Mountaintop removal mining practices in central Appalachia have directly altered headwater streams through elevated ions (e.g. Ca2+, SO42-) that increase salinity, measured by specific conductance (SC). Ephemeroptera and scrapers are known to decline in abundance and biomass in high-SC streams from physiological stress, while compensation by salt-tolerant detritivore taxa maintain community biomass. However, the role of trophic interactions behind salt-induced community shifts are largely untested in natural environments. We are investigating how changes in quality and quantity of food resources associated with salinization could select for certain functional feeding groups within aquatic macroinvertebrate communities. We measured macroinvertebrate secondary production across nine streams in southwestern Virginia and West Virginia, with SC ranges from 25 to >1500 μS/cm. Macroinvertebrate sampling occurred monthly at three streams and quarterly at nine streams from September 2023 to August 2024, with subsequent genus-level identifications and stable isotope processing of macroinvertebrates and their food standing stocks. We hypothesized that 1) secondary production along our salinity gradient will remain similar as a result of salt-tolerant compensation by shredders and collector-filterers; 2) scraper production will be highest at ~400 μS/cm (mid-range SC) because of increased algal assimilation; and 3) shredder production will increase across the SC gradient in response to microbial and nutrient-enriched leaf litter. We found preliminary evidence that secondary production of sensitive scrapers, particularly those with highly tracheated gills, declined along the SC gradient. Though, there might be a subsidy response to salinization in mid-range SC due to stimulated insect respiration and algal accrual. Furthermore, increased or maintained production of taxa that primarily consume allochthonous organic matter indicate that trophic transfer of salt-subsidized food resources, in combination with direct physiological effects, may influence taxa patterns. Unpacking trophic relationships reveals patterns of taxonomic and functional decline and furthers our understanding of carbon dynamics in salinized freshwater streams, where vulnerable taxa are being lost in many of these systems.