SFS Annual Meeting

5/21/2018  |   11:00 - 11:15   |  310 A

THE URBAN STREAM SYNDROME: EXOTIC BIOTIC AND ERRATIC ABIOTIC ASPECTS OF URBANIZED HEADWATERS In urban catchments, headwater streams undergo numerous disturbances such as pollution, channelization, and storm/sewage water management. Thus, abiotic and biotic properties of urbanized headwaters substantially differ from their natural counterparts. We studied seven stream networks across a gradient of urbanization in the Greater Toronto Area to answer a) how are headwater biological and physical properties altered by urbanization, b) what are the cumulative consequences of headwater modification for freshwater communities and processes downstream, and c) how can we manage urban stream networks to sustain resilient landscapes. Our results show that proportion of headwater burial increases along the urbanization gradient and the presence or absence of a headwater is a function of stream size and level of urbanization. The present headwaters experience flashier hydrology, decreased water quality and substantial modification of riparian areas. This results in numerous effects on aquatic habitat (channel widening, water scarcity) and consequent changes in freshwater communities (shifts in aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages, increased algae growth) and processes (higher respiration and decomposition). The land-use effects on the response variables differed depending on whether local or catchment scales were considered, indicating that management decisions need to considered spatial scale.

Brian Kielstra (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, b.kielstra@alumni.ubc.ca;


Dan Moore (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, dan.moore@ubc.ca;


John Richardson (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, john.richardson@ubc.ca;


Lenka Kuglerová (Primary Presenter/Author), Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, lenka.kuglerova@slu.se;


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5/21/2018  |   11:15 - 11:30   |  310 A

MICROBIAL PROCESSING CONDITIONS DISSOLVED ORGANIC MATTER FROM URBAN ENGINEERED HEADWATERS The impervious channels that act as headwaters in urban stream networks (e.g. roof and roadside gutters, stormwater pipes) can be collection points of leaves and other organic matter that is readily leached and transported downstream during storms, where it can impact ecological function of the aquatic ecosystem. We collected dissolved organic matter (DOM) from urban headwater stormflow and leachate from potential organic matter sources in an urban catchment. We incubated these samples with a common inoculum and measured decrease in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration to determine lability to microbial degradation. We paired these observations with measurements of the optical properties of the DOM pool. On average, 51.4% of the DOC was mineralized after 60 days of incubation, concurrent with increases in SUVA-254 and HIX. EEM-PARAFAC analysis indicated decreases in a protein-like peak and relative increases in humic-like peaks. Our data also show that DOM composition undergoes transient increases in chemodiversity during processing. This suggests that microbial processing generates new compounds prone to degradation later in the experiment - i.e. microbe-driven changes to DOM composition early in incubation conditions DOM for mineralization later in the incubation.

Megan Fork (Primary Presenter/Author), West Chester University, mfork@wcupa.edu;


Christopher Osburn (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), North Carolina State University - Department of Marine, Earth and Ocean Sciences, closburn@ncsu.edu;


Jim Heffernan (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Duke University, james.heffernan@duke.edu;


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5/21/2018  |   11:30 - 11:45   |  310 A

INFLUENCE OF STORMWATER CONTROL MEASURES ON WATER QUALITY IN SMALL, NESTED SUBURBAN WATERSHEDS Urban stormwater runoff has drawn the attention of water managers because of its deleterious impacts on stream ecosystems and its contribution to eutrophication of receiving waters. The hydraulically efficient transport of runoff through modified drainage networks effectively causes runoff to bypass natural storage zones that buffer biogeochemical responses to storm events. As engineered analogs of natural solute processing hotspots, stormwater control measures (SCMs) are designed to facilitate solute uptake, assimilation, and transformation. However, at the watershed-scale, where multiple confounding influences impact solute behavior, SCM mitigation is not consistently linked to improvements in water quality. To assess cumulative effects of SCMs, we monitored storm discharge and stream water chemistry at high temporal resolution along a longitudinal gradient of nested SCM-treated watersheds in Charlotte, NC. Results show that the cumulative effect of SCMs can reduce instream concentrations of soluble reactive phosphorus, dissolved organic nitrogen, and ammonia to that of the reference stream, however SCMs have no impact on major cations and sulfate concentrations, which increase with urbanization. Additionally, water storage availability has a significant impact on solute flushing behavior; controls on solute transport vary dependent on antecedent conditions and precipitation depth.

Sara McMillan (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Iowa State University, swmcmill@iastate.edu;


Colin Bell (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Colorado School of Mines, cdbell@mines.edu;


Anne Jefferson (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Kent State University, ajeffer9@kent.edu;


Sandra Clinton, PhD (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of North Carolina at Charlotte, sandra.clinton@charlotte.edu;
This session is being submitted on behalf of the SFS Science and Policy Committee.

Suresh Rao (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Purdue University, sureshrao@purdue.edu;


Rachel Scarlett (Primary Presenter/Author), Purdue University, rscarlet@purdue.edu;


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5/21/2018  |   11:45 - 12:00   |  310 A

MONITORING URBAN FORESTED HEADWATERS FOR A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF URBAN WATERSHED MANAGEMENT Headwaters are critically important in mediating the movement of nutrients and other materials to adjacent riparian zones, groundwater, and larger downstream systems. Headwater systems also harbor distinct species contributing to alpha diversity and increasing beta diversity at the watershed level. Across urbanizing landscapes watershed hydrology, biogeochemistry, and diversity is altered and the impact on headwaters may be disproportionately impacted. The study of forested urban headwaters is important to better understand these urban impacts on both headwaters and downstream networks. We will present seasonal data collected at 11 sites since 2012 quantifying macroinvertebrate diversity, nutrient concentrations, and groundwater-surface water interactions in the headwaters of Reedy Creek, a 6.5km2 urban forested watershed in Charlotte, NC. We found that small differences in land use in the subwatersheds (urban and agricultural) resulted in higher nutrient concentrations, lower diversity (taxa and EPT richness), and differences in water residence time compared to the forested subwatershed. These subwatersheds are currently undergoing restoration which will provide an interesting case study on the effects of restoration on forested headwater stream structure and function and the role headwater restoration plays in improving urban water quality at the larger watershed scale.

Sandra Clinton, PhD (Primary Presenter/Author), University of North Carolina at Charlotte, sandra.clinton@charlotte.edu;
This session is being submitted on behalf of the SFS Science and Policy Committee.

Sara McMillan (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Iowa State University, swmcmill@iastate.edu;


David Vinson, PhD (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of North Carolina at Charlotte, dsvinson@uncc.edu;


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5/21/2018  |   12:00 - 12:15   |  310 A

INTERMITTENT AND PERENNIAL STREAM MACROINVERTEBRATE COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO IMPERVIOUS COVER: THRESHOLD INDICATOR TAXA ANALYSIS AND PERMUTATIONS The urban stream syndrome and the impact of impervious cover on macroinvertebrate communities is well-documented, but many exclude intermittent streams despite their prevalence. This study investigated macroinvertebrate communities of intermittent and perennial streams separately in the South Coast and Chaparral regions of California, USA. Macroinvertebrate data from Southern California Coastal Water Research Project and California Environmental Data Exchange Network were used in Threshold Indicator Taxa Analysis (TITAN) to determine macroinvertebrate community’s ecological thresholds and responses to impervious cover across the urban gradient. In a new approach to TITAN, statistical differences in thresholds along impervious cover gradients were determined by permuting observations 1) between intermittent and perennial streams, 2) during different weather regimes described by Palmar Drought Severity Index, 3) between Chaparral and South Coast regions, both with Mediterranean climates, and 4) before and after implementation of the 2010 General Construction Permit in California that developed more stringent stormwater regulations for construction projects. Preliminary results indicated low ecological thresholds (<1% impervious cover) for both intermittent and perennial streams. Results from this study will be used to quantify the ecological influence of the California 2010 General Construction permit with future sampling.

Stephanie Figary (Primary Presenter/Author), ORISE Research Participant at the USEPA EPA/ORD/NHEERL Atlantic Ecology Division, figary.stephanie@epa.gov;


Naomi Detenbeck (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), U.S. EPA/ORD/NHEERL Atlantic Ecology Division, Detenbeck.Naomi@epa.gov;


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5/21/2018  |   12:15 - 12:30   |  310 A

METABOLIC REGIME ALTERED BY TREATED WASTE WATER INPUTS IN AN INTERMITTENT STREAM Gross primary productivity (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (ER) are fundamental ecosystem functions strongly controlled by light, temperature, discharge, and nutrient and organic matter availability. Yet, little is known about the influence of these environmental factors on the metabolic regime of streams receiving nutrient and organic matter excesses from wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents. For one year, we continuously measured light, temperature, and discharge upstream and downstream of a WWTP effluent in an intermittent headwater stream. Moreover, we seasonally measured one-week diel cycles of nutrient concentrations and daily stream metabolism (from dissolved oxygen concentrations). Light inputs were similar at the two sites, while higher temperature and nutrient concentrations coincided with higher ER rates at the downstream site. Differences in GPP between the two sites were small. Only at the downstream site, GPP and ER were strongly correlated and diel nutrient cycles emerged, though they were not clearly linked to stream metabolism. Our study highlights that WWTP effluent inputs alter natural diel cycles of nutrient concentration as well as the magnitude of ER of the receiving streams. These results can help to improve our understanding of metabolic regimes in urbanized headwaters.

Susana Bernal (Primary Presenter/Author), Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Spain, sbernal@ceab.csic.es;


Anna Lupon (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, anna.lupon@slu.se;


Jennifer Drummond (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), j.drummond@ceab.csic.es;


Esperança Gacia (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Spain, gacia@ceab.csic.es;


Sara Castelar (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Spain, saracastelar@ceab.csic.es;


Miquel Ribot (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Spain, mribot@ceab.csic.es;


Eugènia Martí (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), eugenia@ceab.csic.es;


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