Researchers report large-scale changes in insect species inhabiting streams, rivers
Scientists from Utah State University and the US Environmental Protection Agency discovered that the frequencies of occurrence of hundreds of insect species inhabiting streams have been altered relative to the conditions that existed prior to wide spread pollution and habitat alteration. Results were similar for the two study regions (the Mid-Atlantic Highlands and North Carolina), where frequencies of occurrence for more than 70 percent of species have shifted. In both regions, nearly all historically common species were found in fewer streams and rivers than expected. The study was recently published in Freshwater Science. The authors of the study are Charles (Chuck) Hawkins of Utah State University and Lester Yuan of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.