5/25/2016  |   10:30 - 10:45   |  308

CAN A RIVER BE RESTORED AFTER A CENTURY OF DISTURBANCE? LESSONS FROM FOSSIL CREEK Fossil Creek was dammed and water was diverted for hydropower production for almost a century. Non-native bass and sunfish dominated the fish assemblage. Managers removed non-native fish, returned full flows, and dismantled the diversion dam. Here we demonstrate that multiple attributes of the river rebounded when the primary threats were reversed. Native fish increased quickly and remained high. Both removal of non-natives and return of flow was essential to fish recovery. Food web structure, measured using stable isotopes, showed that natives replaced non-natives at the top of the food chain. The contribution of algae in fish diets increased concurrent with increases in primary productivity. Primary productivity and nitrogen uptake increased in response to flow and travertine deposition. Non-native crayfish increased immediately following restoration but subsequently declined in most sites. Non-native crayfish appear to be controlled by fish predation and travertine deposition. The primary remaining threat is unsustainable recreation. Beause Fossil Creek is designated as a Wild and Scenic River, managers will be required to develop and enforce an adequate management plan.

Jane Marks (POC,Primary Presenter), Northern Arizona University, jane.marks@nau.edu;


Benjamin Koch ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Northern Arizona University, ben.koch@nau.edu;


Cathy Gibson ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Skidmore College, gibson.cathy@gmail.com;


Matthew O'Neill ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Arizona Department of Game and Fish, moneill@azgfd.gov;


Bruce Hungate ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Northern Arizona University, bruce.hungate@nau.edu;


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5/25/2016  |   10:45 - 11:00   |  308

PATTERNS OF FRESHWATER SPECIES RICHNESS, ENDEMISM AND VULNERABILITY IN CALIFORNIA, USA AND THE CALIFORNIA FRESHWATER CONSERVATION BLUEPRINT The ranges and abundances of species that depend on freshwater habitats are declining worldwide. Attempts to arrest these trends are encumbered by a general lack of geospatial data, especially for the species-rich aquatic invertebrates. We identified 3,906 vascular plants, macroinvertebrates and vertebrates native to California that depend on freshwater for at least one stage of their life history and evaluated their conservation status using published conservation assessments, created a spatial database of locality observations and distributions from about 400 data sources, and mapped patterns of richness, endemism, and vulnerability at the sixth-field HUC (40-160 square km) watershed scale. Only 6 percent of species vulnerable to extinction have a legal mandate for endangered species list protection. Endemic taxa are at greater risk than non-endemics, with 90 percent endemic taxa vulnerable to extinction. The regions with the highest percentage of vulnerable species are the South Lahontan, Tulare Lake, South Coast, Colorado and Central Coast. The information in the database is being used to identify freshwater conservation priorities in California and outline a strategy for their conservation within a California Freshwater Blueprint project.

Kurt Fesenmyer ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Trout Unlimited, Boise, ID, KFesenmyer@tu.org;


Jeanette Howard ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), The Nature Conservancy, jeanette_howard@tnc.org;


Joseph Furnish (Primary Presenter/Author), U.S. Forest Service, josephfurnish@att.net;


Kirk Klausmeyer ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), The Nature Conservancy, kirk_klausmeyer@TNC.ORG;


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5/25/2016  |   11:00 - 11:15   |  308

RESPONSE OF MACROINVERTEBRATE COMMUNITIES TO DYNAMICS OF PESTICIDE MIXTURES Pesticide pollution through field run-off or spray drift has been documented to impact river ecosystems worldwide. However, limited studies have addressed both acute and chronic effects of pesticides on the biotic assemblages in natural systems and their exposures to repeated pulses of pesticide mixtures. We used reported pesticide use data as input to a hydrological fate and transport model (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) to simulate spatiotemporal dynamics of pesticides mixtures in streams on a daily time step. We then applied a model-selection process to explore the relationship between macroinvertebrate communities and pesticide dynamics in Sacramento river watershed of California during 2002 – 2013. We found that both maximum and average pesticide toxic units are important in determining impacts on macroinvertebrates, and the compositions of macroinvertebrates trended to taxa with higher resilience and resistance to pesticide exposure, based on the Species at Risk (SPEAR) pesticide index. A key implication is that future efforts on studies and risk assessments using macroinvertebrates could be facilitated by awareness of the potential role of chronic effect, in addition to acute effect, of pesticide mixtures.

Ming-Chih Chiu (Primary Presenter/Author), University of California, Berkeley, mcchiu@berkeley.edu;


Lisa Hunt ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of California, Berkeley, lisahunt@berkeley.edu;


Vincent Resh ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of California, Berkeley, resh@berkeley.edu;


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5/25/2016  |   11:15 - 11:30   |  308

FLOW REGIME MANAGEMENT FOR RIPARIAN RESTORATION Riparian forests are critical to the maintenance and restoration of aquatic systems. Riparian vegetation provides food for aquatic biota; instream habitat, shade, water quality protection; and affects floodplain processes. Water management frequently alters the natural flow regime and can degrade riparian forests. In this presentation, the natural flow regime elements that can be restored by flow management and the potential benefits of each to riparian function and structure will be discussed. Several factors, including which element(s) of the flow regime is altered, watershed characteristics, channel morphology, and plant species and lifestages, can differ among projects such that a “one-size-fits-all” approach to riparian flow enhancement and protection is not appropriate. Examples from several FERC relicensing projects in the Sierra Nevada with recently modified flow regimes to address specific riparian issues provide a range of cases. The information provided by inventory and monitoring techniques and modeling to inform flow regime recommendations is discussed. Last, perspectives will be given on successfully communicating technical guidance to managers and stakeholders for development and evaluation of project-specific riparian flows.

Katie Ross-Smith (Primary Presenter/Author), Cardno, katie.ross-smith@cardno.com;


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5/25/2016  |   11:30 - 11:45   |  308

LETTING BEAVERS DO THE WORK: ECOLOGICAL RECOVERY OF A DRAINED STREAM-WETLAND SYSTEM THROUGH BEAVER ACTIVITY In 2002, a developer illegally rerouted a stream to drain a wetland in an urban area of Atlanta, GA, USA that ultimately drains into a major tributary of the Chattahoochee River. Many different restoration alternatives were considered, until the arrival of beavers a few years later began to transform the site, possibly beginning the recovery of the stream-wetland system. In conjunction with the land managers, we monitored physical, chemical, and biological data at the site, looking for indications of recovery of the ecosystem. Strong positive trends in groundwater levels in the wetland were seen. However, the site remains a net exporter of sediment to the watershed, likely due to high erosion rates on the constructed channel. Although downstream reductions in nitrogen and fecal coliform concentrations were seen at times, the site is as yet having little effect on downstream water quality. If beaver activity at the site continues, this ongoing monitoring project could demonstrate the potential for restoration and management of urban streams and wetlands without the high costs and impacts of major construction projects.

Elizabeth Sudduth (Primary Presenter/Author), Georgia Gwinnett College, esudduth@ggc.edu;


Courtney Dobash ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Georgia Gwinnett College, cdobash@ggc.edu;


Annalise Reagan ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Georgia Gwinnett College, areagan@ggc.edu;


Mikayla Oglesby ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Georgia Gwinnett College, moglesb1@ggc.edu;


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5/25/2016  |   11:45 - 12:00   |  308

GRAVEL-BED RIVER FLOODPLAINS ARE THE ECOLOGICAL NEXUS OF GLACIATED MOUNTAIN LANDSCAPES Intact gravel-bed rivers and their floodplains play a disproportionately critical role in the structure and dynamics of many species from aquatic insects and fish, to vegetation and birds, to ungulates, wolves and grizzly bears. River processes constantly change and renew the surface and subsurface of the valley floor generating a complex mosaic of habitats and critical corridors for connectivity across spatial and temporal scales.  Lack of understanding about the spatial and temporal dynamics of gravel-bed river ecosystems and their importance to terrestrial communities has contributed to their degradation, but also thwarts modern conservation and restoration efforts. Protection and restoration will depend on understanding the dynamic processes that create and sustain gravel-bed rivers and their floodplains and the role these systems play in regional-scale biodiversity and ecological integrity. This scientific understanding itself, and implementation of conservation policies that reflect this understanding, will profoundly affect how the region as a whole, including both human and natural systems, responds to ever-increasing demands for power, ex-urban development, recreation, and water use, particularly in the face of climate change, locally and globally.

Richard Hauer (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Montana, ric.hauer@umontana.edu;


Harvey Locke ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Yellowstone to Yukon Initiative, harvey@wild.org;


Victoria Dreitz ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Montana, victoria.dreitz@umontana.edu;


Mark Hebblewhite ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Montana, mark.hebblewhite@umontana.edu;


Winsor Lowe ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Montana, winsor.lowe@umontana.edu;


Clint Muhlfeld ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), U.S. Geological Survey, cmuhlfeld@usgs.gov;


Cara Nelson ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Montana, car.nelson@umontana.edu;


Michael Proctor ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Birchdale Ecological, mproctor@netidea.com;


Stewart Rood ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Lethbridge, rood@uleth.ca;


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