5/18/2015  |   10:30 - 10:45   |  103DE

NEON: A NEW PLATFORM FOR LARGE RIVER ECOLOGY The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) is a continental-scale infrastructure project designed to provide open source data to address the impacts of climate change, land-use, and invasive species on ecosystem structure and function. Using a combination of standardized continuous in situ measurements and observational sampling, the NEON Aquatic array will produce over 200 data products at each site for 30 years to facilitate spatiotemporal analysis of the drivers of ecosystem change. Three sites in Alabama were chosen to address linkages between watershed-scale processes and ecosystem changes along an eco-hydrological gradient within the Tombigbee River Basin. Two sites in the Black Warrior and Tombigbee rivers will provide a unique platform for large river ecological research. The NEON Aquatic design includes continuous measurements in surface water, groundwater, and meteorology. Observational sampling includes water chemistry, isotopes and a suite of biological indices from microbes to vertebrates. In 2013-2014 NEON conducted site characterization work to determine 1) the spatiotemporal variability across the water column, 2) spatial variability of surface water, and 3) the physical and biogeochemical drivers, informing our infrastructure designs and sampling protocols.

Jesse Vance (Primary Presenter/Author), National Ecological Observatory Network, jvance@battelleecology.org;


Michael Fitzgerald (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), NEON, inc, mfitzgerald@neoninc.org;


Stephanie Parker (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Battelle, National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), sparker@battelleecology.org;
NEON Aquatic Ecologist and Research Scientist

Charlotte Roehm (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), NEON, inc, croehm@neoninc.org;


Keli Goodman (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) operated by Battelle, kgoodman@battelleecology.org;


Charles Bohall (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), NEON, inc, cbohall@neoninc.org;


Ryan Utz (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Chatham University, utz.ryan@gmail.com;

5/18/2015  |   10:45 - 11:00   |  103DE

WINDOWS INTO THE PAST: MUSEUM COLLECTIONS OF FRESHWATER MUSSELS FOR THE STUDY OF LONG-TERM WATERSHED DISTURBANCE Freshwater mussels comprise a diverse fauna with multistage life histories. Their shells provide a unique opportunity to conduct investigations of historical changes in aquatic ecosystems. Mussels deposit annual growth rings in their calcareous shells, much like tree growth rings, so that shells from archeological and museum collections can serve as records of long-term environmental change over the past 1000 years. We used sclerochronology techniques to evaluate changes in age-and-growth patterns in two mussel species collected from the Illinois River near Havana, IL from 1894-2013 as well as archaeological shells from circa 1000 A.D. Age-and-growth analyses indicated that modern animals are growing at a 50% greater rate and reaching a maximum size that is 20 mm larger than their 1894 counterparts. We also used mussel shells to evaluate changes in stable isotopes and legacy contaminants over the same time period. By constructing a historical biochronology response to environmental changes, we can better understand the dynamics of aquatic systems and the recovery rate after substantial perturbations and restoration efforts.

Andrea Fritts (Primary Presenter/Author), Illinois Natural History Survey, afritts@illinois.edu;


Mark Fritts (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Illinois Natural History Survey, mwfritts@illinois.edu;


Wendell Haag (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), US Forest Service, Center for Bottomland Hardwoods Research, whaag@fs.fed.us;


Andrew Rypel (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Andrew.Rypel@wisconsin.gov;


Jason DeBoer (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Illinois Natural History Survey, Illinois River Biological Station, jadeboer@illinois.edu;


Andrew Casper (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Illinois Natural History Survey, afcasper@illinois.edu;

5/18/2015  |   11:00 - 11:15   |  103DE

DIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY STRUCTURE OF BENTHIC INVERTEBRATES BASED ON GIS-DERIVED HABITAT MAPS IN THE NIAGARA RIVER Benthic habitat mapping has great potential to increase our understanding of the spatial distribution of benthic communities in large rivers. We used bathymetric data based on side scan sonar and GIS software to create habitat maps in the lower Niagara River. These maps will be used to link the distribution of physical habitat characteristics, such as water depth, sediment size, and organic matter content with biological information obtained from direct benthic sampling. Physical habitat maps were created in ArcMap 10.1 and benthic samples were taken proportionally from all identified habitats based on substrate classes. The data on species composition, density, and biomass were used to employ benthic community biological indices for the various types of identified habitats. Results from this study will help to evaluate the current status of benthic community in different habitats and select valuable habitats for conservation in the Niagara River. The benthic maps can also serve as a basis to identify quality habitats from which effective management strategies in the Niagara River ecosystem can be developed.

Knut Mehler (Primary Presenter/Author), Great Lakes Center at SUNY Buffalo State, mehlerk@buffalostate.edu;


Alexander Y. Karatayev (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Great Lakes Center at SUNY Buffalo State, karataay@buffalostate.edu;


Lyubov E. Burlakova (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Great Lakes Center at SUNY Buffalo State, burlakle@buffalostate.edu;

5/18/2015  |   11:15 - 11:30   |  103DE

SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL PROCESSES INFLUENCE STRUCTURE OF LARGE RIVER BENTHIC COMMUNITIES Processes structuring benthic communities interact across space and time to link organisms from multiple locations within river networks. However, broad scale studies of community dynamics typically use data from a single sampling date, causing us to attribute ecological patterns over space to processes operating on different temporal scales. We investigated temporal changes in community dynamics by surveying benthic communities over three consecutive years from twenty-seven patches within three riffles spanning 14 km of the West Branch Susquehanna River. We then compared relative influences of spatial orientation, distance between sites, local environmental factors, and inter-annual variability of community structure in these patches. Preliminary data suggest the most abundant genera were spatially consistent through time although there was high inter-annual variability in densities of closely related and dominant genera (e.g. Cheumatopsyche and Hydropsyche). Certain taxa were only found in particular years but had ubiquitous distributions and low abundance (e.g. Neophylax and Epeorus). Our results indicate while influence of certain processes may be consistent through time (e.g. species sorting) others are temporally sensitive and strongly dependent on stochasticity and dispersal.

Matthew McTammany (Primary Presenter/Author), Bucknell University, mmctamma@bucknell.edu;


Matthew Wilson (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Susquehanna University, mjw029@bucknell.edu;


Elizabeth Walters (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Bucknell University, emw023@bucknell.edu;


Meghan Reilly (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Bucknell University, mer039@bucknell.edu;

5/18/2015  |   11:30 - 11:45   |  103DE

QUANTIFYING THE PROCESSING OF LARGE WOODY DEBRIS BY LARVAL CADDISFLIES IN THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER Large woody debris (LWD) provides critical habitat for fish and macroinvertebrates in large river systems. Wood processing by larval filter-feeding caddisflies is documented, but not yet quantified. An experiment was conducted to determine if caddisfly wood-processing rates differed by wood type (i.e., hard vs. soft). Processing rates were expected to be greater on soft wood (poplar) than on hard wood (oak). Unenclosed, pre-weighted substrates for both wood types (treatments) and controls (substrates in exclosures) were placed mid-water in a main-channel border area of the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) for 113 days. Numerous pits from caddisfly excavation were found on both treatment substrates. Control substrates were not pitted. Poplar and oak substrate treatments lost an average of 10.5% and 6.2% of their original weight, respectively. Differences in the average-percent weight loss between wood types was significant (P = 0.03). Processing of LWD by larval filter-feeding caddisflies is an important ecosystem service that may be functioning throughout the Mississippi River.

Roger Haro (Primary Presenter/Author), Northern Arizona University, roger.haro@nau.edu;