Tuesday, June 6, 2017
14:00 - 15:45

<< Back to Schedule

14:00 - 14:15: / 302B LINKING HYDROLOGICAL CONNECTIVITY TO THE STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATIONS OF STREAM MACROINVERTEBRATE METACOMMUNITIES: A MACROECOLOGICAL STUDY CASE

6/06/2017  |   14:00 - 14:15   |  302B

LINKING HYDROLOGICAL CONNECTIVITY TO THE STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATIONS OF STREAM MACROINVERTEBRATE METACOMMUNITIES: A MACROECOLOGICAL STUDY CASE Patterns of metacommunities are the product of heterogeneous combinations of local and regional influences driven by asymmetric dispersal, uneven energy flow, and disparities in habitat availability. Thus, from a macroecological research standpoint, the focus is on the structural and dynamical properties that dictate metacommunity structure over large scales. Here we present a study of two adjacent watersheds differing in the hydrological connectivity among their sub-drainages. To research the structural organization of metacommunities in relation to hydrological connectivity we used a multi-site beta-diversity partition. Further, we explored aspects of taxa associations and metacommunity assembly using the Elements of Metacommunity Structure framework. To explore how hydrological connectivity affects their functional organization, we decomposed functional beta-diversity into functional nestedness and functional turnover. We also described changes in functional composition using a multidimensional trait analysis. Our results indicate that hydrological connectivity is a major driver structuring stream metacommunities at a macroecological scale and that this connectivity drives stream functional organization to a lesser extent. Turnover and nestedness were the most responsive factors to variation in hydrological connectivity, with nestedness increasing significantly across disconnected sub-drainages.

Alain Maasri (Primary Presenter/Author), The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, alainmaasri@gmail.com;


Barbara Hayford ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Montana, barbara.hayford@umt.edu;
Dr. Barbara Hayford is the Executive Director of the Coastal Interpretive Center in Ocean Shores Washington and a research affiliate with the University of Montana. She received her Ph.D. (1998) in Entomology from the University of Kansas and MS (1993) in Applied Natural Science from Colorado State University, Pueblo. Barbara was the Assistant Director of the Central Plains Center for Bioassessment from 1998-2000. She then served as an assistant professor to full professor at Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska and as an assistant professor at Chadron State College in Chadron Nebraska. During her time at WSC Barbara served as the Director of the A. Jewell Schock Museum of Natural History. She honed her skills in chironomid taxonomy as a production taxonomist with Rhithron Associates, Inc. in Missoula, Montana. Barbara’s research has focused on biodiversity analysis and freshwater ecology of non-biting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae) including several years as part of the Mongolian Aquatic Insect Survey. Currently, she is exploring chironomid biodiversity in coastal streams, estuaries, and nearshore marine environments of Washington’s Pacific Coast.

Bolortsetseg Erdenee ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, erdenee.bolortsetseg@gmail.com;


Jon Gelhaus ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, gelhaus@gmail.com;


Presentation:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.

14:15 - 14:30: / 302B FISH FOOD WEBS IN RIVER MACROSYSTEMS OF THE U.S. GREAT BASIN

6/06/2017  |   14:15 - 14:30   |  302B

FISH FOOD WEBS IN RIVER MACROSYSTEMS OF THE U.S. GREAT BASIN Developments in riverine ecology demonstrate that rivers can be most accurately viewed as mosaics of interacting hydrogeomorphic patches, or functional process zones (FPZs), as opposed to continuous gradients of change from upstream to downstream. FPZs are interacting patches at the reach-to-valley scale that are characterized by unique sets of hydrogeomorphic and environmental habitat features. Differences in FPZs should affect food web relationships, including the relative availability of different basal carbon sources and the resulting food chain length. In a summer 2016 ecoregion-wide study of 3 terminal basin rivers of the U.S. Great Basin, we investigated food sources and food chain length at the FPZ scale. We used compound-specific stable isotope analysis of amino acids of carbon and nitrogen to determine the basal sources of carbon and the trophic positions of most resident fish species. Results showed significant differences in food web relationships among FPZ sites. As one of the first of its kind, this empirical study offers important insight into riverine theory while also offering potential conservation strategies in the context of global climate change and species invasion.

Emily Arsenault (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Kansas, erarsenault@ku.edu;


James H. Thorp ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Kansas/Kansas Biological Survey, thorp@ku.edu;


Michael Thai ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), The University of Kansas, michaeldthai@gmail.com;


Rachel Bowes ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Kansas, Kansas Biological Survey, rebowes.wildlife@gmail.com;


Mark Pyron ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ball State University, mpyron@bsu.edu;


Mario Minder ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ball State University, mmminder@bsu.edu;


Robert Shields ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ball State University, rcshields@bsu.edu;


Nicholas Kotlinski ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Kansas, kotlini@ku.edu;


Presentation:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.

14:30 - 14:45: / 302B A MACROECOLOGICAL APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING DRIVERS OF RIVERINE FISH COMMUNITY COMPOSITION

6/06/2017  |   14:30 - 14:45   |  302B

A Macroecological Approach to Understanding Drivers of Riverine Fish Community Composition Viewing rivers as a mosaic of hydrogeomorphic patches has allowed for a more complete and in-depth approach to advancing riverine ecological research. Changes in valley scale hydrogeomorphic patches, (or functional process zones, FPZs), alter the riverine habitat features that influence the development and structure of communities as a result of environmental selection for specific ecological and life history traits. Using the AFS Standard Sampling Protocol for wadeable streams, we sampled contrasting (constricted and wide valley) FPZs in both upland and lowland areas within three terminal basin rivers in the Great Basin U.S.A. Functional diversity was calculated using fish trait and abundance data within the statistical package FD, and evaluated alongside a metric of riverine complexity determined from valley and reach scale hydrogeomorphic data taken on site and from remote sensing databases. Analyzing community functional diversity alongside riverine complexity revealed a configuration of fish communities structured by hydrogeomorphic patches. The unique scale of this project provides new perspectives in riverine ecology for both theoretical and management scenarios when thinking about the structure and location of riverine fish communities.

Michael Thai (Primary Presenter/Author), The University of Kansas, michaeldthai@gmail.com;


James H. Thorp ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Kansas/Kansas Biological Survey, thorp@ku.edu;


Emily Arsenault ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Kansas, erarsenault@ku.edu;


Rachel Bowes ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Kansas, Kansas Biological Survey, rebowes.wildlife@gmail.com;


Mark Pyron ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ball State University, mpyron@bsu.edu;


Mario Minder ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ball State University, mmminder@bsu.edu;


Robert Shields ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ball State University, rcshields@bsu.edu;


Nicholas Kotlinski ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Kansas, kotlini@ku.edu;


Presentation:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.

14:45 - 15:00: / 302B INTRODUCED FISHES IN RIVERS OF THE US GREAT BASIN

6/06/2017  |   14:45 - 15:00   |  302B

INTRODUCED FISHES IN RIVERS OF THE US GREAT BASIN Stability of Great Basin river fish assemblages have been challenged by nearly two centuries of anthropogenic impacts. Overfishing, introduced species, and changing climate have shaped the current assemblage of fishes. We surveyed fishes of the Carson, Humboldt, and Bear River watersheds in Nevada, Idaho, and Utah. Our approach was to use multivariate ordinations to visualize fish assemblages with and without invasives, and by functional process zone. We created species distribution models for five fish species native to the Great Basin under two future climate scenarios and for two time periods. Valley shape had a distinct effect on lowland fish assemblages but not on upland assemblages. Climate models varied among species with ranges of Tahoe Sucker and Speckled Dace expanding under future conditions while those of Mountain Sucker and Paiute Sculpin contracted. Understanding how the surrounding landscape and climate influence river fauna is useful in predicting invasion potential and for mitigating effects of established invasive species and protecting natives.

Robert Shields (Primary Presenter/Author), Ball State University, rcshields@bsu.edu;


Mark Pyron ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ball State University, mpyron@bsu.edu;


Mario Minder ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ball State University, mmminder@bsu.edu;


Presentation:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.

15:00 - 15:15: / 302B WABASH RIVER FOOD WEB BEFORE AND AFTER AN ECOSYSTEM TRANSITION

6/06/2017  |   15:00 - 15:15   |  302B

WABASH RIVER FOOD WEB BEFORE AND AFTER AN ECOSYSTEM TRANSITION Fish assemblages in the Wabash River, Indiana underwent a major transition in the mid-1990s. Planktivore- omnivores (Gizzard Shad) were dominant before 1990 and their abundances decreased to nearly absent in the mid-1990s. Benthic invertivores (suckers, Freshwater Drum) were in low abundance before 1990 and increased to current high abundances. We found that nutrients applied to agricultural fields in the watershed covaried with the fish trophic group abundances: phosphorus decreased and nitrogen increased during the same period. Our current hypothesis is that nutrient loads modified phytoplankton productivity at the base of food webs and magnified up food webs to effects on all trophic levels. We quantified carbon sources in historic and recent fish tissues using compound specific amino acid analysis to determine if carbon sources were modified during the past 50 years.

Mark Pyron (Primary Presenter/Author), Ball State University, mpyron@bsu.edu;


Robert Shields ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ball State University, rcshields@bsu.edu;


Mario Minder ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ball State University, mmminder@bsu.edu;


Brent Murry ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), US Fish and Wildlife Service, Brent_murry@fws.gov;


Jesse Becker ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ball State University, jcbecker@bsu.edu;


Kirk Winemiller ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Texas A & M University, k-winemiller@tamu.edu;


Presentation:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.

15:15 - 15:30: / 302B MACROSYSTEM ECOLOGY: SESSION SUMMARY AND PERSPECTIVES FOR FUTURE RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT

6/06/2017  |   15:15 - 15:30   |  302B

MACROSYSTEM ECOLOGY: SESSION SUMMARY AND PERSPECTIVES FOR FUTURE RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT Macrosystem analysis of aquatic ecosystems represents a new frontier in aquatic ecology with largely undeveloped guidelines for scientists. As we extend our research to larger physical areas and broader ecological and management questions, we need to evaluate: (a) the appropriate physical extent and boundaries for study; (b) methods for macrosystem delineation; (c) level of ecological processes in comparison to previous studies; (d) recommended modeling approaches (e.g., structural equation modeling); (e) the role of climate effects and inter-macrosysten interactions; and (f) the needed breadth of interdisciplinary teams. Finally, we should investigate the potential contributions of macrosystem ecology for system management of rivers, lakes, and wetlands. This concluding special session talk will address many of these issues, add perspectives from an ongoing, intercontinental river macrosystem study funded by NSF, and attem1pt to summarize key points in selected talks which will have been presented in this SFS macrosystem session.

James H. Thorp (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Kansas/Kansas Biological Survey, thorp@ku.edu;


Presentation:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.