Rare Finds in Quiet Waters: Searching Shenandoah's Springs for Hidden Life

July 2025

If you’ve ever come across a quiet trickle or shallow pool beside a trail in Shenandoah National Park (NP), you may not have thought about what was living there. But beneath the surface of the park’s cool, high-elevation springs, something extraordinary is going on.

These springs, numbering in the hundreds, dot the park's landscape. More than peaceful water sources, they are biodiversity hotspots. Their consistent temperature and flow make them ideal habitats for tiny aquatic invertebrates like insect larvae, snails, and amphipods (kinds of crustaceans). These creatures may be small, but they play big roles—breaking down leaves, filtering water, and feeding animals such as birds, fish, and salamanders.

Collage of aquatic invertebrates, including a blue crayfish, a caddisfly case made of a collection of small stones hanging on a rock, 3 magnified brown stoneflies, a magnified shell, a magnified amphipod, and a magnified white mayfly.

A closer look at life in Shenandoah’s springs.

Crayfish held by a researcher, 2. Caddisfly case (Neophylax sp.), 3. Stoneflies, 4. Blue Ridge Springsnail (Fontigens orolibas), 5. Blue Ridge Amphipod (Stygobromus spinosus), 6. Mayfly (Ameletus sp.). NPS/Sydney Haney (1, 2, 4, 5) and NPS/Megan Underwood (3, 6)

A small stream of flowing water surrounded by green vegetation.

Tucked into the landscape, spring-fed streams like this one create calm, cool habitats for a wide range of aquatic life. NPS/Elizabeth Sicking

Hidden Impacts in Fragile Places

Spring ecosystems support a remarkable range of life. Sadly, many of their inhabitants are in decline. Freshwater invertebrates, which are animals without backbones like aquatic insects and snails, are disappearing at a rapid pace. Their decline disrupts food webs and leads to a loss in overall biodiversity.

Their ecological value and sensitivity to disturbance make springs especially important to monitor—but they’re often overlooked in conservation. As climatic conditions shift and visitor use increases, scientists and park managers wondered: what’s happening to the species that live in these waters, and are visitors and park infrastructure impacting them?

Getting to the Bottom of It

To find out, Shenandoah NP partnered with Virginia Tech and the National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Program to study 59 high-elevation springs across the park. Researchers selected a diverse range of springs for comparison—some untouched, others equipped with boxes or pipes for water supply; some near trails, others tucked far from visitor access.

A researcher holding datasheets, standing in between a wooden post that says “Spring” and a small spring with a white pipe running to it (left). Two researchers next to a gray box filled with water (right). One of the researchers is looking into the box.

Studying springs with human-made structures.
Researchers collected data at sites with different types of infrastructure, like spring pipes (left) and spring boxes (right), to understand how these modifications might affect spring-dwelling species. NPS/Hannah Swarm

At each site, the scientists gathered three types of aquatic invertebrate samples: from the stream bottom, from the water, and from just above the water’s surface, where aquatic insects emerge as adults. All collected critters were identified in the lab by experts. Researchers also measured environmental factors like temperature, flow, and nearby trail use.

A small spring with a probe submerged in the water (left). An emergence trap that consists of a square white net connected to a container filled with liquid (right).

To study spring life, researchers used tools such as a digital probe (left) to measure water conditions and an emergence trap (right) to catch insects transitioning from water to air as adults. NPS/Hannah Swarm (left), NPS/Sally Entrekin (right)

They found an impressive variety of invertebrates, totaling over 200 species. Among them were 17 considered rare. These included sensitive insects like caddisflies, stoneflies, and mayflies, along with a spring-dwelling amphipod and an aquatic snail.

Always look down at the ground and check for these springs. They’re magical! These small aquatic habitats are rich in biodiversity and beauty.

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