5/24/2016  |   10:30 - 10:45   |  315

INTEGRATING PERENNIAL AND INTERMITTENT RIVERS INTO REGIONAL AMBIENT ASSESSMENTS IN DRY CLIMATES: CASE STUDIES FROM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Despite the prevalence and importance of intermittent rivers in dry climates, these habitats are traditionally excluded from ambient bioassessment programs. In Southern California, several monitoring agencies are exploring ways of integrating perennial, intermittent, and ephemeral streams into probabilistic watershed assessments. On Santa Rosa Island, a phased approach is used, whereby riparian indicators (which are indifferent to flow conditions) are assessed in the first year, and sites where aquatic indictors are likely to be sampleable are identified for future assessment. In the San Gabriel River, a synoptic tiered approach is used: a full suite of indicators at flowing sites, a subset at arheic sites, and riparian indicators at dry sites. In San Diego, terrestrial indicators are under development for assessment of ephemeral riverbeds. In the Santa Ana River, predictive modeling will allow characterization of historical and present-day flow regimes, which supports interpretation of bioassessment indices and informs future survey design. Each of these efforts will provide lessons for other monitoring efforts in the region to create a path forward for integrated assessment of intermittent, ephemeral, and perennial rivers.

Raphael Mazor (POC,Primary Presenter), Southern California Coastal Water Research Project, raphaelm@sccwrp.org;


Stacey Ostermann-Kelm ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), National Parks Service, Mediterranean Coast Network, stacey_ostermann@nps.gov;


Scott Johnson ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Aquatic Bioassay & Consulting, Inc., scott@aquabio.org;


Chad Loflen ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), California Water Quality Control Board—San Diego Region, chad.loflen@waterboards.ca.gov;


A. Elizabeth Fetscher ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), California Water Quality Control Board—San Diego Region, betty.fetscher@waterboards.ca.gov;


Heather Boyd ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), California Water Quality Control Board—Santa Ana Region, heather.boyd@waterboards.ca.gov;


Patricia Pendleton ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), California State University, Northridge, patricia.pendleton@csun.edu;


Regan Maas ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), California State University, Northridge, regan.maas@csun.edu;


Danielle Bram ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), California State University, Northridge, danielle.bram@csun.edu;


Eric Stein ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Southern California Coastal Water Research Project, erics@sccwrp.org;


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5/24/2016  |   10:45 - 11:00   |  315

FIXED SITES AND MONITORING/BIOASSESSMENT BIAS IN EPHEMERAL SYSTEMS One interesting aspect in the evolution of biomonitoring/bioassessment programs from the local point source type studies of 50 years ago, to the large regional or national scale studies of today is the reluctance of agencies to move away from fixed site sampling, to adaptive sampling frameworks. I restate the logistic and statistical advantages and disadvantages of two very different sampling strategies using fish condition monitoring data from Barmah and Gunbower State Forests (annual Fixed sites) and Koondrook State Forest (annual Random sites), in southern New South Wales and Victoria, Australia. Inevitably, sites drop out of fixed or panel design programs, and more frequently in ephemeral systems. I demonstrate the bioassessments in Koondrook State Forest are clearly not biased, whilst the other two forests are subject to substantial bias, caused by sampling the same group of sites through time, even when selected randomly. The bias can be moderated by regularly oversampling, or overcome entirely by mapping the sampling frame prior to sampling every year and using a probabilistic method for selecting refresh sites.

Wayne Robinson (Primary Presenter/Author), Charles Sturt University, wrobinson@csu.edu.au;


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5/24/2016  |   11:00 - 11:15   |  315

BIOASSESSMENT OF INTERMITTENT RIVERS AND EPHEMERAL STREAMS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN BASIN: ARE CURRENT METHODS ADEQUATE? In Europe, the implementation of the Water Framework Directive has been unable to provide a solution to determine the ecological status of IRES. The lack of adequate methods (developed exclusively for perennial streams), hydrological data, and limited recognition in environmental policies have posed a major bottleneck in their management. The TRIVERS project aims at providing new tools to improve the understanding on how IRES need to be assessed, preserved and managed in the Mediterranean region, where severe stream flow deficits are predicted in the face of global change. From April-December 2015, macroinvertebrates and fish were sampled bi-monthly in 20 reaches located in Eastern Spain (including perennial, intermittent, and ephemeral streams), to assess responses of aquatic communities and biological indexes to flow intermittence. Results showed that reaches where at least isolated pools were maintained, ecological status could be assessed using traditional methods if sampling takes place when flow is still present. In ephemeral reaches, methods would need to be adapted due to the high variability observed in biological indexes.

Núria Cid (Primary Presenter/Author), INRAE, nuria.cid-puey@inrae.fr;


Pablo Rodríguez-Lozano ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Department of Geography, University of the Balearic Islands, 07122 Palma, Spain, pablo.rodriguez@uib.es;


Nuria Bonada ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Barcelona, bonada@ub.edu;


Dolors Vinyoles ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Barcelona, d.vinyoles@ub.edu;


Pau Fortuño ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Barcelona, pfortuno@ub.edu;


Raúl Acosta ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Universitat de Barcelona, racosta@ub.edu;


Jérôme Latron ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), IDAEA-CSIC, jerome.latron@idaea.csic.es;


Pilar Llorens ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), IDAEA-CSIC, pilar.llorens@idaea.csic.es;


Francesc Gallart ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), IDAEA-CSIC, francesc.gallart@idaea.csic.es;


Narcis Prat ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Universitat de Barcelona, nprat@ub.edu;


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5/24/2016  |   11:15 - 11:30   |  315

CAMO, HOSE CLAMPS, AND PIXELS: ARIZONA'S APPROACH TO MONITORING IN INTERMITTENT STREAMS Arizona’s 6,000 miles of intermittent streams are understudied because their duration of flow is unknown, they’re logistically difficult to sample, and the focus of monitoring work has been on perennial streams for protecting public health. In the most recent 305b Water Quality Assessment Report only 2% of intermittent streams were assessed compared to 51% of perennial streams. ADEQ’s past attempts to monitor flow duration using pressure transducers was expensive, time consuming, and problematic. In 2015, we began a new approach called Flowtography, which uses time-lapse photography to monitor flow duration combined with a probabilistic approach for conducting a water quality survey of intermittent streams. There was a 24% success rate in identifying target sampleable sites. ADEQ deployed 19 flow monitoring cameras programmed to take two time-lapse photographs a day plus motion triggered flows. Quarterly water quality samples and annual macroinvertebrate samples are also collected. ADEQ will identify classes of intermittency, conduct Arizona’s first water quality assessment of intermittent streams, and tailor water quality standards with these data.

Patrice Spindler (Primary Presenter/Author), AZ Dept of Environmental Quality, phs@azdeq.gov;


Meghan Smart ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), AZ Dept of Environmental Quality, ms14@azdeq.gov;


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5/24/2016  |   11:30 - 11:45   |  315

HOW DO WE ASSESS THE HEALTH OF RIVERS WHEN THEY ARE DRY? Dry riverbeds can be the ‘typical’ state of many temporary rivers; however, the ecological health of these habitats is rarely, if ever, assessed in monitoring programs. Traditional indicators of riverine health, such as water quality or aquatic macroinvertebrates, cannot be used. To address this, we first developed a conceptual model of anthropogenic stressors on dry riverbed biota. From this we selected potential health indicators. We trialled the use of metrics of terrestrial invertebrate assemblages as indicators of dry riverbed health in a large, dryland river system in central Australia – and found that terrestrial invertebrates responded to a gradient of disturbance. We then applied the findings of the trial to the assessment of the health of rivers in four other dryland catchments. The results of the trial were confirmed, and in the resulting assessments the indicators we used responded to stressors as predicted by the initial conceptual model. We conclude that terrestrial invertebrates are sensitive indicators of dry riverbed health that can provide a novel solution to assessing rivers when they are dry.

Alisha Steward (Primary Presenter/Author), Queensland Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation, Brisbane, Australia, Alisha.Steward@dsiti.qld.gov.au;


Jon Marshall ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts, jonathan.marshall@dsiti.qld.gov.au;


Peter Negus ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Queensland Department of Environment and Science, Peter.Negus@des.qld.gov.au;


Sara Clifford ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Queensland Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation, Brisbane, Australia, Sara.Clifford@dsiti.qld.gov.au;


Cate Dent ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Queensland Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation, Brisbane, Australia, catherine.dent@dsiti.qld.gov.au;


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5/24/2016  |   11:45 - 12:00   |  315

INCREASING FINE SEDIMENT LOAD LIMITS VERTICAL MOVEMENT OF GAMMARUS PULEX (CRUSTACEA: AMPHIPODA) DURING DEWATERING EXPERIMENTS Climate change predictions forecast increased frequency of streambed drying in intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams. Streambed sediments can be a refuge for benthic macroinvertebrates during hydrological disturbances including streambed drying. However, increased fine sediment input from both natural and anthropogenic sources may act as a physical barrier within the subsurface sediments by clogging interstitial pathways during drying events. We examined the vertical movement of Gammarus pulex in transparent mesocosms filled with transparent sediment grains (15 mm) and varying fine sediment loads in response to water level reduction into the subsurface. Fine sediment loads contained different volumes of small (0.125–0.5 mm) and large (0.5–1 mm) sand particles which infiltrated interstitial pathways or clogged the sediment surface, limiting the vertical movement of G. pulex. Increasing volumes of 0.5–1 mm particles resulted in interstitial spaces being clogged and increased stranding. In contrast, finer sand (0.125–0.5 mm) did not clog pathways as readily except at the highest sediment loads. The results illustrate the need to consider the interaction between drying and substrate characteristics when examining faunal responses to climate variability.

Atish N. Vadher (Primary Presenter/Author), Loughborough University, A.Vadher@lboro.ac.uk;


Jonathan Millett ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Loughborough University, J.Millett@lboro.ac.uk;


Rachel McNeish ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), California State University Bakersfield, rachel.e.mcneish@gmail.com;


Paul J. Wood ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Loughborough University, P.J.Wood@lboro.ac.uk;


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