Ecological indicators provide a quick, objective, and relatively easy method to gauge the condition of a particular resource, and aid greatly in the establishment of conservation priorities and the development of restoration goals. Headwater systems are degraded by point source stressors, like acid mine drainage, and also by more cumulative and insidious stressors that operate at large scales, such as forest fragmentation.
Ecological indicators exist that respond to site-level attributes, such as water quality.
Recently, new indicators have emerged that respond to landscape-scale attributes, such as bird communities. We studied LOWA on forested headwater streams in three physiographic provinces of Pennsylvania between March and July of 1999. Low water quality in our sample streams is due to low pH, primarily resulting from acid mine drainage in southwestern Pennsylvania. The 1999 field season included important research developments and advancements in our understanding of LOWA biology. In 1999, we completed invertebrate identification from our 1998 macroinvertebrate sampling in the Central and Eastern study areas.