Michael B Griffith

• PhD
• Research Ecologist at United States Environmental Protection Agency

Effective water quality management is based on associations between at least two pieces of information: a stressor and a response. However, assessments are hindered by the lack of pre-developed stressor-response associations. To remedy this, I developed genus stressor-specific sensitivity values (SVs) for up to 704 genera to estimate a sensitive ge...

Stream and river restoration practices have become common in many parts of the world. We ask the question whether such restorations improve freshwater biotic assemblages or functions over time, and if not, can general reasons be identified for such outcomes. We conducted a literature survey and review of studies in which different types of stream r...

Stream and river restoration practices have become common in many parts of the world. To answer the question whether such restoration measures improve freshwater biotic assemblages or functions over time, and if not, can general reasons be identified for such outcomes, we conducted a literature survey and review of studies in which different types...

To better understand how the sulfate (SO4²⁻) anion may contribute to the adverse effects associated with elevated ionic strength or salinity in freshwaters, we measured the uptake and efflux of SO4²⁻ in four freshwater species: the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas, Teleostei: Cyprinidae), paper pondshell (Utterbackia imbecillis, Bivalvia: Unioni...

Field data of fish occurrences and specific conductivity were used to estimate the tolerance of freshwater fish to elevated ion concentrations and to compare the differences between species- and genus-level analyses for individual effects. We derived extirpation concentrations at the 95(th) percentile (XC95) of a weighted cumulative frequency distr...

Anthropogenic sources increase freshwater (FW) salinity and produce differences in constituent ions compared to natural waters. Moreover, ions differ in physiological roles and concentrations in intracellular (IC) and extracellular (EC) fluids. Four FW taxa groups are compared to investigate similarities and differences in ion transport processes a...

A challenge for statewide stream monitoring is visualizing the spatial and statistical characteristics of such data to compare the biotic condition of watersheds and relate that condition to watershed-level estimates of instream variables. We used linked micromaps on stream survey data of 25 subbasins (766-5,982 km2) for biotic condition, nine wate...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) develops methods and tools for evaluating risk management strategies for sediments contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and other legacy pollutants. Monitored natural recovery (MNR) is a risk management alternative that relies on existing physical...

Variation in specific conductivity and major ions in streams must be understood to assess the effects of changes in ionic strength and salinity on stream biota. I compiled data for randomly selected sites from surveys conducted from 1985 to 2009 by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). I followed EPA methods to estimate reference values for...

Runoff and drainage from active and inactive mines are contaminating streams throughout the United States with acidic and metal contaminated waters and sediments. The extent of mining impacts on streams of the coal bearing region of the Central Appalachians and the metal bearing regions of the Rocky Mountains were assessed by three approaches. Firs...

This review assesses the state of the science on the effects of mountaintop mines and valley fills (MTM-VF) on the physicochemical characteristics of streams in the central Appalachian coalfields of West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee, USA. We focus on the impacts of mountaintop removal coal mining, which involves removing all - or some...

Paracapnia angulata in West Virginia occurs in headwater streams that range in pH from 4.5 to 7.5. It is representative of a number of species of Plecoptera, which often increase in abundance in acidic streams because they are tolerant of low pH and related changes in water quality associated with acid precipitation. We compared growth rates and se...

The Little Miami River (LMR) basin, dominated by agriculture, contains two geologically-distinct regions; a glaciated northern till plain with soils three times more permeable than a southern, pre-Wisconsinan drift plain. The influences of two landscape measures, percent row crop cover (%RCC, computed at three spatial scales), and soil permeability...

Griffith, Michael B., F. Bernard Daniel, Matthew A. Morrison, Michael E. Troyer, James M. Lazorchak, and Joseph P. Schubauer-Berigan, 2009. Linking Excess Nutrients, Light, and Fine Bedded Sediments to Impacts on Faunal Assemblages in Headwater Agricultural Streams. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 45(6):1475-1492. Abstra...

To use bioassessments to help diagnose or identify the specific environmental stressors affecting estuaries, we need a better understanding of the relationships among sediment chemistry guidelines, ambient toxicity tests, and community metrics. However, this relationship is not simple because metrics generally assess the responses at the community...

Leaf litter processing rates and macroinvertebrate shredder assemblages in leaf packs were compared in four streams on the Allegheny plateau in the central Appalachian Mountains, U.S.A.; these streams were characterized by different bedrock geology and streamwater pH. Leaf litter processing rates were fastest in the neutral streams, slowest in the...

To assess the relative sensitivity of assessments using community metrics for macroinvertebrates, periphyton, and fish assemblages, we compared the results of three parallel assessments using these assemblages at 86 stream reaches sampled in 1994 and 1995 by the Regional Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (R-EMAP) in the mineralized zo...

Increased inputs of both fine sediments and nutrients to streams are associated with alterations of catchment land cover. However, the mechanisms by which altered land cover causes increased inputs differs between sediments and nutrients. This results in variation in the relative roles of these stressors in reducing biotic integrity in different st...

The northern half of the Little Miami River watershed (LMRW) was graded by the Wisconsinan glacier; the southern half lies beyond the glacier terminus and is set in an older, Illinoisan landscape. Benthic invertebrates were collected in 35 headwater streams (sub-watersheds) in the LMRW for four consecutive years and the land cover was quantified at...

If bioassessments are to help diagnose the specific environmental stressors affecting streams, a better understanding is needed of the relationships between community metrics and ambient criteria or ambient bioassays. However, this relationship is not simple, because metrics assess responses at the community level of biological organization, while...

We compared fish, macroinvertebrate, and periphyton assemblages collected from 400 streams with stream chemistry, channel and riparian habitat conditions, and watershed land use to develop an integrative, multiple assemblage index of biotic integrity. Streams were sampled from 1993-1998 as part of the US Environmental Protection Agency's Environmen...

This chapter presents the current uses, concepts and anticipated future directions of biomonitoring and bioindicators in the regulatory and research programs of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The chapter provides a historical look on how biomonitoring and bioindicators evolved in the USEPA or its predecessor agencies fro...

The Macroinvertebrate Biotic Integrity Index (MBII) was developed from data collected at 574 wadeable stream reaches in the Mid-Atlantic Highlands region (MAHR) by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP). Over 100 candidate metrics were evaluated for range, precision, responsiveness...

This chapter presents the current uses, concepts and anticipated future directions of bio- monitoring and bioindicators in the regulatory and research programs of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The chapter provides a historical look on how biomonitoring and bioindicators evolved in the USEPA or its predecessor agencies f...

We assessed relationships between environmental characteristics and macroinvertebrate assemblages in lotic habitats of California's Central Valley with community metric and multivariate statistical approaches. Using canonical ordination analyses, we contrasted results when assemblage structure was assessed with macroinvertebrate metrics, as suggest...

We assessed relationships between chemical and physical characteristics and periphyton assemblages in stream reaches of the mineral belt in the Southern Rockies ecoregion of Colorado, United States. Using canonical ordination analyses, we contrasted results wherein assemblage structure was assessed using community metrics or species abundances. Our...

We assessed relationships between chemical and physical characteristics and periphyton assemblages in stream reaches of the mineral belt in the Southern Rockies ecoregion of Colorado, United States. Using canonical ordination analyses, we contrasted results wherein assemblage structure was assessed using community metrics or species abundances. Our...

Using redundancy analysis (RDA) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA), we assessed relationships among chemical and physical characteristics and macroinvertebrate assemblages at stream sites sampled by the Regional Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (R-EMAP) in the mineral belt of the Southern Rockies Ecoregion in Colorado. We co...

Using redundancy analysis (RDA) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA), we assessed relationships among chemical and physical characteristics and macroinvertebrate assemblages at stream sites sampled by the Regional Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (R-EMAP) in the mineral belt of the Southern Rockies Ecoregion in Colorado. We co...

This research was conducted to determine whether elevated concentrations of metals in biosolids would result in increased accumulation of these metals in plants growing on an alkaline, artificial soil created by addition of municipal sewage biosolids to inorganic waste materials during reclamation of a filled lime settling basin. Accumulation of me...

With Malaise traps, we monitored the flight of adult Plecoptera and Trichoptera following emergence from headwater streams in the Fernow Experimental Forest, WV, during the second year after application of diflubenzuron. We placed five traps at various distances from each stream during May through September of 1991, 1992, and 1993. We collected pre...

We monitored the lateral dispersal of adult Plecoptera and Trichoptera following emergence from 4 headwater streams that drain adjoining forested catchments on the Allegheny Plateau of West Virginia. We assessed these dispersal distances to examine the lateral distance traveled by particular taxa and the variation in these distances among streams....

The growth rate and annual production of the crayfish Cambarus bartonii were estimated in Crouch Run, a 3rd-order stream that drains a high-elevation catchment in West Virginia and which has been acidified because of acidic precipitation. Production of C, bartonii in Crouch Run was 525.8 mg AFDW m(-2) yr(-1) and was less than that for C, bartonii i...

Malaise traps were used to monitor emergence and flight distances of adult Plecoptera and Trichoptera from headwater streams in the Fernow Experimental Forest, West Virginia, before and after application of diflubenzuron. Diflubenzuron was applied to 2 stream catchments in May 1992. Emergence and Hight distances in 2 treatment and 2 reference catch...

We examined microbial colonization, exoenzyme activity, and processing of leaves of yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), red maple (Acer rubrum), and white oak (Quercus alba) in three streams on the Allegheny Plateau of West Virginia, United States. Leaf packs were placed in streams that varied in their underlying bedrock geology, and therefore...

We used unglazed quarry tiles to survey periphyton community structure in two small Appalachian mountain streams from January through April in 1990, 1991, and 1992. Mean periphyton cell densities were greatest in 1990 (maximum of 1.3 108 cells cm–2), the year with the fewest periods of high discharge; cell densities were lowest in 1991 (maximum of...

We collected quantitative macroinvertebrate samples monthly from September 1989 to October 1990 from four streams on the Allegheny Plateau of West Virginia that were characterized by different bedrock geology and streamwater pH. Mean pH was 4.3, 6.1, and 6.0, and 7.5 in the four streams. We compared species and functional group composition of the b...

Leaf litter processing rates and fungal biomass on leaf detritus were compared in four streams of different water chemistry. The streams drained catchments underlain by different bedrock types and varied in mean pH from 4.3 to 7.5 and in mean alkalinity from 0.0 to 35.8 mg CaCO3 l–1. Processing rates were fastest in WS3 and WS4, which had a pH of 6...

We used the size-frequency method to calculate annual production of the shredder functional group in four streams on the Allegheny Plateau of West Virginia. These streams were characterized by different bedrock geology, streamwater pH, and alkalinity. Mean alkalinity was 40.8, 0.9, 0.7, and 0.0, and mean pH was 7.5, 6.1, 6.0, and 4.3 in the four st...

We evaluated the use of a pump/core sampler in shallow, rocky, second order streams in the Appalachian mountains of West Virginia. Estimated densities were higher when macroinvertebrates were collected with the pump/core sampler than with a Surber sampler. Dipterans accounted for most of the higher densities in pump/core samples.

Rates of leaf litter processing and densities of macroinvertebrates in leaf packs were compared at two sites that differed in catchment logging history. The processing rate of leaves of sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) was significantly faster in a stream draining a catchment that had been logged about 20 years ago than in one that had been undi...

Typescript. Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 1992. Includes bibliographical references.