SFS Annual Meeting

5/23/2018  |   09:00 - 09:15   |  320

PLETHODONTID STREAM SALAMANDER OCCUPANCY, ABUNDANCE, AND DIET ALONG A CONDUCTIVITY GRADIENT Elevated specific conductance (SC) is one mechanism hypothesized to be responsible for declines in salamanders from mountaintop removal and valley filled (MTR/VF) streams. Aquatic macro-invertebrates, an important subsidy to stream salamanders, are also known to decline in MTR/VF streams. We conducted repeat count surveys of salamanders, diet, and water chemistry at 30 sites to answer the following questions: 1) Does stream salamander occupancy and abundance change along a SC gradient? and 2) Does stream salamander diet change along a SC gradient? We found adult and larval salamander occupancy and abundance decreased as SC increased, with responses consistent among species and life stages. In larval salamanders, the ratio of aquatic to terrestrial prey consumed decreased from 12:1 to 1:1 at a threshold of 153 ?S/cm. Additionally, the total volume of prey items decreased by 77% at a threshold of 100 ?S/cm. Whereas, adult salamanders consistently consumed a similar volume of prey along the gradient, suggesting a stronger effect of SC on larval salamander food consumption. Our results suggest the reduction in aquatic prey availability is a major driver influencing declines in larval stream salamander occupancy and overall population persistence.

Jacob Hutton (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Kentucky, jakehutton@uky.edu;


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5/23/2018  |   09:15 - 09:30   |  320

QUANTIFYING SEASONAL HOME RANGES OF CAPTIVE-REARED. RECENTLY-RELEASED JUVENILE BLANDING’S TURTLES (EMYDOIDEA BLANDINGII) Substantial threats to reptile species biodiversity have become apparent in the last few decades. This is partly caused by significant losses in grasslands and their associate prairie-wetland ecosystems. One Midwestern prairie-wetland species, the Blanding’s turtle (Emydoidea blandingii), is at risk of extirpation due to habitat loss, fragmentation, and increased predator populations. Consequently, many wildlife managers have invested in the conservation of this species. However, much of the spatial requirements for juveniles of this species are understudied. We released two yearly cohorts of juvenile, captive-reared E. blandingii in a prairie wetland in 2016 and 2017. Using ground-based radio-telemetry, we calculated seasonal home ranges (HR; spring, summer, fall, and annual) from May 2016 – November 2016, and May 2017 – November 2017. We calculated HRs using Minimum Convex Polygons (MCP) and Kernel Density Estimates (KDE; at 50% and 90% CI) using ArcMap 10.4.1. For the 2016 released cohort, we found significant differences in 90% HRs between the spring and fall compared to summer and annual estimates, with HR size largest in the summer. This data will provide wildlife managers with valuable insight into the ecology of captive-reared and released juvenile E. blandingii.

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


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


Leigh Anne Harden (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Benedictine University, lharden@ben.edu;


Michael Vosburgh (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Loyola University Chicago, mvosburgh@luc.edu;


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5/23/2018  |   09:30 - 09:45   |  320

RESPONSE OF ARID RIVER FISHES TO CLIMATE, HYDROLOGY AND WILDFIRE Arid regions of the American southwest have experienced increasing severity of drought associated with decreased stream discharge and increased frequency and intensity of wildfires. Combined, these factors, particularly ash flows following wildfires, can have devastating effects on stream fish communities. Long-term data indicated fish species richness and density declined with drought and wildfire, but overall, native species were more responsive to inter-annual variation in climate than nonnative fishes. The resistance and resilience of fishes to and extreme drought and ash flows following wildfire was highly variable across nine sites and different species. Five years after the disturbance, all but two species had recovered across the intensively sampled sites. The ability of species to resist disturbance was hypothesized to vary with body size and species provenance (native or nonnative), but this was not supported by the data. Our results show that resistance of fish communities appears to be driven primarily by spatial factors such as the intensity of disturbance, whereas recovery is driven by both species ability to recover from small populations or immigrate from a nearby refuge population.

Keith Gido (Primary Presenter/Author), Kansas State University, kgido@ksu.edu;


David Propst (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of New Mexico, tiaroga@comcast.net;


James Whitney (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Pittsburg State University, jewhitney@pittstate.edu;


Skyler Hedden (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Arizona Department of Game and Fish, shedden@azgfd.gov;


Thomas Turner (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of New Mexico, turnert@unm.edu;


Tyler Pilger (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), FISHBIO, tjpilger@gmail.com;


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5/23/2018  |   09:45 - 10:00   |  320

A LOW-WATER CROSSING IMPACTS LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENTS OF KNOBFIN SCULPIN (COTTUS IMMACULATUS) AND NORTHERN HOG SUCKER (HYPENTELIUM NIGRICANS) IN AN OZARK RIVER Streams are complex networks that rely on longitudinal, vertical, and lateral connectivity to maintain natural function. The Current River, in Ozark National Scenic Riverways (OZAR), contains one low-water crossing that spans the main channel and a side channel and potentially disrupts longitudinal movement of fishes. We hypothesized that the crossing 1) restricts upstream/downstream movement during low-flow and 2) impacts smaller, weaker swimming taxa more than stronger swimmers. In July 2017, we tagged Northern hog sucker (N=50) and Knobfin sculpin (N=300) above/below the crossing with radio and PIT tags, respectively, and return monthly to monitor their movements. Thus far, results suggest that passage through the culvert-lined crossing is limited, with suckers (N=3) moving only downstream-to-upstream and sculpin (N=10) only upstream-to-downstream. Mean longitudinal distance traveled by suckers was greater in individuals tagged below the crossing than above (below: 6490m; above: 789m), and included large downstream movements (Max=49 km). Mean longitudinal distance traveled by sculpin was similar among individuals tagged above vs below the crossing (above: 64m; below: 45m). Continuing data collection will reveal whether interspecific differences are consistent during high flow and spawning periods and help inform future management decisions in OZAR.

Hope Dodd (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), National Park Service, Hope_Dodd@nps.gov;


Debra Finn (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Missouri State University, dfinn@missouristate.edu;
Associate Professor Stream Ecology

Jeff Williams (Primary Presenter/Author), Missouri State University, JMWilliams@MissouriState.edu;


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5/23/2018  |   10:00 - 10:15   |  320

HOW DO SMALL BARRIERS AND STREAM FLOW INTERACT TO STRUCTURE PARTIALLY MIGRATORY FISH POPULATIONS? Partial migration is a common phenomenon in migratory populations wherein only some individuals migrate. In Oncorhynchus mykiss, a partially migratory salmonid fish, migratory individuals travel to the ocean before returning to freshwater to breed (‘steelhead’), while resident individuals remain in freshwater (‘rainbow’ trout). We are studying how small waterfalls interact with stream flow to structure the spatial (upstream-downstream) distribution of resident and migratory fish in tributaries to the South Fork Eel River, California. We collected tissue samples from O. mykiss distributed along the entire length of two tributary streams in four years. We used >300 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on a region of the genome that is strongly correlated with migration in O. mykiss to explore the spatial distribution of resident vs. migratory genotypes in these two streams. Our preliminary results suggest one waterfall, which is passable by adult steelhead under some stream flows, reduced the frequency of migratory alleles from 52% below to 38% above the waterfall. Our ongoing research explores how inter-annual variation in hydrologic conditions influences the ability of this waterfall to act as barrier to upstream migrating steelhead and, hence, the spatial distribution of migratory juveniles.

Michael Miller (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of California Davis, micmiller@ucdavis.edu ;


Stephanie Carlson (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, California, U.S., smcarlson@berkeley.edu;


Suzanne Kelson (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Nevada, Reno, skelson@unr.edu;


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