6/06/2017  |   11:00 - 11:15   |  302C

Do you see improvement with Macroinvertebrate Communities and Habitat after Restoration? Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GAEPD) has been collecting macroinvertebrates, water chemistry, and physical/habitat data from two restoration sites. The monitoring unit was asked by the non-point source program to collect data to determine if streams were improving, in which a full-blown restoration had been conducted. We have data on Swamp Creek, located in Whitfield County, GA in the Ridge and Valley Ecoregion (67) and Camp Creek located in Clayton County, GA in the Piedmont Ecoregion (45). GAEPD collected data prior to restoration and has been collecting periodically at both locations. The purpose of this presentation is to review the data/results we have collected to determine if there has been improvement of the health of the stream.

Michele Pollock Brossett (Primary Presenter/Author), Georgia Environmental Protection Division, michele.brossett@dnr.ga.gov;


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6/06/2017  |   11:15 - 11:30   |  302C

THE STRUCTURE OF A BENTHIC COMMUNITY IN THE FORESTED RIVER ECOSYSTEMS At the beginning of a winter season, river ecosystems of the broad leaved forest zones accumulate huge amounts of a leaf litter. During this period, the trophic structure of the zoobenthos community, with a predominance in the large particulate shredders (Gammarus, larvae Pteronarcys), is formed as a launch for the next growth season. While in the recent years in some parts of the East Asia late-autumn floods increasingly began to occur that are likely to be associated with the global climate change. As a result, the accumulated leaf litter is being removed from the river ecosystem before the freeze-up. Under such conditions, the other trophic structure of the benthic community formed, in which, the role of the large particulate shredders and collectors (larvae Baetis) drastically reduced, while the share of the periphyton grazers (larvae Glossosoma, some Heptageniidae) and predators (larvae Kamimuria) is increased.

V.V. Bogatov (Primary Presenter/Author), Federal Research Center of Biodiversity, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, volkarr@gmail.com;


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6/06/2017  |   11:30 - 11:45   |  302C

Seasonal Variability of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities and stream habitat characteristics in Two Ecozones in Northern Ontario, Canada The Ring of Fire in the Far North of Ontario, Canada is considered be one of the most promising mineral development opportunities in Ontario in almost a century. Covering an area of about 5,000 km² in two ecozones, recent estimates suggest that the Ring of Fire holds significant potential production of nickel, copper and platinum as well as potential for world-class multi-generational production of chromite. Baseline environmental data has been collected in the region, including mid-summer stream data to be used in future Reference Condition Approach bioassessments. In this study, we examined seasonal variability in stream site characteristics and benthic invertebrate communities by sampling 43 stream sites, split between the Hudson Bay Lowland and Boreal ecozones, at spring post-breakup, mid-summer and the fall of 2015. Quantifying seasonal variation of habitat characteristics and biotic communities at these sites, and the influence of ecozone location on that variability, will be an important component for future bioassessments aimed at detecting and characterizing effects of mining development and associated activities in the region.

Vanessa Bourne (Primary Presenter/Author), Laurentian University, vbourne@laurentian.ca;


John L Bailey ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, jbailey@laurentian.ca;


Aaron Todd ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, aaron.todd@ontario.ca;


John Gunn ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Laurentian University - Vale Living With Lakes Centre, jgunn@laurentian.ca;


Nicole Novodvorsky ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Laurentian University, nnovodvo@gmail.com;


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6/06/2017  |   11:45 - 12:00   |  302C

Using the Species at Risk index as a tool for adaptive management to reduce impacts of pesticides to aquatic ecosystems The Species at Risk pesticides index (SPEARpesticides) is a trait-based approach to evaluating responses of aquatic macroinvertebrate communities to pesticides. It was developed in Europe and has recently been adapted and applied to multiple regions of North and South America. In intensive agricultural regions in Argentina and California where there are almost no riparian buffers, we found a clear relationship between pesticide levels and changes to macroinvertebrate communities (measured by correlation between pesticide levels and SPEARpesticides values, with R2 of 0.35 to 0.53). In intensive agricultural regions in Paraguay and Brazil where there are large riparian buffers, the SPEARpesticides index did not indicate any clear effect of pesticides on macroinvertebrate communities. In California, we used the SPEARpesticides index in conjunction with a watershed-based model (Soil and Water Assessment Tool ) to predict how pesticide-related impacts to aquatic ecosystems would be affected by climate change. We concluded that without changes to management practices, there would be increases in pesticide application and in effects to macroinvertebrate communities. We are currently using the SPEAR and SWAT tools to model various scenarios with implementation of different management practices, focusing on increasing riparian buffers.

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


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


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


Matthias Liess ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, matthias.liess@ufz.de;


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6/06/2017  |   12:00 - 12:15   |  302C

CAN RAPID BUFFER ASSESSMENT AND LAND USE INDICATE WETLAND FLORISTIC QUALITY AND TAXONOMIC DISTINCTNESS? Freshwater biological integrity is continuously threatened by human activity. Impacts to biological health may be inferred directly (i.e. bioassessment), or estimated indirectly using rapidly assessment or computer-based data layer analysis. This study tests if rapid buffer assessment and surrounding land use can predict and classify wetland biological health as represented by floristic quality (FQ) and taxonomic distinctness (TD). From surveys of 106 non-forested wetlands in Oklahoma, we found a limited ability for land use and buffer quality to estimate site-specific FQ values. Similarly, land use was not a reliable predictor of site-specific TD values. Predictive ability improved with ecological stratification, but linear relationships remained weak. There were also high misclassification rates of FQ and TD. However, limited land use had potential to identify higher levels of FQ, and more intensive land use showed potential to identify lower average TD. This suggests that both measures (FQ and average TD) are needed for a more complete classification of wetland biological response to anthropogenic disturbance. Despite growing interest in relatively rapid or low-cost methods of wetland assessment, our results do not support using such methods in lieu of direct bioassessment.

Suneeti Jog (Primary Presenter/Author), Northeastern State University, jog@nsuok.edu;


Jason Bried ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Arkansas, bried@illinois.edu;


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6/06/2017  |   12:15 - 12:30   |  302C

Structural and Functional Effects of Mining on Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Communities in Surface Mined Streams of the Cumberland Mountains in East Tennessee Recovery of streams impacted by contour strip mining in the New River watershed of the Cumberland Mountains of eastern Tennessee was assessed using Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Multimetric Macroinvertebrate Index. Bioassessments from the present study were compared to those from 2008, 2011, and 2016. Study sites included nine previously mined and two never-mined headwater streams. To assess differences in macroinvertebrate community function we performed a mixed-model ANOVA testing differences in relative abundances of functional feeding groups among treatments. A mixed model ANOVA was also used to test for differences in Shannon-Weaver diversity among treatments. Bioassessments characterized two of the mined streams as “slightly impaired” and remaining streams as “not impaired”. Other recent bioassessments generally found no impairment, but collector-gatherer were found to approach a significant difference (p=0.055) among treatments. Although no significant difference in predator abundance was detected among treatments (p=0.22), predators were more abundant in streams draining previously mined watersheds. Shannon-Weaver diversity has increased in mined streams over time, as predicted by previous researchers, and is similar to that of reference streams (p=0.21).

Gordon Counts (Primary Presenter/Author), Austin Peay State University, gcounts@my.apsu.edu;


Joseph R. Schiller ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Austin Peay State University, schillerj@apsu.edu;


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