They believe that these relationships will be consistent across a regional gradient. Brooks and colleagues will conduct field sampling in headwater streams and riparian habitats over three years within three ecoregions in Pennsylvania the Pocono Mountains, Central Pennsylvania, and the Laurel Highlands. Data analysis will compare bioindicators and their habitats in three relatively pristine, or reference, watersheds and three impacted watersheds per ecoregion. The research team will focus on stressors that alter the natural vegetation, degrade water quality, and change the surrounding landscape from the reference standard. The primary stressor of interest is forest fragmentation and the habitat changes it causes, such as sedimentation, thermal changes, and nest parasitism.
Acidification is a primary stressor in some regions.
Intensive field sampling will occur during the first two years of the study. Field work related to the Louisiana waterthrush will include locating and monitoring nest locations, banding the adult breeding population, identifying foraging sites, and describing the riparian habitat. Macroinvertebrate sampling will occur during a period in the spring coinciding with waterthrush fledging. Stream channels will be physically characterized through measurement of several hydrologic and habitat suitability parameters. Water chemistry will also be assessed.