This webpage presents a brief summary of the field work completed to date during our surveys for aquatic oligochaetes and other macroinvertebratesin the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, including a map of the Park designating relative locations of stream, spring, seep, cave, and standing water habitats from which samples have been collected. Specific locality information for each of these sites is available via links from abbreviated summaries, by year, below this map. Additional information associated with this research is accessible via links from the navigation bar at the bottom of this page.
Figure 1. Sites within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee, USA, where surveys for aquatic Oligochaeta and other macroinvertebrates were conducted by Mark J. Wetzel (Illinois Natural History Survey [INHS], Champaign), M.A. Peggy Morgan (Florida Department of Environmental Protection [FDEP], Tampa), and several volunteers. Specific locality information for each of these sites is provided via links noted in the summary paragraphs by year, below. This map was created by S.J. Taylor (INHS) using arcGIS software.
1999 Field Work. Surveys for aquatic oligochaetes and other macroinvertebrates were conducted at 11 stream sites and 1 spring site in mid-September 1999. This work was also summarized in a project report (Wetzel 1999) to DLIA, and subsequently presented at their annual meeting in Gatlinburg, TN, 8-10 December 1999.
Specific site locality information for sites surveyed in 1999 is provided HERE.
2000 Field Work. Surveys for aquatic oligochaetes and other macroinvertebrates were conducted at 15 stream sites and 2 spring sites in mid-September 2000. This work was summarized in a project report (Wetzel 2000) to DLIA, and was presented at their annual meeting in Gatlinburg, TN, 19-21 December 2000.
Specific site locality information for sites surveyed in 2000 is provided HERE.
2001 Field Work. Surveys for aquatic oligochaetes and other macroinvertebrates were conducted in April 2001 (12 stream sites, three spring sites, one pond, and one small swamp), and again in September and October 2001 (10 stream sites and six spring/seep sites). A summary of this work was presented at the annual meeting of DLIA in Gatlinburg, TN, 28 November-1 December 2001, and was included in a project report submitted electronically to DLIA in May 2002.
Specific site locality information for sites surveyed in 2001 is provided HERE.
2002 Field Work. Surveys for aquatic oligochaetes and other macroinvertebrates were conducted in April 2002 (11 stream sites, two spring/seep sites, and rimstone pools in Gregory Cave). A field trip to the Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center at Purchase Knob in August, 2002, was also very successful. During this visit (and with the assistance of Susan Sachs and Paul Super, NPS scientists and staff who are stationed at this facility), I had the distinct pleasure to work with Cherokee High School biology students during their all-day class field trip to the Science Learning Center. In addition, adult visitors to the area (guests of the Swag Country Inn), hiking to the Purchase Knob facility with Liz Domingue (Outdoor Adventures, Sevierville, TN), were introduced to the ATBI project and several of the current research projects being funded by DLIA. Field work conducted during this August trip resulted in collections of oligochaetes and other macroinvertebrates from two streams and two spring/seeps on the Purchase property, and from a site on the Middle Prong Little River, just downstream of the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont. Information pertaining to processing of samples collected in 2002 is linked from "Progress..." in the navigation bar, below. A summary of this work was presented at the annual meeting of DLIA in Gatlinburg, TN, December 2002, and will be included in a project report to be submitted to DLIA in early June 2003.
Specific site locality information for sites surveyed in 2002 is provided HERE.
2003 Field Work. Surveys for aquatic oligochaetes and other macroinvertebrates during 2003 were conducted 27 April - 1 May (12 stream sites and four spring/seep sites) and 21-25 September (13 streams, one spring, and Smokemont sewage treatment lagoon). Information pertaining to processing of samples collected in 2003 is linked from "Progress..." in the navigation bar, below. A summary of this work will be presented at the annual meeting of DLIA in Gatlinburg, TN, December 2003, and will be included in a project report to submitted to DLIA in May 2004.
On Sunday 27 April, we had the opportunity to participate in a DLIA-sponsored public outreach opportunity - "Take a Llama to Lunch" hike along Lynn Camp Prong, located SE of the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont. During this hike, DLIA Administrative Officer Jeanie Hilten and NPS/ATBI entomologist Becky Nichols introduced 14 participants to the ATBI project and several of the current research projects being funded by DLIA, including our surveys for aquatic oligochaetes and other macroinvertebrates. Local naturalist and author Ila Hatter (Stecoah, NC) shared her botanical expertise with participants, and photographer Kevin Fitz Patrick recorded participants' experiences for the ATBI project. Llamas were provided by Sandy Sgrillo of Smoky Mountains Llama Treks - and were quite well-behaved during this outing.
On Monday 22 September, we had the opportunity to work with Susan Sachs (NPS-Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center at Purchase Knob) and Jonathan Mays (NPS) during a public education/outreach activity with two biology classes from Cherokee High School; we worked with each class at Mingus Creek, near the Smokemont Visitors Center, demonstrating field collecting techniques for aquatic invertebrates, and discussing some of the habitat requirements and morphological adaptations of many of the stream macroinvertebrates that students collected from the stream.
Specific locality information for sites surveyed in April/May and September 2003 is provided HERE.
2004 Field Work. Surveys for aquatic oligochaetes and other macroinvertebrates were conducted 16-19 May (7 stream sites, one springrun, one limestone sink (west of the Cades Cove loop road), two terrestrial habitats [for non-natife species of earthworms], three wetland/bog/mucky areas, a small pond in central Cades Cove [dry this visit], and Cades Cove sewage treatment lagoon [lower pond]).
During our second visit to the Park this year (18-22 October), ten stream and three spring/seep sites were surveyed (this trip, originally scheduled for September, was postponed because of hurricanes Frances and Ivan). Information pertaining to processing of samples collected in 2004 is linked from "Progress..." in the navigation bar, below. A summary of this work was presented at the annual meeting of DLIA (Gatlinburg, TN, December 2004), and will be included in a project report currently in preparation.
Specific locality information for sites surveyed in May and October 2004 is provided HERE.
2005 Field Work. Our surveys in 2005 were completed 20-27 August, with focus on 13 streams and groundwater habitats (springs, seeps) in the Tremont, Cosby, and Deep Creek areas, and also along the Foothills Parkway (NW). During this visit, we also had an opportunity to demonstrate our field techniques (collections for aquatic macroinvertebrates and field water quality monitoring) for staff working at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont (GSMIT).
Specific locality information for sites in the Park (and also along the Blue Ridge Parkway) that were surveyed in August 2005 is provided HERE.
2006 Field Work. Only one stream site in the Park was surveyed this year - Mill Creek (on the west side of Cades Cove, neaer the visitors center); that survey was conducted in conjunction with a post-meeting collecting trip after the annual Association of Southeastern Biologists meeting in Gatlinburg, TN, in March. Specific locality information for this Mill Creek site will be included here soon.
I encourage you to use the site navigation bar, below, to familiarize yourself with the various aspects of this project, the research and educational opportunities associated with Discover LIfe in America and the All Taxa Biodiversity program, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
page update: 12 January 2007