SFS Annual Meeting

5/23/2018  |   09:00 - 09:15   |  310 A

AQUATIC MACROINVERTEBRATES AS BIOINDICATORS OF WATER QUALITY IN RURAL AND URBAN STREAMS AFFECTED BY CHANNELIZATION. Two traditional biomonitoring metrics, used to infer organic pollution in freshwater, were adapted for Puerto Rico: BMWP (Biological Monitoring Working Party) and FBI (Family Biotic Index). On the other hand, Urban stream syndrome studies, which are focused on the effect of channelization structures on water quality and macroinvertebrate diversity, demonstrated that the presence of bridges and culverts splits streams into three sections (upstream of the bridge, channelized section and downstream of the bridge) and changes aquatic macroinvertebrates abundance and richness in every section. Because BMWP'PR and FBI'PR relies on abundance and richness (both affected by channelization structures) to indicate water quality, this project aims to determine whether water quality is affected by the presence of channelization structures in streams. To answer this question, macroinvertebrate diversity was studied in two streams with culverts and with contrasting water qualities: Quebrada Infierno (Urban), and Quebrada Grande (Rural). Abundance and richness were used to calculate BMWP'PR and FBI'PR. Results showed that the presence of culverts affected water quality in rural and urban streams in a similar manner by creating gradients of water quality, with largest changes occurring in polluted urbanized streams.

Ismael Orengo Sanchez (Primary Presenter/Author), Universidad del Turabo, iorengo1@email.suagm.edu;


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5/23/2018  |   09:15 - 09:30   |  310 A

DYNAMICS OF WATER QUALITY IN AN EFFLUENT-DOMINATED REACH OF THE SANTA CRUZ RIVER, AZ In Arizona, the Santa Cruz River system is one of several river systems that have experienced groundwater drops and loss of perennial flow due to groundwater pumping and drought. This river currently has artificial, perennial reaches that are supported by effluent discharge from wastewater treatment plants. The return of perennial reaches has brought back habitat for numerous of aquatic and riparian taxa. However, they no longer have a natural flow regime. Little research has been conducted on the water quality gradients along these perennial effluent-dominated reaches. The objective of this study is to quantify physical and chemical water quality gradients downstream from the effluent outfall. Beginning in August 2017, we have collected water quality data (e.g. DO, pH, conductivity, nutrient levels) monthly from six reaches spaced ~2 miles apart along the lower reaches, and will continue to do so through 2019. Additionally, we will expand our study to include other effluent-dominated reaches of Santa Cruz, Salt, and Gila rivers, as well as reference streams unaffected by effluent input. The findings of this study will help us understand how effluent can be used to restore perennial river habitats in arid climates.

Drew Eppehimer (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Arizona, deppehimer@gmail.com;


Michael Bogan (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), School of Natural Resources and the Environment, The University of Arizona, mbogan@email.arizona.edu;


Hamdhani Hamdhani (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Arizona, hamdhani@email.arizona.edu;


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5/23/2018  |   09:30 - 09:45   |  310 A

CHARACTERIZING THE QUALITY OF GOLF COURSE LENTIC ECOSYSTEMS Golf courses in the United States have potential to play a significant role in maintaining and enhancing local biodiversity – particularly when the adjacent landscape is dominated by anthropogenic land-use and where golf courses contain important habitats, such as lentic ponds or wetland. Turfgrass management practices require significant maintenance costs, and typically involve the use of chemicals that can affect water quality, aesthetics, and native organisms via runoff into surface waters. However, characterizing whether these lentic ecosystems differ in water quality, chemistry or biota to more natural areas is currently understudied. Our objective was to characterize the differences in water quality, nutrients, pesticides, and relative algal abundance across lentic ecosystems in the Chicago Metropolitan area. We quantified these metrics across 55 lentic ecosystems ranging from permanent golf course ponds to permanent, fish-filled ponds within nature preserves to ephemeral fishless wetlands between April to August 2017. We found that permanent lentic systems, whether located within golf courses or more natural forest preserve habitats, were similar across all metrics, but both habitats generally differed from ephemeral wetlands. These data will help elucidate the ecosystem services that golf course lentic ecosystems provide.

Joseph Milanovich (Primary Presenter/Author), Loyola University Chicago, jmilanovich@luc.edu;


Jennifer Piacente (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Loyola University Chicago , jpiacente@luc.edu;


Andrés Muñoz (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Loyola University Chicago, amunoz7@luc.edu;


Isabella Lentini (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Loyola University Chicago, ilentini@luc.edu;


Armand Cann (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Loyola University Chicago, acann@luc.edu;


Martin B. Berg (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Loyola University Chicago, mberg@luc.edu;


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5/23/2018  |   09:45 - 10:00   |  310 A

RESTORING AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS IN ARID ENVIRONMENTS WITH TREATED WASTEWATER: WISHFUL THINKING OR PRACTICAL REALITY? In arid climates, increasing water use has resulted in the loss of surface water resources. For example, much of the Santa Cruz River in southern Arizona lost perennial flow in the mid-1900s due to extensive groundwater pumping. However, portions of the river have been artificially reborn through effluent discharge from wastewater treatment plants. This effluent discharge has created aquatic habitat, but it is not known how taxa have responded to the artificial flow regime and water quality dynamics. We collect monthly samples along the lower Santa Cruz River at six reaches near Tucson, AZ. This monthly collection includes benthic multihabitat and drift net sampling and has uncovered a surprisingly diverse community yielding >100 aquatic macroinvertebrate species and 5 species of fish within the effluent dominated lower Santa Cruz River. Our sampling has also revealed the presence of microplastics (such as micro beads from personal care products) in this treated wastewater. As urban development continues, discharge of effluent into rivers and streams will become more common. Continued research is needed to determine the viability of treated wastewater to augment or replace natural flows and to incorporate ecosystem services into effluent management.

Hamdhani Hamdhani (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Arizona, hamdhani@email.arizona.edu;


Michael Bogan (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), School of Natural Resources and the Environment, The University of Arizona, mbogan@email.arizona.edu;


Drew Eppehimer (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Arizona, deppehimer@gmail.com;


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5/23/2018  |   10:00 - 10:15   |  310 A

ELECTRIC FIELDS: WHAT ARE THEY BAD FOR? In the pursuit of happiness, we extremely depend on electric energy. Thanks to a Croatian - Nikola Tesla, the human race has developed many ways to obtain it. However, and in spite of Tesla, to get it to the place we need it, currently there is only one option – transmission lines. Constructing, and expanding the power grid is among the fastest growing environmental pressures in urban areas of the world. Electric current that is transmitted through the power lines, however, creates a space in which all charged and/or polar molecules change their behavior – electric fields. Since most of life-depending, processes are based on precisely these kinds of molecules we investigated how man made electric fields affect organisms. We exposed aquatic protist to a range of electric fields in the lab and made an in situ survey on population dynamics of aquatic insects in the proximity of high voltage transmission lines. Exposure to electric fields resulted in: decrease in abundance, increase in stress enzyme activity, and change in morphology in protists. However, the exposure to the electric fields does not seem to bother aquatic insects that much.

Marko Miliša (Primary Presenter/Author), Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Croatia, marko.milisa@biol.pmf.hr;


Domagoj Djikic (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Croatia, domagoj.djikic@biol.pmf.hr;


Tvrtko Mandic (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb, Croatia, Tvrtko.Mandic@fer.hr;


Marija Ivkovic (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Croatia, mivkovic@biol.pmf.hr;


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5/23/2018  |   10:15 - 10:30   |  310 A

NUTRIENT DYNAMICS IN SEMIARID CONSTRUCTED STORMWATER WETLANDS Constructed stormwater wetlands (CSWs) are built across diverse climates to address concerns with contaminants in urban stormwater, such as macronutrient loads. Despite this, research on the effectiveness of CSWs in macronutrient reduction has been limited to temperate climates. Our study addresses how differences in wetland vegetation and soils affect nutrient dynamics within two CSWs with varying water residence time and vegetation abundance, in a semiarid, snowmelt-driven system in Pocatello, ID. Storm-event water samples were analyzed to calculate fluxes of nitrogen, phosphorous, and organic carbon through each system. Analysis suggests that the size of the event may impact nutrient uptake, with larger storm events remobilizing sediments and leading to downstream nutrient transport. Soil and vegetation rewetting experiments were completed to identify the contributions of each to CSW nutrient dynamics. Evidence suggests that, in semiarid climates, both soils and senesced vegetation can become macronutrient sources during the initial rewetting period— when stormwater concentrations are already higher during the first flush. By understanding the function of stormwater infrastructure across diverse climatic conditions, we can recommend improvements to current projects and make better-informed decisions when building infrastructure in the future.

Rebecca Hale (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, haler@si.edu;
Rebecca Hale is an ecosystem ecologist who works at the interface of biogeochemistry, hydrology, and society. In addition to traditional ecological methods, she adapts concepts and tools from geography, sociology, and history to ask fundamental ecosystem ecology questions in non-traditional settings. She works within and across cities and rural areas at local to regional scales.

Colden Baxter (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Idaho State University, baxtcold@isu.edu;


Morey Burnham (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Idaho State University, burnmore@isu.edu;


Carolyn Macek (Primary Presenter/Author), Idaho State University, macecaro@isu.edu;


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