6/05/2017  |   09:00 - 09:15   |  305A

The promise of spatial community ecology for enhancing the monitoring and management of lotic systems We review basic metacommunity theory and research conducted in streams and rivers. We give an overview of the key areas where metacommunity theory has the potential to enhance existing approaches to stream and river management including stream restoration and bioassessment and cite recent examples. We then present an example application for enhancing the interpretation of stressor-response models. Metacommunity theory predicts that as connectivity increases, local sorting decreases as dispersal increases (mass effects). In a watershed management context, this suggests that the predictive power of stressor-response models may vary as a function of stream network position. Using the EPA NARS data, we applied a statistical technique to test for the strength of environmental disequilibrium and local filtering on stream communities within Level II Ecoregions of the USA, and related those responses to connectivity. We found that environmental filtering was typical among all streams, supporting the use of the classic stressor-response methodology; however, we also observed a connectivity effect on environmental filtering that differed among ecoregions. The result indicates that enhancements to stressor-response models may be possible in some regions of the USA.

Christopher Patrick (Primary Presenter/Author), Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), cpatrick@vims.edu;


David Stoker ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi, david.stoker@tamucc.edu;


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6/05/2017  |   09:15 - 09:30   |  305A

A METACOMMUNITY FRAME WORK FOR INVESTIGATING THE SPREAD OF AQUATIC INVASIVES The spread of Invasive species is one of the most pernicious and difficult-to-manage threats to aquatic biodiversity. Invasions and their effects are notoriously difficult to understand because they integrate processes across spatial scales and depend heavily on dispersal-driven dynamics of invaders. Applying metacommunity theory to the problem of aquatic invasions could be intensely profitable since metacommunity frameworks incorporate processes at multiple spatial scales, incuding processes driven by dispersal dynamics. Indeed, just such a framework for invasions was proposed by Howeth, Derry and Reitzel in 2010. Here we revisit the Howeth et al. framework as a tool for investigating aquatic invasions, suggest some modifications to the framework based on recent research, and then consider how application of the framework can be enlightening by applying it to two linked aquatic invasions: the invasion of non-native crayfish, and the simultaneous introduction of their non-native ectosymbionts. As we will demonstrate, the application of metacommunity frameworks to aquatic invasion scenarios can both reveal major drivers of invasion as well as generate predictions about rates and patterns.

Bryan Brown (Primary Presenter/Author), Virginia Tech, stonefly@vt.edu;


James Skelton ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Florida, skelto3@gmail.com;


Spencer Bell ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Alabama, obscurus@vt.edu;


Robert Creed ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Appalachian State Universtiy, creedrp@appstate.edu;


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6/05/2017  |   09:30 - 09:45   |  305A

THE COLORADO RIVER BASIN: AQUATIC INSECT DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTION IN A FRAGMENTED RIVERSCAPE Studies of large rivers are often confined to small and, arguably, inadequate spatial scales due to the logistical challenges of sampling large rivers particularly in remote areas. We collaborated with hundreds of river runners to collect emergent aquatic insects for two years (2015-2016) using light traps deployed along 6 rivers of the Colorado River basin from Wyoming to Arizona, a cumulative distance exceeding 2,000 rkm. We compared 828 samples collected from 410 sites upstream of Lake Powell reservoir with 2,573 samples collected from 1,247 sites downstream of the reservoir. We use these data to describe patterns of species distribution and emergence phenology for aquatic insects on local and regional scales within a major watershed. We found diversity to be significantly greater in the dendritic river network upstream of Lake Powell than downstream in the linear and dam-regulated Colorado River through Grand Canyon. Our results provide insight on the diversity, distribution, and dispersal of aquatic insects in a fragmented riverscape.

Anya Metcalfe (Primary Presenter/Author), US Geological Survey Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, ametcalfe@usgs.gov;


Ted Kennedy ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), USGS Southwest Biological Science Center, Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, tkennedy@usgs.gov;


Jeffrey Muehlbauer ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Alaska Fairbanks, USGS Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, jdmuehlbauer@alaska.edu;


Jane Marks ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Northern Arizona University, jane.marks@nau.edu;


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6/05/2017  |   09:45 - 10:00   |  305A

META-COMMUNITY THEORY, DYNAMIC REFERENCE CONDITIONS, AND ASSESSMENTS OF BIODIVERSITY STATUS O/E indices assess biodiversity status by comparing the degree to which the taxa observed (O) at a site match that expected (E) to occur under reference conditions. E is typically predicted by multitaxon niche models, which implicitly assume that local assemblage composition is wholly determined by habitat suitability. Local biodiversity status is assessed as the degree to which O/E ratios fall outside of index error, which is expressed as the variance in reference-site O/E values. Marked differences in the error of different O/E indices have typically been attributed to differences in sampling completeness and prediction error. However, recent cross-region analyses have shown that the predictability of assemblage composition at reference sites is associated with climate regime, waterbody isolation, and productive capacity. These observations are consistent with meta-community theory, in which the predictability of community assembly is expected to be influenced by both deterministic (niche) and stochastic (dispersal, population dynamics) processes. These observations further illustrate why the reference state must be thought of as a temporally dynamic condition and why region-specific, O/E threshold values are needed to properly infer biodiversity status.

Charles Hawkins (Primary Presenter/Author), Utah State University, chuck.hawkins@usu.edu;


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6/05/2017  |   10:00 - 10:15   |  305A

Partitioning the effects of riverine connectivity and environmental filters on macroinvertebrate communities: implications for developing biomonitoring tools. Spatial autocorrelation is an issue to be tackled when developing biomonitoring tools. Invertebrate communities tend to be spatially similar due to riverine connectivity and adult dispersal patterns. That similarity might be a complicating factor when selecting invertebrate community based metrics that are responsive to land use impacts on stream ecosystems. We used partial redundancy analysis (pRDA) and variance partition techniques to assess the effects of riverine connectivity and environmental filters on the invertebrate communities in 30 sites in an agriculturally impacted watershed in southeastern Brazil. Invertebrate community responses were investigated using taxonomic, functional trait and a multi-metric index matrices. The main environmental variables influencing invertebrate communities were related to shading, chemical stress, anoxia and river channelization. Connectivity between sites demonstrated a high influence on taxonomic (18%) and functional traits composition (29%). The multi-metric index matrix had a high proportion of its variance explained by the environmental variables (33%), with little variance explained by spatial variables (9%), indicating that those metrics are robust as bioindicators. Invertebrate functional traits demonstrated a high proportion of its variance explained by environmental variables (21%), indicating that they might be useful as bioindicators with further research.

Rafael Feijó de Lima (POC,Primary Presenter), University of Montana, rfeijod@clemson.edu;


Steven Thomas ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Alabama, sathomas16@ua.edu;


Flavia Tromboni ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Nevada, Reno, ftromboni@unr.edu;


Eugenia Zandona ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, eugenia.zandona@gmail.com;


Timothy P. Moulton ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, moulton.timothy@gmail.com;


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6/05/2017  |   10:15 - 10:30   |  305A

USING MEASURES OF BETA DIVERSITY TO BETTER INFORM BIOASSESSMENTS AND CLEAN WATER ACT MANAGEMENT For Clean Water Act regulatory purposes State environmental agencies group similar stream reaches into single management units, called assessment units (AUs). In many cases, AUs are delineated using features that are easy to map but may not be ecologically meaningful, such as road crossings, political boundaries, etc. For biologic monitoring and assessment, measures of compositional similarity may be more meaningful for delineating AUs. We collected spatially dense macroinvertebrate samples (~10m -1km) at 12-15 locations longitudinally along multiple streams. We compared Beta-diversity using Sorensen dissimilarity among flow connected sampling sites to determine if there was a significant relationship among dissimilarity and distance. We hypothesized, at this scale, distance-dissimilarity relationships would be nonlinear and significant thresholds could be developed to determine a distance at which sites should be lumped or split into ecologically meaningful AUs. We also compared thresholds and rate of change among streams to determine if environmental quality or landscape-level attributes structured distance-dissimilarity relationships. If distance-dissimilarity thresholds can be applied across watersheds, then this information can be used to efficiently design State biologic monitoring and assessment programs.

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


James Amrhein ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), WI Department of Natural Resources, james.amrhein@wisconsin.gov;


Micahel Sorge ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), WI Department of Natural Resources, Michael.Sorge@wisconsin.gov;


Jean Unmuth ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), WI Department of Natural Resources, Jean.unmuth@wisconsin.gov;


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