Sunday, May 22, 2016
15:30 - 17:00

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15:30 - 15:45: / 314 ESTIMATING AND UNTANGLING THE EFFECTS OF SAMPLING AND TEMPORAL VARIABILITY OF MACROINVERTEBRATE AND FISH BIOLOGIC INDICES FOR STREAMS IN WISCONSIN, USA.

5/22/2016  |   15:30 - 15:45   |  314

ESTIMATING AND UNTANGLING THE EFFECTS OF SAMPLING AND TEMPORAL VARIABILITY OF MACROINVERTEBRATE AND FISH BIOLOGIC INDICES FOR STREAMS IN WISCONSIN, USA. Water resource managers and researchers have long investigated the condition of fish and macroinvertebrates in streams to evaluate overall ecosystem health (i.e bioassessments). The relative merits of bioassessment indices reside in their accuracy and precision, which are affected by community sampling procedures and inherent temporal variability assemblages. Often, index variability is assessed during development from replicate samples collected at multiple sites or samples collected at high quality sites in successive years. However, these procedures assume that replicate sampling variability at some sites is applicable to all sites, or combines sampling and temporal variability into a single estimate. We used macroinvertebrate and fish assemblage data from 43 regionally based least-disturbed wadeable stream sites in Wisconsin sampled annually for 4-5 years. We estimated sampling variability as 95% confidence intervals of index scores computed for 1,000 bootstrapped replicate assemblages. We estimated temporal variability from 95% confidence intervals of all samples over time at a single site. We also examined potential factors contributing to sample and temporal variability including community composition, stream biologic and chemical quality, weather, and landscape level physical characteristics.

Michael Shupryt (Primary Presenter/Author), WI Department of Natural Resources, Michael.Shupryt@wisconsin.gov;


Jonathan Kult ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), WI DNR, Jonathan.Kult@wisconsin.gov;


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15:45 - 16:00: / 314 CONCORDANCE IN BIOLOGICAL CONDITION AND BIODIVERSITY BETWEEN DIATOM AND MACROINVERTEBRATE ASSEMBLAGES IN CHINESE ARID-ZONE STREAMS

5/22/2016  |   15:45 - 16:00   |  314

CONCORDANCE IN BIOLOGICAL CONDITION AND BIODIVERSITY BETWEEN DIATOM AND MACROINVERTEBRATE ASSEMBLAGES IN CHINESE ARID-ZONE STREAMS Aquatic assemblage responses to abiotic variables should differ in a water body, and concordance should be low with different response trajectories to stressors as the most plausible reason restricting their concordance. We developed MMIs to compare assessments between diatom and macroinvertebrate assemblages in Chinese arid streams. We evaluated concordance of MMIs and beta-diversity between assemblages in their response to environmental disturbances. Concordance in assessments between the two assemblages was weak. Test sites with impaired diatom and macroinverterbrate MMI scores had higher nitrate concentrations and physical habitat disturbance than test sites with unimpaired MMI scores. The natural-variation adjusted diatom MMI was sensitive to gradients in maximum velocity, discharge, and O-ECOD concentrations. The macroinvertebrate MMI responded strongly to water depth, maximum velocity, and O-Enitrite concentrations. Diatom beta-diversity associated with O-Enitrite concentrations and maximum velocity was different from that of macroinvertebrate beta-diversity. Assessment of ecological condition and response trajectories of MMI and beta-diversity to disturbances differed between diatom and macroinvertebrate assemblages. This supports use of multiple biological assemblages with differing ecological and biogeographical traits in assessments of biological condition and biological diversity.

Kai Chen (Primary Presenter/Author), Nanjing Agricultural University, ckai2005@gmail.com;


Qiuwen Chen ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, qwchen@nhri.cn;


Beixin Wang ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Nanjing Agricultural University, wangbeixin@njau.edu.cn;


Yangdong Pan ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Portand State University, bwyp@pdx.edu ;


Robert Hughes ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Amnis Opes Institute, hughes.bob@amnisopes.com;


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16:00 - 16:15: / 314 A COMPARISON OF MACROINVERTEBRATE AND DIATOM METRICS FOR INDICATING WATER-QUALITY CONDITIONS IN CONNECTED DEPRESSION WETLANDS IN THE MISSISSIPPI ALLUVIAL PLAIN

5/22/2016  |   16:00 - 16:15   |  314

A COMPARISON OF MACROINVERTEBRATE AND DIATOM METRICS FOR INDICATING WATER-QUALITY CONDITIONS IN CONNECTED DEPRESSION WETLANDS IN THE MISSISSIPPI ALLUVIAL PLAIN Biological assessment methods frequently used for streams have not been established for wetlands in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. This study evaluated macroinvertebrate and diatom metrics for their ability to indicate water-quality conditions in connected depressions in the Cache River Watershed in northeastern Arkansas. Connected depressions are a type of wetland that has a wide spatial extent within the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. Macroinvertebrate and diatom metrics and indices were compared to a water-quality disturbance gradient that was calculated using specific conductance, pH, and nitrate data collected at 24 connected depressions. Four metrics with strongest correlations to the disturbance gradient were selected for both indices. Scores for both indices (which combined metrics) had inverse relations and similar correlations to the disturbance gradient. However, given the paradoxical relation of some macroinvertebrate metrics to dissolved oxygen, our findings suggest that the ecological relevance of diatom metrics may be easier to interpret and defend for some wetlands having low dissolved oxygen concentrations under least-disturbed conditions.

Billy Justus (Primary Presenter/Author), USGS, Little Rock, AR, bjustus@usgs.gov;


David Burge ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Science Museum of Minnesota, dburge@smm.org ;


Jennifer Cobb ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Shelby County, Tennessee, jenn.cobb.m@gmail.com;


Travis Marsico ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Arkansas State University, tmarsico@astate.edu;


Jennifer Bouldin ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Arkansas State University, jbouldin@astate.edu;


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16:15 - 16:30: / 314 ACCOUNTING FOR BIOTIC VARIABILITY IN URBANIZING STREAMS: THE ROLE OF LOCAL AND LANDSCAPE FACTORS

5/22/2016  |   16:15 - 16:30   |  314

ACCOUNTING FOR BIOTIC VARIABILITY IN URBANIZING STREAMS: THE ROLE OF LOCAL AND LANDSCAPE FACTORS As impervious cover increases within a watershed, fish and macroinvertebrate assemblages consistently degrade. However, at low impervious levels, biotic integrity still varies widely across streams, suggesting a range in resistance to urban disturbance. Forty sites were selected across Massachusetts within two narrow bands of impervious cover: 1.0–4.0% (n = 20) and 7.0–10.0% (n = 20). At these sites, fish metrics (e.g., richness, CPUE, percent fluvial species) and macroinvertebrate metrics (e.g., richness, percent EPT, Hilsenhoff Biotic Index) exhibited a wide range of responses within each band. Since environmental characteristics at the local scale (e.g., gradient, substrate, habitat availability) and landscape scale (e.g., geology, development patterns) affect biotic assemblages along urban gradients, we tested whether these variables explain biotic condition within narrow impervious bands. Preliminary analysis indicates a wide array of environmental conditions across sites, with potentially different variables that explain biotic condition within each band. Management options differ based on these conditions: areas more resistant to urbanization could inform development patterns, while less resistant areas could receive protection from urban impacts.

Catherine Bentsen (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Massachusetts Amherst, katebentsen@gmail.com;


Allison Roy ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), U.S. Geological Survey, Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Massachusetts Amherst, aroy@eco.umass.edu;


David Armstrong ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), U.S. Geological Survey, New England Water Science Center, darmstro@usgs.gov;


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16:30 - 16:45: / 314 USING THE CRAYFISH METABOLOME TO ASSESS HUMAN LAND USE ACTIVITIES

5/22/2016  |   16:30 - 16:45   |  314

USING THE CRAYFISH METABOLOME TO ASSESS HUMAN LAND USE ACTIVITIES Exposure of aquatic ecosystems to excessive nutrients and contaminants from human activities is a serious risk to ecological integrity of waterways. Metabolomics is the identification and characterization of small molecules called metabolites, which are derived from normal processes within an organism. Environmental metabolomics characterizes the biochemical products of interactions between living organisms and their environment. We used NMR-based metabolomics to assess the metabolome of northern crayfish (Orconectes virilis) exposed to agricultural land use and human wastewater treatment activities in a reciprocal transplant experiment. Metabolomes of reference crayfish were different from the metabolomes of crayfish transferred to agricultural catchments or catchments exposed to human wastewater effluent. In contrast, metabolomes of crayfish from agricultural catchments and those exposed to human wastewater effluent transferred to the reference catchment became more similar to the metabolome of the reference crayfish. These results suggest that the crayfish metabolome could be a good bioindicator of environmental exposure to stressors associated with agricultural land use activities and human wastewater effluent.

Robert B. Brua (Primary Presenter/Author, Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Environment and Climate Change Canada, 11 Innovation Boulevard, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 3H5, bob.brua@canada.ca;


Natalie Izral ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Western University & Canadian Rivers Institute, Department of Geography, London, Ontario, N6A 5C2, nizral@uwo.ca;


Joseph M. Culp ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Environment and Climate Change Canada and Canadian Rivers Institute, Department of Biology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3C5, joseph.culp@canada.ca;


Adam G. Yates ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Western University & Canadian Rivers Institute, adam.yates@uwo.ca;


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16:45 - 17:00: / 314 CAN MASS-ABUNDANCE RELATIONSHIPS DETECT ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS ACROSS A CONTAMINANT GRADIENT?

5/22/2016  |   16:45 - 17:00   |  314

CAN MASS-ABUNDANCE RELATIONSHIPS DETECT ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS ACROSS A CONTAMINANT GRADIENT? Biomonitoring indices are widely used to assess anthropogenic impacts on stream ecosystems. Traditionally, diversity, community composition, abundance, and presence / absence data have been used, but often provide variable diagnoses of disturbances. Because ecosystem processes and services are dependent on the pairwise interaction of species within a community, ecological networks (particularly food webs) have been increasingly recommended to be added to ecological assessments. However, due to the high degree of sampling effort, expertise, and time required to construct detailed food webs, this is rarely done. Therefore, it is necessary to develop easy to measure proxy variables to infer food web structure. Mass-abundance relationships can be alternatively viewed as trophic pyramids and may provide an appropriate proxy variable for food web structure. We tested mass-abundance relationships in sites across a gradient of dissolved Arsenic (0.003 – 0.8 mg / l) near the abandoned gold mining town of Waiuta on the South Island, New Zealand.

Justin Pomeranz (Primary Presenter/Author), Colorado Mesa University, jfpomeranz@gmail.com;
o Justin is an assistant professor of environmental science at Colorado Mesa University. He is a community ecologist with a special affinity for streams and benthic macroinvertebrates. Justin’s research is focused on understanding the variation in community biomass distributions from both natural and anthropogenic causes. He enjoys working with large datasets across scales and playing the banjo. Justin received a BS and MS from Colorado State University and a PhD from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.

Jon Harding ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University Canterbury, jon.harding@canterbry.ac.nz;


Helen Warburton ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Canterbury, helen.warburton@canterbury.ac.nz;


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