SFS Annual Meeting

5/23/2018  |   09:00 - 09:15   |  330 A

LANDSCAPE AND REACH SCALE INFLUENCES ON RESIDENT CUTTHROAT TROUT AND DOLLY VARDEN POPULATIONS IN SOUTHEAST ALASKA Identifying and understanding relationships between fish and their physical habitat is key to managing watersheds and maintaining fish populations. Studies in the Pacific Northwest USA have focused on anadromous salmonids in watersheds subjected to multiple stressors such as logging, agriculture, or urbanization. We modeled resident cutthroat trout and Dolly Varden at 24 sites above barriers to upstream access in SE Alaska and over eleven years. These fish provide a unique opportunity to examine the influence of landscape conditions on fish distribution and morphology in relatively pristine habitats with unexploited fish populations and without the effects of the marine environment. We present models linking both instream characteristics, e.g., pool area or width depth ratio, and landscape drivers, e.g. elevation or distance to migration barrier, to the probability of fish presence, to the abundance of fish where present, and to fish length. We contrast models for the two species and explore landscape drivers of sympatry and competition. Results from this study provide both a clearer understanding of how landscapes control species distributions and important baseline information for management of forested watersheds.

E. Ashley Steel (Primary Presenter/Author), PNW Research Station, US Forest Service, asteel@fs.fed.us;


Sheila Jacobson (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Tongass National Forest, US Forest Service, sajacobson@fs.fed.us;


Emil Tucker (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Tongass National Forest, US Forest Service, etucker@fs.fed.us;


M. Buck Bryant (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Retired, mdbiii45@gmail.com;


John McDonell (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Retired, jmcdonell@fs.fed.us;


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5/23/2018  |   09:15 - 09:30   |  

ENVIRONMENTAL AND BIOLOGICAL IMPACTS TO CRAYFISH POPULATIONS IN IMPOUNDED AND UNIMPOUNDED STREAMS IN ALABAMA Over half of the world’s rivers have seen changes in the magnitude and timing of flows due to water regulation and increased water usage, affecting the diversity and abundance of stream organisms. We related stream channel characteristics, water quality, predator fish and invasive crayfish abundance to the community structure of native crayfishes in impounded and unimpounded streams in Alabama. Crayfish and fish were sampled and physiochemical variables were measured at 6–10 sites in each of five streams (3 impounded, 2 unimpounded) within Bear Creek and Cahaba River drainages during spring and fall 2015–2017. Impoundment effects were detected in the Bear Creek Drainage. In this drainage, impounded streams’ crayfish assemblages were dominated by 2 crayfish species, while species assemblage gradually shifted as you moved downstream in unimpounded streams. These assemblage differences were best explained by environmental variables impacting habitat and food availability, and growth. The presence of an invasive crayfish species, in Cahaba River drainage streams eliminated the impact of impoundments on native crayfish communities. Both impoundments and invasive species impact native crayfish assemblages, shifting stream community structure throughout stream systems.

Zanethia Barnett (Primary Presenter/Author), USDA Forest Service, zanethia.c.barnett@usda.gov;


Susan Adams (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), USDA Forest Service, Center for Bottomland Hardwoods Research, Southern Research Station, Susan.adams@usda.gov;


Clifford Ochs (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Mississippi, byochs@go.olemiss.edu;


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5/23/2018  |   09:30 - 09:45   |  

LANDSCAPE APPROACHES TO UNDERSTANDING INVASIONS IN INLAND LAKES Lakes, like islands, have been model systems for testing important concepts in landscape ecology. I discuss how these landscape-based concepts and multi-scale tools have been used to understand and predict biological invasions. I review a range of approaches, from ecological niche models to studies examining dispersal and incorporating human dimensions. While landscape approaches have been applied in a range of ecosystems, there are clear geographic and taxonomic biases in our understanding. In combination, recently developed analytical techniques and datasets will improve our mechanistic understanding of aquatic invasions and can inform management and conservation of inland lakes.

Karen Alofs (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Michigan, kmalofs@gmail.com;


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5/23/2018  |   09:45 - 10:00   |  

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN FOREST COVER AND FISH DIVERSITY IN THE AMAZON RIVER Floodplains are threatened by land cover changes, but the extent to which changes in floodplains land cover affect fish biodiversity remains unknown. We combined fish data collected in situ and satellite-mapped landscape features to evaluate how fish species with different ecological strategies and assemblage structure respond to deforestation in floodplains of the Amazon River. We surveyed 462 floodplain habitats distributed along a gradient of land cover conditions, from nearly pristine to severely deforested. Spatial patterns of fish biodiversity were strongly associated with forest cover as well as local environmental conditions associated with landscape gradients. Several species and functional groups based on life history, feeding, swimming/microhabitat-use strategies were positively associated with forest cover. Other species, including some that would be considered habitat generalists and species directly dependent on autochthonous resources (e.g., planktivores), were most common in areas dominated by herbaceous vegetation or open water habitats associated with the opposite extreme of the forest cover gradient. Beta diversity and the degree of uniqueness in species combinations within habitats also were associated with forest cover. Our results suggest that deforestation of floodplains results in spatial homogenization of fish assemblages and reduced functional diversity.

Caroline Arantes (Primary Presenter/Author), West Virginia University, caroline.arantes@mail.wvu.edu;


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


Miguel Petrere (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Universidade Federal do Para, mpetrerejr@gmail.com;


Leandro Castello (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Virginia Tech, leandro@vt.edu;


Laura Hess (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Santa Barbara, lauralhess@gmail.com;


Carlos Freitas (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Universidade Federal do Amazonas, freitasc50@gmail.com;


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5/23/2018  |   10:00 - 10:15   |  

ASSESSING THE HISTORICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PODOSTEMUM CERATOPHYLLUM MICHX., A FOUNDATION SPECIES OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA RIVERS Podostemum ceratophyllum Michx. is a torrenticolous riverine macrophyte with a range that extends from Georgia to Canada in eastern North America. Podostemum can have a large influence on benthic ecology by substantially increasing habitat complexity, facilitating increased macroinvertebrate biomass, and possibly, boosting the local abundance of fish and large body consumers. Podostemum, however, appears to be declining throughout much of its range but historical records of the plant’s occurrence are incomplete leaving uncertainty in what rivers and watersheds the plant historically occurred in. Currently six northeastern states list Podostemum as threatened, endangered, or a species of special concern but the causes of decline are unclear. Conservation and restoration efforts focused on Podostemum will require a more detailed understanding of the plant’s historical biogeography. We reviewed herbarium records, published literature, and state agency databases to create distribution maps of Podostemum in eastern North America. Our data provide new insight into changes in the plant’s presence in eastern rivers and support the conclusion that Podostemum was historically present in the major river basins (HUC 6) throughout Appalachia and the Piedmont region. Ongoing work is investigating stressors influence on Podostmeum growth and survival.

James Wood (Primary Presenter/Author), West Liberty University, James.Wood@westliberty.edu;
James is an Associate Professor of Ecology at West Liberty University where he studies a variety of topics related to plant ecology and aquatic ecology. He is especially interested ways to improve water quality through better management, community outreach and education, and applied science.

Destinee Davis (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), West Liberty University, Dadavis@westliberty.edu;


Edward Beaumont (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), West Liberty University, Ebbeaumont@westliberty.edu;


Sam Canfield (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), West Liberty University, scanfield@westliberty.edu;


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