Thursday, June 8, 2017
11:00 - 12:30

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11:00 - 11:15: / 306C GAUGING THE IMPORTANCE OF MICROHABITAT IN QUALITATIVE MACROINVERTEBRATE SAMPLING THROUGH THE ANALYSIS OF FIVE COMMONLY SAMPLED MICROHABITAT TYPES IN AN EFFLUENT-IMPACTED RIVER

6/08/2017  |   11:00 - 11:15   |  306C

GAUGING THE IMPORTANCE OF MICROHABITAT IN QUALITATIVE MACROINVERTEBRATE SAMPLING THROUGH THE ANALYSIS OF FIVE COMMONLY SAMPLED MICROHABITAT TYPES IN AN EFFLUENT-IMPACTED RIVER We have used different sampling strategies to relate macroinvertebrate assemblages with habitat quality in the Sangamon River, above and below the sanitary district effluent discharge in Decatur, IL. The standard 20 jab method of proportional sampling in multiple microhabitats, based on QHEI physical habitat score, sampled allowed for comparison between sites based on overall community composition. However, it oversampled fine sediments, which dominate the Sangamon, therefore potentially missing sensitive taxa in isolated quality habitats. In the fall of 2016 we tested an enhanced qualitative approach to better gauge the importance of microhabitat types to macroinvertebrate assemblages in the river. We sampled five different natural microhabitats (riffles, fine sediments, root wads, snags, leaf packs) and 2 artificial substrates (hester dendy, artificial leaf packs) at seven different sites. Sampling a subset of specific microhabitats should allow for comparisons between sites, capture of sensitive taxa, and identification of specific habitats important in reclamation efforts. Preliminary results indicate that root wad microhabitats would fall into this category. However, samples are currently being processed.

Samuel Gradle (Primary Presenter/Author), Eastern Illinois University, samgradle@gmail.com;


Robert Colombo ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Eastern Illinois University, recolombo@eiu.edu;


Charles Pederson ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Eastern Illinois University , clpederson@eiu.edu;


Jeffrey Laursen ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Eastern Illinois University , jrlaursen@eiu.edu;


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11:15 - 11:30: / 306C AUTOMATED ASSESSMENT OF DAPHNIA MAGNA POPULATIONS USING DIGITAL IMAGING AND MACHINE LEARNING

6/08/2017  |   11:15 - 11:30   |  306C

AUTOMATED ASSESSMENT OF DAPHNIA MAGNA POPULATIONS USING DIGITAL IMAGING AND MACHINE LEARNING Daphnia magna is a species of water flea often used to assess effects of natural changes or anthropromorphic influences in the environment. The small size and high fecundity of daphnids make them ideal for performing experiments at the organismal and population levels. Currently, the inability to efficiently count individual daphnids within a population hinders the rapid acquisition of longitudinal population-level data, thereby limiting the causal association between organismal responses and ecosystem adversity. We propose a novel method to semi-automate population-level data collection of daphnids. We use a document scanner and 3-d printed chambers to produce images of samples from daphnid populations. Using machine learning, specifically deep neural networks, we are able to count the daphnids present in each image with over 98% accuracy. We validate our results with a 3-week population study examining the effect of the herbicide pendimethalin on daphnid populations. We compare the results and scalability of our automated method with hand-counting, in terms of both accuracy and total counting time.

Kevin Flores (Primary Presenter/Author), North Carolina State University, kbflores@ncsu.edu;


Erica Rutter ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), North Carolina State University, erutter@ncsu.edu;


Gerald LeBlanc ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), North Carolina State University, gal@ncsu.edu;


HT Banks ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), North Carolina State University, htbanks@ncsu.edu;


Graedon Martin ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), North Carolina State University, gdmarti2@ncsu.edu;


Elizabeth Collins ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), North Carolina State University, encollin@ncsu.edu;


John Lagergren ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), North Carolina State University, jhlagerg@ncsu.edu;


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11:30 - 11:45: / 306C THE INFLUENCE OF FISH ON MACROINVERTEBRATE ASSEMBLAGES IN SMALL STREAMS IN THE BANKHEAD NATIONAL FOREST, ALABAMA

6/08/2017  |   11:30 - 11:45   |  306C

THE INFLUENCE OF FISH ON MACROINVERTEBRATE ASSEMBLAGES IN SMALL STREAMS IN THE BANKHEAD NATIONAL FOREST, ALABAMA The influence of fish presence on the behavioral responses of benthic macroinvertebrates in situ were determined by measuring densities, diversities, and timing of the downstream transport of benthic invertebrates in the water column (aka drift). In July 2015, invertebrates were collected from the benthos and in the water column over a 24-hour period using drift nets. Five headwater streams containing reaches with and without fish were sampled in Bankhead National Forest, AL (n = 10). Invertebrates were identified to family level. Differences in community composition and densities of invertebrates in drift samples and benthic samples with and without fish, as well as the effect of time of day on drift invertebrate composition and magnitude were determined using ANOVA. Community level densities and richness in the drift and benthos were similar between reaches, regardless of time of day. However, dominant insect families such as Chironomidae, Perlidae, and Baetidae showed significant changes in timing of drifting events. Additionally, Leptoceridae and Simuliidae showed significant differences in drifting densities in the presence of fish. These results suggest that other factors independent of fish presence alter overall response of invertebrate drift in these streams.

Thomas Hess (Primary Presenter/Author), Department of Biology, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL, thess@stu.jsu.edu;


Lori Tolley-Jordan ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Jacksonville State University, ljordan@jsu.edu;


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11:45 - 12:00: / 306C WHAT YOU LEAVE BEHIND COUNTS: ABANDONED ECOSYSTEM ENGINEERING STRUTURES FACILITATE COLONIZATION IN A HEADWATER STREAM

6/08/2017  |   11:45 - 12:00   |  306C

WHAT YOU LEAVE BEHIND COUNTS: ABANDONED ECOSYSTEM ENGINEERING STRUTURES FACILITATE COLONIZATION IN A HEADWATER STREAM Understanding how organisms mediate ecosystem recovery is increasingly important as streams experience unprecedented levels of disturbance. Our research identifies the influence that net-spinning caddisfly (Hydropsychidae) have on stream macroinvertebrate colonization and seeks to experimentally untangle behavioral and physical mechanisms driving facilitation patterns following drought disturbances. We manipulated caddisfly presence and caddisfly silk retreats on previously dried gravels in a headwater stream. We hypothesized that the silk structures produced by caddisflies may facilitate colonization of coexisting invertebrate taxa, unless territorial behavior overrides such positive effects. Macroinvertebrate density and biomass were significantly higher in caddisfly + retreat and retreat only treatments compared to controls with no caddisflies or retreats, suggesting that caddisflies and their silk facilitated colonization. In addition, we found that the overall facilitation of caddisflies and their silk was not outweighed by their territorial behaviors. The experimentally abandoned silk structures increased macroinvertebrate colonization relative to controls, suggesting a legacy effect of silk on community recovery following a disturbance. Caddisfly larvae may influence colonization through non-exclusive pathways including: streambed stabilization, current shading and/or transferring water column food resources to the streambed.

Benjamin Tumolo (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Wyoming, bbtumolo@gmail.com;


Lindsey Albertson ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Montana State University, lalbertson@stroudcenter.org;


Wyatt Cross ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Montana State University, wyatt.cross@montana.edu ;


Melinda Daniels ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Stroud Water Research Center, mdaniels@stroudcenter.org;


leonard Sklar ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), San Francisco State University , leonard@sfsu.edu ;


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12:00 - 12:15: / 306C ASSESSING AND PREDICTING THE BIOLOGICAL HEALTH OF NC PIEDMONT STREAMS USING HIERARCHICAL MODELING

6/08/2017  |   12:00 - 12:15   |  306C

Assessing and Predicting the Biological Health of NC Piedmont streams using Hierarchical Modeling The degradation of wadeable streams by human development alters fundamental physical, chemical and biological properties of these systems. Though low thresholds (10%) of impervious cover in catchment areas have been shown to substantially degrade the biological health of streams, other important predictors of stream health have not been clearly determined. Using macroinvertebrate sampling data from more than 500 sites collected by multiple North Carolina institutions from 1992 - 2015, our study uses a hierarchical statistical modeling approach to assess trends across the NC piedmont to determine the main drivers of stream degradation as well as their interactions. The ultimate goal of our research is to assess natural factors, flow regimes, temperature fluxes, anthropogenic stressors, and water quality parameters at the catchment level and sampling location that can accurately predict the biological health of streams. Preliminary results indicate that anthropogenic land cover, water quality parameters (specific conductance and dissolved oxygen), instream habitat and geologic conditions all have significant relationships with the biotic indices of streams. We further propose to illustrate how the model can predict changes in biological health under various development and water quality improvement scenarios.

Jonathan Miller (Primary Presenter/Author), North Carolina State University, jwmille7@ncsu.edu;


Daniel Obenour ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), NC State University, drobenour@ncsu.edu;


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12:15 - 12:30: / 306C DISTRIBUTION OF CRYPTIC SPECIES AS A SPECIFIC RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS AT LARGE SCALE: THE FRESHWATER SHRIMP CARIDINA INDISTINCT CALMAN, 1926 IN THE SOUTHEAST QUEENSLAND.

6/08/2017  |   12:15 - 12:30   |  306C

DISTRIBUTION OF CRYPTIC SPECIES AS A SPECIFIC RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS AT LARGE SCALE: THE FRESHWATER SHRIMP CARIDINA INDISTINCT CALMAN, 1926 IN THE SOUTHEAST QUEENSLAND. In this study, we focused specifically on freshwater shrimp belonging to the Caridina indistincta complex in southeast Qld. Two hypotheses have been suggested 1) as the taxa have different distributions, their tolerance to water quality and elevation parameters also differ, 2) as the different cryptic species of Caridina indistincta rarely exist sympatrically, their responses to environmental variables and preference to the specific habitats will differ between species. Molecular work has been conducted for147 shrimp specimens from 47 sites in 15 Catchments across southeast Qld, by sequencing a fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI). The molecular approach identified three cryptic species of Caridina indistincta (Sp. A, B & D) and showed that these cryptic species seldom exist together, with only three sites containing more than one species. Based on a multivariate analysis of water quality variables at each site, Sp. A could be differentiated from Sp. B and Sp. D, but Sp. B and Sp. D overlapped substantially.

amaal yasser (Primary Presenter/Author), Griffith University, a.yasser@griffithuni.edu.au;


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