lower Boise River downstream of Lucky Peak Reservoir has been highly enriched with phosphorus. Too much of a good thing, the high concentrations of phosphorus create a cycle of excessive plant growth, decreased oxygen for fish, and even algal blooms.

Nutrient enrichment can affect the ecological health of a stream. For example, excessive aquatic plant growth caused by increased nutrients can reduce dissolved oxygen necessary for other aquatic life. Topics of particular interest in this study area include: seasonal patterns among nutrients, flows, algae and plants in streams rooted aquatic plant vs. algae growth stream metabolism and nutrient...