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Abstract

Habitat assessment is a skill that is important to stream ecologists of all levels, including volunteers of water quality monitoring programs such as Georgia Adopt-A-Stream (AAS). Some aspects of habitat assessment can be subjective because observers must use their best judgement in assessing some variables, therefore, it is worthwhile to examine the variation in volunteer stream monitor observations, the effect of training, and the reliability of habitat metrics calculated from the data collected. To gain some insight, we asked volunteers attending a workshop at AAS’s 2022 Confluence Conference to complete a Habitat Assessment Worksheet both before and after a short group discussion. The assessment was completed at two sites on the same creek. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test for differences before and after group discussion, site, and discussion x site interaction factors. Group discussion significantly affected the mean score for only 2 of the 9 measured variables (channel flow status and channel alteration), but significantly reduced the variance of only channel flow status. On the other hand, group discussion increased agreement among the volunteers rating the overall health of the stream using a Stream Habitat Score within the broad categories Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor. Interestingly, the coefficient of variation was markedly lower for the Stream Habitat Score than for any of its constituent 9 variables. Because of this, we conclude that the total stream habitat index is more reliable for comparison between different sites than any of its 9 constituent variables alone. Seven additional workshops were conducted from 2022-2024 and during the 5 workshops when volunteers were asked to work in pairs, the variation in Stream Habitat Score was always lower than when working alone. The coefficient of variation decreased from an average of 0.15 unpaired to 0.12 paired, so we recommend that all monitors work in pairs and come to a consensus with each other when completing their worksheet to increase the reliability of their habitat assessment score.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the following: Georgia Adopt-A-Stream, Unicoi State Park, Georgia Beloved Naturalists, and Clayton State University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB#20220117006). CHK especially thanks several anonymous reviewers for their time and effort.

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