6/08/2017  |   14:00 - 14:15   |  306A

EXAMINING THE ROLE OF ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH FORESTS IN PRESERVING STREAM ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION AND WATER QUALITY Livestock grazing, expansion of agriculture, and firewood demand have resulted in severe forest loss in Northern Ethiopia. Today, only 2% of Ethiopia’s original forest cover remains. There are over 10,000 church forests, circles of dense forest surrounding church buildings, in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. To date, much of the ecological understanding of church forests has focused on tree and insect biodiversity. Here, we present data on stream water quality and nutrient spiraling parameters. We visited 3 church forests ecosystems during summer 2016 and sampled stream reaches upstream, within, and downstream of church forests. In general, ammonium and phosphorus (SRP) concentrations declined with increasing catchment forest, and church forest streams were active sites up nutrient uptake. Total suspended solids also declined in forested stream reaches. One church forest stream was used for washing during our sampling event, resulting in high SRP concentrations and long SRP uptake lengths. As community gathering sites, forests may promote localized stream uses that diminish water quality, but they also serve as a buffer against agricultural fertilizers widely used in the region.

Denise Bruesewitz (Primary Presenter/Author), Colby College, dabruese@colby.edu;


Brian Kim ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Colby College, stkim@colby.edu;


Wes Zebrowski ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Colby College, wzebrows@colby.edu;


Taylor Garner ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Northern Virginia Community College, tng2998@email.vccs.edu ;


Dawon Lee ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Colby College, dlee@colby.edu;


Marcus Wright ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Bowdoin College, mwright@bowdoin.edu;


Margaret Lowman ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), California Academy of Sciences, canopymeg@gmail.com;


Alemayehu Wassie ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Bahir Dar, alewas2008@yahoo.com;


Travis Reynolds ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Colby College, twreynol@colby.edu ;


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6/08/2017  |   14:15 - 14:30   |  306A

DECOUPLED GENERALIST VS HUMAN SPECIFIC FECAL INDICATORS IN MIXED LAND USE WATERSHEDS: TEMPORAL DYNAMICS AND CORRELATIONS WITH GEOCHEMISTY Tracking and sourcing fecal contamination from non-point sources in developed watersheds has proved difficult, where multiple indicators often provide conflicting results. To test the occurrence of specific vs. generalist fecal indicators, we measured weekly: two generalist bacteria fecal indicators (Total coliforms, E. coli), a genetic, human-associated indicator (Bacteroides:HF183), and the surface water chemistry of nine mixed land-use watersheds around Blacksburg, VA. We found the indicators were decoupled, each with a distinct pattern in the spatial, temporal, and chemical relationships. HF183 was only correlated with urban land cover and was elevated during the winter; whereas, while generalist indicators concentrations were correlated with all developed land covers and were highest during the summer. All fecal indicators were poorly related to nutrients, but each was strongly related to different base cations. These watershed-scale results provide strong evidence that HF183 detects mainly human fecal contamination, rather than broader ecosystem contamination detected by generalists indicators. The poor relationships between indicators likely results from actual differences in the location of introduction of various fecal inputs and subsequent mechanisms governing transport and fate in surface waters.

Meredith Steele (Primary Presenter/Author), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, steelem@vt.edu;


Brian Badgley ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, badgley@vt.edu;


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6/08/2017  |   14:30 - 14:45   |  306A

USING IN-SITU SPECTROMETRY TO ASSESS NUTRIENT LOADING ALONG A RURAL TO URBAN GRADIENT AND INFORM WATERSHED MANAGEMENT Falls and Jordan Lake supply much of the drinking water to the Research Triangle region of North Carolina and are immediately downstream of areas undergoing rapid urbanization. These reservoirs provide difficult management challenges due to the heterogeneity of land use spanning rural to urban. Along this gradient, nutrient sources vary greatly (e.g. agricultural runoff, septic systems, leaking sewer lines), as does the hydrologic regime altered by impervious surface cover and hydrologic connectivity (i.e. pipes and roads). Existing models of nutrient loading for large watersheds, often limited by the constraints of grab sampling, do not investigate patch scale processes. As such, they fail to resolve nutrient loading in space and time. Ecohydrologic models informed by fine scale data collection will be necessary to identify hot spots and hot moments in nutrient loading that can act as control points for watershed management. To this end, we are leveraging existing water chemistry data with in-situ spectrometry at land use specific sub catchments to build a process level understanding of nutrient loading that can be applied to heterogeneous watersheds.

Joseph Delesantro (Primary Presenter/Author), University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, jmdelesantro@gmail.com;


Jon Duncan ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, jmduncan@unc.edu;


Diego Riveros-Iregui ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of North Carolina, diegori@unc.edu;


Emily Bernhardt ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Duke University, ebernhar@duke.edu;


Lawrence Band ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Virginia, leb3t@virginia.edu;


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6/08/2017  |   14:45 - 15:00   |  306A

EXAMINING NUTRIENT DYNAMICS IN WATERFOWL IMPOUNDMENTS IN COASTAL NORTH CAROLINA Anthropogenic nutrient loads result in eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems, causing harmful algal blooms in surrounding water bodies. Lake Mattamuskeet (Hyde County, NC) is a large coastal lake that has recently experienced declines in submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), an indicator of high nutrient conditions. Due to flat topography throughout the watershed, hydrology is altered using pumps to drain for agriculture or flood for waterfowl habitat. This project represents a larger effort to better understand the factors contributing to decline in water quality and SAV in the lake. To this end, high temporal resolution data (30 min) collected using UV-Visual spectrometers and multi-parameter sondes at a waterfowl impoundment and an agricultural field that is seasonally modified as a waterfowl impoundment part of the year. Specifically, water levels and water chemistry (e.g., nitrate, total suspended solids, total dissolved nitrogen, dissolved organic carbon) are monitored. Quantifying nutrient dynamics as hydrology is actively managed may ultimately contribute to developing best management practices that reduce nutrient exports and restore SAV of this aquatic ecosystem.

Brian Hinckley (POC,Primary Presenter), , hinckleyb11@students.ecu.edu;


Randall Etheridge ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), East Carolina University, etheridgej15@ecu.edu;


Ariane Peralta ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), East Carolina University, peraltaa@ecu.edu;


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6/08/2017  |   15:00 - 15:15   |  306A

SPATIAL TOOLS TO EVALUATE CATCHMENT-SCALE SEPTIC SYSTEM IMPACTS IN PERI-URBANIZING NORTHWEST FLORIDA Human development poses many threats to aquatic ecosystems and the services they provide. Nutrient and bacteria loading associated with residential septic systems are among the most significant threats to the health of stream and estuary ecosystems in northwest Florida, where residential developments have supplanted pine forests across the region. Funding is available from the state and utility providers to implement septic-to-sewer conversions, but the overwhelming abundance of septic systems across the region poses a challenge for prioritizing locations to maximize water quality benefit. For example, in tributaries to the Perdido River in northwest Florida, approximately 12,000 residences have septic systems over a 350 square mile area. GIS-based tools are critical for characterizing the cumulative effects of these spatially distributed stressors through the drainage network, and for describing the benefits of their removal. We developed a spatial model to characterize the cumulative effects of septic systems on Florida’s tributaries to the Perdido River. Results from our model indicate locations where a feasible number of septic-to-sewer conversions could benefit water quality, as well as locations where a limited number of conversions are unlikely to have measurable water quality benefit.

Matthew Deitch (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Florida, West Florida Research and Education Center, mdeitch@ufl.edu;


Michele Sapundjieff ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Florida, West Florida Research and Education Center, msapundjieff@ufl.edu;


Shane Feirer ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of California Informatics and GIS Statewide Program, stfeirer@ucanr.edu;


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6/08/2017  |   15:15 - 15:30   |  306A

SOURCES OF MICROPLASTIC CONTAMINATION IN LAKE MICHIGAN AND INTERACTIONS WITH AQUATIC BIOTA Microplastic is a contaminant of concern worldwide which can reduce aquatic organisms’ feeding capacity, adsorb persistent organic pollutants, and support pathogenic bacteria. Recent research showed microplastic concentrations in the Great Lakes are comparable to or higher than marine habitats. We investigated the sources and biological interactions of microplastic entering Lake Michigan. Eight major tributaries of Lake Michigan were sampled for microplastic in surface waters, benthic sediments, and aquatic biota. Surface water microplastic concentrations were ~13 times greater in an agriculturally dominated watershed compared to a forested watershed, and showed the same abundance, variation, and composition as coastal marine environments. Neogobius melanostomus (round goby) had the highest concentration of gut microplastic (~20 pieces/fish) compared to all other fish taxa, and had a positive correlation between body size and number of microplastic pieces per fish (r2 = 0.71). Results show microplastic is common in aquatic food webs of major Lake Michigan tributaries, and that agriculturally dominated watersheds may be key sources of microplastic. Ongoing work will incorporate these data with microplastic in sediment and in common macroinvertebrate taxa.

Rae McNeish (Primary Presenter/Author), California State University Bakersfield, rae.mcneish@gmail.com;
Dr. McNeish is an early career freshwater ecologist located at California State University, Bakersfield. Her research focuses on terrestrial-aquatic connections and how anthropogenic activities, pollutants, and terrestrial management practices impact freshwater ecosystems. Current research projects are exploring the ecological and biological connections associated with anthropogenic litter and microplastics in the environment while working towards establishing standardized microplastic methodologies.

Timothy Hoellein ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Loyola University Chicago, thoellein@luc.edu;
Dr. Hoellein is a freshwater ecologist at Loyola University Chicago. His research interests are focused on ecosystem processes and biogeochemistry. His research lab explores these areas in associate with the movement and biological transformation of elements, energy, and pollution in aquatic ecosystems.

Sherri Mason ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), State University of New York at Fredonia, mason@fredonia.edu;


John Kelly ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Loyola University Chicago, Jkelly7@luc.edu;


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6/08/2017  |   15:30 - 15:45   |  306A

MATERIAL INPUTS AND PRIMARY PRODUCER RESPONSES IN AN APPALACHIAN RESERVOIR RECEIVING MOUNTAINTOP COAL MINING RUNOFF: EVIDENCE FROM THE SEDIMENT RECORD Surface mining for coal extraction is a form of land use shown to impact stream ecosystems but less is known of long term impacts on reservoir systems downstream from mining operations. Here, we apply paleolimnological techniques to sediment cores collected from two different arms of Mud River Reservoir, WV. Mud River Reservoir contains two primary arms with one arm in a coal mining watershed and the other in a watershed not directly impacted by coal mining. Material inputs and storage were inferred from nutrient, organic matter, and heavy metal deposition, and primary producer community and abundance was reconstructed from photosynthetic pigment analysis (chlorophylls and carotenoids). Results show increased inputs of inorganic carbon transformed the river/reservoir into a pseudo-marl lake. Like other aquatic systems receiving coal mining materials, selenium deposition increased 500% when compared to pre-reservoir levels. Based on photosynthetic pigment measurements, the entire reservoir increased in abundance of cryptophytes and diatoms in response to dam completion with cyanobacteria and green algae also becoming more abundant in some areas. Mud River Reservoir serves as an example of the novel ecosystems being established from this extensive and intense land use practice.

Matthew Waters (Primary Presenter/Author), Auburn University, mwaters@auburn.edu;


Emily Bernhardt ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Duke University, ebernhar@duke.edu;


Alex Metz ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Auburn University, apm0032@tigermail.auburn.edu;


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