SFS Annual Meeting

5/24/2018  |   14:00 - 14:15   |  321

ECOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF AGING AND OBSOLETE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE Many of the systems and processes ecologists study are strongly impacted, if not directly modified by, feedback between ecosystem properties and human behavior. Aging and obsolete water infrastructure is a critical, global problem threatening economic stability, human welfare, and the environment. Allocating scarce resources to maintain and upgrade water resource infrastructure is a challenge faced by countries throughout the world and this burden is frequently relegated to local governments. Failing wastewater treatment infrastructure presents a globally pervasive threat to the integrity of freshwater ecosystems. Nevertheless, we have a limited understanding of how waste streams vary in their pollutant load and how they may differentially effect ecosystem structure and function. Urban streams receive large quantities of wastewater delivered both intentionally and inadvertently. In addition to threatening human health, wastewater effluent entering freshwaters alters the flux of organic matter and biogeochemical cycling. However, we know relatively little about how sewage-derived energy and nutrients alter the structure and function of running waters. Here, I will present two case studies examining interactions between human waste streams and community structure and ecosystem processes in temperate and tropical streams.

Krista Capps (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Georgia, kcapps@uga.edu;
Research in Krista Capps's lab is dedicated to understanding how anthropogenic activities alter community structure and ecosystem processes (e.g., productivity, decomposition, and biogeochemical cycling) in freshwater ecosystems. Much of her research has focused on the impacts of consumers on basal food resources, community structure, and nutrient dynamics in streams and wetlands. To translate scientific knowledge to actionable outcomes, she actively works with community groups and local, state, and federal employees to develop programs that integrate stakeholder concerns into research planning.

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5/24/2018  |   14:15 - 14:30   |  321

EFFECTS OF OIL EXPLORATION IN SELECTED WETLANDS OF THE NIGER DELTA, NIGERIA: A SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE The Niger Delta region is the home to oil exploration activities in Nigeria. This has led to the pollution of the aquatic ecosystems in the region. This research explores the effect of oil exploration on the ecology of the ecosystems and on the people using a social-ecological perspectives and framing, by paying attention to the links between the health and integrity of the ecosystems and the social-economic well-being and livelihoods of the people. Using both ecological and social methods, the results revealed that a history of pollution resulting from oil exploration has led to sustained high levels of detrimental metals, and has consequently led to the demise of essential livelihoods, further pushing the locals into poverty. Weak enforcement of environmental laws and standards plays an aggravating effects on the impact of pollution on the social-ecological systems of the studied wetlands.

Jude Uku (Primary Presenter/Author), Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria, ukudt@yahoo.com;


Francis Arimoro (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria, francisarimoro@gmail.com;


Oghenekaro Nelson Odume (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Rhodes University, South Africa, odume.nelson@gmail.com;


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5/24/2018  |   14:45 - 15:00   |  321

GLOBAL WATER TRANSFER MEGAPROJECTS PLANNED OR UNDER CONSTRUCTION Water transfer megaprojects (WTMP) are large-scale engineering interventions that aim to ensure water security for human needs by diverting water within and between catchments. Socio-economic and environmental consequences of such projects are double-faced. Due to lack of their comprehensive inventory it is impossible to understand the consequences for freshwaters and predict the scale of future modifications. In this study, a database of key characteristics (distance, volume, cost, purposes) was compiled for 60 future WTMP that are under construction or planned by 2050 and 27 existing WTMP. Our inventory shows that in future WTMP a total volume of 1,290 km3 per year would be transferred along a total distance exceeding twice the length of Earth’s equator. Future WTMP will have longer water transfer distances compared to existing with the longest total distances and total volumes in North America, Asia and Africa. Total investments in WTMP will reach more then 2,500 billion US$. Our results show that through WTMP new links in the global river network will be created, which can introduce modifications in the hydrological cycle and functioning of ecosystems.

Klement Tockner (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Senckenberg Society for Nature Research, & Department of BioSciences, Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany, klement.tockner@senckenberg.de;


Anna Koska (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany, koska@igb-berlin.de;


Christiane Zarfl (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Center for Applied Geosciences, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, christiane.zarfl@uni-tuebingen.de;


Oleksandra Shumilova (Primary Presenter/Author), Free University of Berlin, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany, ashumylova@gmail.com;


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5/24/2018  |   15:00 - 15:15   |  321

QUANTIFYING FLOODPLAIN ECOSYSTEM SERVICES Retention of sediments and nutrients in floodplain areas provides critical ecosystem services to downstream communities. Lidar mapping, field data collection, and modeling were integrated to quantify the ecosystem service of sediment and nutrient retention that floodplains provide in the Delaware River watershed. The mapping component of this project resulted in the development of the Floodplain and Channel Evaluation Toolkit (FACET) to identify features and calculate key metrics describing channel and floodplain geometry from high-resolution bare-earth elevation data in the Delaware River watershed. Field data collection employed dendrogeomorphic techniques to estimate rates of stream bank erosion and floodplain sediment deposition at fifteen sites in the watershed. These two datasets were combined to develop predictive models estimating sediment trapping and export for each stream reach within the non-tidal portion of the Delaware River watershed. This assessment of floodplain net sediment flux and associated ecosystem services will help identify areas for targeted management to maintain areas with high ecosystem service values, and to restore areas that could provide the most ecosystem service benefits.

Kristina Hopkins (Primary Presenter/Author), U.S. Geological Survey, khopkins@usgs.gov;
Krissy Hopkins studies the impacts of land use change on rivers and streams, focused on understanding how the intensity and type of urban development impact watershed processes. This includes examining the impacts of different types of stormwater management strategies, both conventional and infiltration-based (i.e., green infrastructure), on hydrologic, geochemical, geomorphic, and ecological functions within freshwater ecosystems. Her work also focuses on translating ecosystem functions into ecosystem services and values by applying ecosystem services approaches to floodplain systems and green stormwater infrastructure.

Gregory Noe (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), U.S. Geological Survey, gnoe@usgs.gov;


Samuel Lamont (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), UCAR-CPAESS hosted at the NOAA National Water Center, samuel.lamont@noaa.gov;


Peter Claggett (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), U.S. Geological Survey, pclaggett@usgs.gov;


Dianna Hogan (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), U.S. Geological Survey, dhogan@usgs.gov;


Emily Pindilli (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), U.S. Geological Survey, epindilli@usgs.gov;


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