ABSTRACT:

Multiple types of data were collected at four sites along West Creek in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Each site had a large piece of anthropogenic debris; water tank, shopping cart, concrete pipe, round metal and concrete base. GPS survey data were collected in spring and fall of 2023 and spring and summer of 2024. Data was also collected on between 10 and 16 0.5msq patches at each site. They were photographed in the fall of 2022, spring and fall of 2023 and spring and summer of 2024. A modified Pebble Counts workflow (Purinton and Bookhagen 2021) was used to create a dataset of b-axis measurements.

ABSTRACT:

Trash is a pervasive form of pollution in aquatic ecosystems. A lot of work has been done on trash in the ocean, but less work on trash in streams and rivers and how they contribute to this worldwide problem. This work is focused on trash in urban stream ecosystems, where it is, and how it moves. Mark-recapture trash surveys were performed in Potash Brook, an urban stream in South Burlington, Vermont. In four reaches, data on the location of the trash and its properties were recorded along 30 m transects. Repeat surveys were conducted on at least 4 subsequent dates during summer and fall 2024, and 5 dates in 2025. The trash was only removed during the last fall sampling date each year. Residence times were calculated as days between the surveys when the trash was first seen and when it was no longer found.

ABSTRACT:

This study was on anthropogenic debris (trash) in urban streams around Cuyahoga County, Ohio and Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Ten stream reaches were visited in North Carolina. Fourteen stream reaches were visited in 2021 and 11 were re-visited in 2024 in Ohio. The data collected were on the physical properties of the trash and their location within the stream. Within each 50 m reach, 4-6 transects were created across the stream channel and every piece of trash within 2 m of the transect was included. Cluster analysis on the variables collected was used to create morphospecies of trash and microhabitats within the stream. Data analysis was done using those clusters and including environmental and land use data from the reaches and surrounding areas. Manuscript in prep (Stumpf et al.)