Session A, 2015 First Place: Whatever the Case May Be: Investigating Trichoptera Diversity in Three Adirondack Streams

Caddisfly larvae are used as an indicator species for stream health. Anthropogenic development and pollution threaten the quality of streams and the diversity of macroinvertebrates such as caddisflies. The larvae develop in the stream in cases built from sand and organic matter and adults remain near the stream. We hypothesize that the diversity of larvae will be the same as the diversity of adults in three streams at Cranberry Lake Biological Station. Larvae were collected at ten sites in three streams near the campus using d-nets and forceps. Adults were caught at one site at each stream at night using a UV light trap. The ANOVA/Tukey’s Test, Shannon-Weiner Index, paired t-test, and Sorenson’s Coefficient were all performed to determine the difference in diversity between all three streams and between larvae and adults at each stream. The results of the ANOVA/Tukey’s Test showed no significant difference in diversity between all three sites. We reject our null hypothesis, as the paired t-test done for each stream site between aquatic and terrestrial samples showed no significant difference. We therefore conclude that terrestrial caddisfly diversity can be indicative of stream health