5/18/2015  |   10:30 - 10:45   |  101A

FRESHWATER FUTURES: ECOSYSTEM SERVICES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES, AND HOW FUTURE STREAM ECOLOGISTS CAN HELP SAVE THE WORLD Freshwater is an essential resource for humanity and provides key habitat for much threatened biodiversity. The services that freshwater ecosystems provide humans are very diverse ranging from water quantity and quality, to biodiversity and cultural and recreational values. People also influence freshwater systems in a wide variety of ways. Stream ecologists in particular have a holistic view based on the reality of streams being driven by their watersheds. This view demands a multidisciplinary approach if we are to conserve and protect freshwaters. In the anthropocene we are under unique conditions driven by global change. In this context, societal factors interface with physical, chemical, geomorphologic, hydrologic, organismic, population, community, ecosystem, landscape and macroscale features of freshwaters. We have unprecedented tools to study freshwaters (advance analytical, molecular, big data approaches) at just the time when decisive action by humanity is required to preserve these systems. Future stream ecologists can thus make the world a better place by helping us toward a predictive understanding of streams and rivers, and the lakes, wetlands, groundwater and marine habitats they link to.

Walter Dodds (Primary Presenter/Author), Kansas State University, wkdodds@ksu.edu;

5/18/2015  |   10:45 - 11:00   |  101A

PHARMACEUTICAL AND PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS IN URBAN STREAMS AS AN UNDERSTUDIED DIMENSION OF FUTURE FRESHWATERS Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) are ubiquitous in surface waters. Urban aquatic ecosystems in particular contain PPCPs in complex mixtures from numerous sources. PPCPs may influence urban ecosystems in complex ways. Although commonly detected, the role of these compounds as drivers of change in aquatic ecosystems represents a scientific opportunity for ecological research. We will discuss research frontiers in urban stream ecology and the extent to which novel contaminants may interact with other urban stressors to drive ecological processes. For example, research indicates that PPCPs influence communities, as resistance, community structure and ecosystem function. Data demonstrate urban stream microbial communities may be more tolerant to PPCPs than those in less urban streams. In addition, aquatic organisms may be developing resistance to PPCPs and widespread occurrence of PPCPs may be leading to altered microbial communities with potential consequences for ecosystem function. We conclude that PPCPs may be strong drivers of the structure and function of urban streams and ignoring the ecological consequences of PPCPs will ultimately limit a thorough understanding of many aquatic ecosystems.

Emma Rosi (Primary Presenter/Author), Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, rosie@caryinstitute.org;


Sylvia Lee (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, lee.sylvia@epa.gov;


John Kelly (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Loyola University Chicago, Jkelly7@luc.edu;


Sujay Kaushal (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Maryland, skaushal@umd.edu;
Dr. Sujay Kaushal is currently a Professor in the Department of Geology & Earth System Science Center at the University of Maryland, College Park, and he has been in this position since 2010. Prior to that, Dr. Kaushal was an assistant professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science from 2005-2010. His research expertise deals with: investigating causes and consequences of freshwater salinization, understanding the impacts of stormwater management and stream restoration on water quality, elucidating fate and transport of urban pollutants; and tracking sources of nonpoint pollution using geochemical approaches and tracers. Dr. Kaushal has authored over approximately 100 peer-reviewed papers in journals such as Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature Reviews Earth and Environment, and Nature Sustainability, and he has received awards such as the UMD College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences Junior Faculty Award and the IRPE Prize in limnetic ecology (https://www.int-res.com/ecology-institute/eci-prize-awarding/eci-award-ceremony-2012/). From the perspective of education and training, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Cary Institute from 2003-2005. He received his PhD from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and he received his bachelors degree from Cornell University.

5/18/2015  |   11:00 - 11:15   |  101A

OUR FRESHWATER FUTURES: GARBAGE Humans introduce synthetic materials into freshwaters that span a size gradient from dissolved compounds such as pharmaceuticals, to suspended particles like nanomaterials, microplastic, (i.e., <5 mm particles), and garbage (i.e., anthropogenic litter; AL). Because it is visually conspicuous and abundant worldwide, the study of AL is a rapidly growing field in marine ecology. Marine AL has several fates, including accumulation on coastal and benthic zones, ingestion, and breakdown into smaller pieces. Rivers are cited as a major source of AL to oceans, but the sources, movement, retention, and interactions of AL with riverine biota are rarely studied. Thus, the ecology of AL in rivers is a critical, but unknown piece of the global AL “life cycle.” I will present research on AL and microplastic ecology in rivers. These data will be placed in the context of well-studied marine habitats, with conceptual models to guide future studies. I will also discuss my experience conducting research spanning disciplines of marine ecology, freshwater science, and polymer chemistry. These data and conceptual approaches should contribute to tools that reduce AL abundance and ecosystem impacts.

Timothy Hoellein (Primary Presenter/Author), Loyola University Chicago, thoellein@luc.edu;
Dr. Hoellein is a freshwater ecologist at Loyola University Chicago. His research interests are focused on ecosystem processes and biogeochemistry. His research lab explores these areas in associate with the movement and biological transformation of elements, energy, and pollution in aquatic ecosystems.

5/18/2015  |   11:15 - 11:30   |  101A

DROUGHT AND SALTWATER INTRUSION IN FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS: EMERGING THREATS THAT TAKE THE FUTURE OF OUR SCIENCE BELOWGROUND Freshwater aquifers from Florida to Texas to California are being rapidly depleted, especially during droughts. Saltwater intrusion is irreversibly decreasing the freshwater storage capacity of near-coastal aquifers with negative impacts on dependent ecosystems and human populations. These emerging threats will increase with human population growth and climate-driven increases in sea-level rise. In the near future, freshwater scientists will be challenged to vastly enhance our understanding and protection of fresh groundwater. Already private and public projects to increase belowground freshwater storage are occurring, in arid regions like the Mohave Desert and Rio Grande Valley, through use of interbasin transfers of surface and groundwater without consideration of current or projected demands or ecological impacts. In South Florida, fresh water is wasted to the ocean to mitigate flooding into metropolitan Miami. That fresh water recharges the Florida Everglades and Biscayne aquifer that 90% of Floridians rely upon for drinking water and supports year-round agriculture. Despite apparent growing economic demands, U.S. freshwater withdrawals have decreased and GDP increased since 1970. The future is now. Sustainable water use today will protect groundwater for tomorrow.

John S. Kominoski (Primary Presenter/Author), Florida International University, jkominoski@gmail.com;