Macroinvertebrate community and sediment toxicity data from the Niagara River Area of Concern, New York (ver. 2.0, May 2023)

A data release containing information on macroinvertebrate communities and sediment toxicity in the Niagara River and adjacent areas collected during a sampling effort conducted between 2019 and 2020, and a sampling effort conducted in 2022. During the first sampling effort, bed sediments were collected at 60 sites in the Niagara River, 5 sites on lower Smoke Creek, and 6 sites on Hoyt Lake for use in sediment toxicity testing and determination of grain size distribution and total organic carbon concentration. Additionally, macroinvertebrate samples were collected from the 60 sites on the Niagara River. During the second sampling effort, bed sediments were collected at 10 sites on lower Smoke Creek (5 of which were repeated from the first sampling effort), 5 reference sites on upper Smoke Creek, and 6 sites on Hoyt Lake (all of which were repeated from the first sampling effort) for toxicity testing, macroinvertebrate community assessment, and and determination of grain size distribution and total organic carbon concentration. Additionally, sediments were collected at 10 sites in the Black Rock Canal, 5 reference sites in the upper Black Rock Canal, and 5 sites in Erie Basin Marina for macroinvertebrate community assessment. The selection of site locations and analyses was done by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation based on existing data gaps and prior sediment chemistry data. For both sampling efforts, in situ habitat measurements were taken at the time of sample collection at all sites. All sediment samples were collected using a petite Ponar dredge. Ten-day sediment toxicity tests were performed using two test species, Chironomus dilutus and Hyalella azteca, following standard USEPA test methods. Macroinvertebrates were identified to the lowest practical taxonomic resolution and used to calculate metrics of biological integrity following standard New York State Department of Environmental Conservation procedures. A morphological deformity analysis was also conducted on the mentum mouthpart of midge larvae in the genus Chironomus as an additional measure of toxicity following standard New York State Department of Environmental Conservation procedures. The data release has five separate tables: one containing site locations and habitat information, one containing the results of sediment toxicity tests, one containing macroinvertebrate identifications, one containing standard New York State Department of Environmental Conservation metrics of macroinvertebrate community integrity calculated from the macroinvertebrate identifications, and one containing the results of the morphological deformity analysis.

                                            [
  "010:12"
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                                            {
  "fn": "Scott George",
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                                            [
  "Erie County",
  "New York",
  "Niagara River",
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  "benthic ecosystems",
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