SFS Annual Meeting

5/24/2018  |   14:00 - 14:15   |  410 B

STAGES OF MACROINVERTEBRATE RECOVERY AFTER ABANDONED COAL MINE REMEDIATION IN A PENNSYLVANIA WATERSHED Abandoned mine drainage (AMD) causes habitat degradation and reduces biological productivity in streams by reducing pH, raising acidity, and elevating concentrations of harmful heavy metals. Treatment systems are a common approach for remediating water quality impaired by AMD, but long-term understanding of biological recovery is lacking. Our work aims to determine the stages of macroinvertebrate community recovery from AMD. In 2017, we collected macroinvertebrate samples from 12 sites within the Bear Run Watershed, Pennsylvania, where nine treatment systems have been constructed intermittently over the past 11 years. We found that macroinvertebrate abundance and taxonomic richness are substantially lower at the remediated sites than at unimpaired sites. Contrary to expectations, the oldest site, remediated in 2007, showed very poor recovery, with 90% fewer individuals and 75% fewer taxa than the unimpaired sites. Recently remediated sites also showed incomplete recovery and signs of impairment, which may in part be due to small, non-point AMD seepages scattered throughout the watershed. Our findings suggest that macroinvertebrate recovery from AMD impairment can take more than a decade.

David J. Janetski (Primary Presenter/Author), Indiana University of Pennsylvania, janetski@iup.edu;


Cassie Graham (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Indiana University of Pennsylvania , cassiemgraham117@gmail.com;


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5/24/2018  |   14:15 - 14:30   |  410 B

SHORT TERM BIOLOGICAL AND PHYSICOCHEMICAL EFFECTS OF PATCH-BURN GRAZING ON REMNANT TALLGRASS PRAIRIE STREAMS North American tallgrass prairies are diminished and degraded in North America, but management practices to conserve remaining parcels are evolving. Patch-burn grazing (PBG) has emerged as a management option for remaining tallgrass prairie parcels, but little is known about potential impacts on aquatic habitats. Six headwater streams were sampled over seven years encompassing pre-PBG, PBG, and post-PBG periods; two controls, two PBG with fenced riparian zones, and two PBG with unfenced riparian zones. Macroinvertebrates and water chemistry were sampled monthly. Differences in total phosphorus and nitrate were observed in the unfenced and fenced streams during PBG compared to controls (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.02, respectively). Relative Chironomidae biomass and abundance increased in the unfenced watersheds compared to the controls during the pre-cattle to cattle period (p = 0.008 and p < 0.001, respectively). No differences were observed in EPT abundance or biomass, nitrate, and total phosphorus from pre-PBG to post-PBG. Results suggest that PBG has short term negative effects on prairie streams, but a two year rest cycle allows for the streams to return to pre-PBG conditions.

Jessica Fulgoni (Primary Presenter/Author), Missouri Department of Conservation, jessica.Fulgoni@mdc.mo.gov;


Danelle Larson (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), U.S. Geological Survey, dmlarson@usgs.gov ;


Karen Jackson (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Clemson Extension, kejacks88@gmail.com;


Matt Whiles (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Florida, mwhiles@ufl.edu;


Walter Dodds (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Kansas State University, wkdodds@ksu.edu;


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5/24/2018  |   14:30 - 14:45   |  410 B

THE LOSS OF FRESHWATER MEGAFAUNA Megafauna species have fascinated scientists and the general public for a long time due to their spectacular appearances and the vital ecological roles they play. Compared to megafauna in terrestrial or marine ecosystems, freshwater megafauna have been largely overlooked in previous research and conservation actions. At the same time, they are subject to various human threats. Consequently, more than half of all assessed freshwater megafauna species are considered as threatened by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. To date, comprehensive analysis of changes in population size and distribution range of freshwater megafauna is still lacking. We collected time-series data of freshwater megafauna species and tracked their population changes from 1970 to 2012 at global scale. Population changes were compared among taxonomic groups and regions, and have been further linked to life history traits, human threats and conservation actions within different regions. In addition, range contractions of freshwater megafauna in Europe and North America have been quantified. For example, Acipenser gueldenstaedtii has lost 50% of its distribution range. We discuss the ecological consequence of megafauna loss in freshwater ecosystems and the potential of freshwater megafauna in promoting freshwater biodiversity conservation.

Fengzhi He (Primary Presenter/Author), Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany & Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany & School of Geography, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom, fengzhi.he@igb-berlin.de;


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


Jonathan N. W. David (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, jon.david86@gmail.com;


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


Zeb Hogan (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Nevada Reno, Global Water Center, zhogan@unr.edu;


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


Sonja C. Jähnig (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany , sonja.jaehnig@igb-berlin.de;


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5/24/2018  |   14:45 - 15:00   |  410 B

USING RADIO TELEMETRY TO TRACK SUMMER MOVEMENTS OF COMMON MUDPUPPIES (NECTURUS MACULOSUS) IN A DISTURBED, URBAN LAKE Common mudpuppies (Necturus maculosus) have a broad distribution across central to eastern North America. Seasonal behaviors of these fully aquatic salamanders are poorly understood, with more frequent encounters by fishermen occurring in winter than summer. The Shedd Aquarium veterinary staff implanted radio-telemetry transmitters in 20 mudpuppies captured in Wolf Lake, near Chicago, IL. Mudpuppies were located, on average, every 17.2±4.2 days from April-November. There was no difference between mean male (16.6m) and female (11.2m) movement distance throughout the tracking period (p=0.30). Seventeen out of twenty mudpuppies moved the greatest distances immediately after release, or during the two periods of highest water temperature increases. The period between late May and early June corresponded with the largest movements for male (398.1m) and female (298.6m) mudpuppies throughout the study. This overlapped with the second highest temperature increase throughout the study period (+6.5oC), an increase to 23.7oC. The underlying mechanisms that prompt summer movements and habitat selection for mudpuppies is essential for conservation efforts. With further analyses, habitat preference throughout the year will be determined to aid in conservation management and planning for this understudied and vulnerable species.

Jared Bilak (Primary Presenter/Author), Southern Illinois University, Shedd Aquarium, bilak@siu.edu;


Matt Whiles (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Florida, mwhiles@ufl.edu;


Robin Warne (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Southern Illinois University, rwarne@siu.edu;


Philip Willink (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Shedd Aquarium , pwillink@sheddaquarium.org;


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5/24/2018  |   15:00 - 15:15   |  410 B

CONSERVING RARE SPECIES CAN HAVE HIGH OPPORTUNITY COSTS FOR COMMON SPECIES The most common species play disproportionately important roles in ecosystems, and small proportional declines in their abundance can result in significant disruption of ecosystem structure, function and services. Conservation practitioners thus face difficult choices in apportioning limited resources between rare species (to ensure their existence) and common species (to ensure their abundance and ecosystem contributions). We quantified the opportunity costs of conserving rare species of migratory fishes in the context of removing dams and retrofitting road culverts across 1,883 tributaries of the North American Great Lakes. We found that investments in rare species can have a remarkably high opportunity cost: small habitat gains for the rarest species are achieved at the expense of more than 20 times as much habitat for more common ones. These opportunity costs are likely to occur in many ecosystems because range limits and conservation costs often vary widely among species. Given that common species worldwide are declining more rapidly than rare ones within major taxa, our findings provide incentive for triage among multiple worthy conservation targets.

Patrick Doran (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), The Nature Conservancy, pdoran@tnc.org;


Michael Ferris (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Wisconsin, ferris@cs.wisc.edu;


Kimberly Fitzpatrick (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Cornell University, kimberly@ou.edu;


Matthew Herbert (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), The Nature Conservancy, mherbert@tnc.org;


Mary Khoury (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), The Nature Conservancy, mkhoury@tnc.org;


Allison Moody (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Wisconsin, atmoody@gmail.com;


Jared Ross (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), The Nature Conservancy, jared.ross@tnc.org;


Eugene Yacobson (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), The Nature Conservancy, eyacobson@tnc.org;


Peter B. McIntyre (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, pmcintyre@wisc.edu;


Thomas Neeson (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Oklahoma, neeson@ou.edu;


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5/24/2018  |   15:15 - 15:30   |  410 B

EFFECTS OF RIVERINE RESERVES ON FISH ABUNDANCE, BIOMASS, AND TROPHIC DYNAMICS Intensive fishing is altering the functioning of aquatic ecosystems worldwide, threatening both biodiversity and food security. Conservation reserves are a cornerstone of ecosystem-based fisheries management and provide unique opportunities to evaluate food web responses to removal of large species. We compared fish diversity, abundance, and biomass within two small reserves (< 1 km in length) to adjacent upstream and downstream reaches in a 1,000 km2 tributary system of the Salween River. Overlaid on the stark differences in fishing pressure, we isolated consumptive and non-consumptive effects of fish on benthic macroinvertebrates and algae using exclosures within and outside reserves. Within each exclosure, we tested the strength of top-down versus bottom-up effects on primary producers by experimentally manipulating nutrient availability to benthic algae. Protection from fishing profoundly reconfigured fish communities, increasing richness, biomass, and body size. However, it did not translate into higher mean trophic position or intensify cascade strength. We infer that ecosystem functioning is buffered against extreme harvest pressure by omnivory and species richness. Our findings indicate that networks of small, community-based reserves strongly benefit fish, potentially augmenting fishery yields and offering a new conservation model for biodiverse tropical rivers.

Peter B. McIntyre (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Cornell University, pbm3@cornell.ecu;


Aaron Koning (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Limnology, koning@wisc.edu;


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