SFS Annual Meeting

5/21/2019  |   09:00 - 09:15   |  151 G

THE RIVER DRYING CONCEPT: A NEW ECOHYDROLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE AND CONCEPTUAL MODEL FOR STREAM NETWORKS OF THE ANTHROPOCENE Almost every stream conceptual framework or model used today has arisen from synthesizing studies of perennial streams. And yet intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams represent ~50% of global stream length and are becoming more prevalent in many areas. We now know that virtually every stream network will experience flow cessation and/or drying at some point in space or time. We also now know that the hydrology, biogeochemistry, and biodiversity of intermittent and ephemeral streams and rivers are often very different from perennial ones, challenging some of the central assumptions of previous stream conceptual frameworks and models. This calls for a paradigm shift to one that explicitly acknowledges the role of flow cessation and drying in governing the structure and function of stream networks. Here we review existing stream conceptual frameworks and models. We use this rich history to extend previous tenets of stream conceptual frameworks and models to a new ecohydrological perspective and conceptual model for stream networks, one that includes flow cessation and drying as primary drivers of stream ecosystem structure, functions, and services in a human-dominated epoch.

Daniel Allen (Primary Presenter/Author), The Pennsylvania State University, dca5269@psu.edu;


Thibault Datry (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), INRAE, France, Thibault.datry@inrae.fr;


Andrew Boulton (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of New England, aboulton@une.edu.au;


Katie Costigan (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Louisiana Lafayette, costigan@louisiana.edu;


Ken Fritz (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, fritz.ken@epa.gov;


Amandine Pastor (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), Montpellier, France, amandine.pastor22@gmail.com;


Benjamin Ruddell (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Northern Arizona University, Benjamin.Ruddell@nau.edu;


Emily Bernhardt (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Duke University, emily.bernhardt@duke.edu;


Kate Boersma (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of San Diego, kateboersma@sandiego.edu;


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


Michelle Busch (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Kansas, m.h.busch@ku.edu;
Postdoctoral researcher studying community dynamics in non-perennial streams and the effects of stream drying on ecosystem structure and function

Daniel Bruno-Collados (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), IRSTEA, France, daniel.bruno-collados@irstea.fr;


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


Sarah Godsey (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Idaho State University, godsey@isu.edu;


Jeremy B. Jones (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Alaska Fairbanks, jbjonesjr@alaska.edu;


Tatiana Kaltova (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, tatiana.kaletova@uniag.sk;


Stephanie Kampf (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Colorado State University, Stephanie.Kampf@colostate.edu;


Meryl Mims (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Virginia Tech, mims@vt.edu;


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


Meryl C. Mims (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Virginia Tech, mims@vt.edu;


Julian Olden (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Washington, olden@uw.edu;


LeRoy Poff (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Colorado State University, n.poff@rams.colostate.edu;


Albert Ruhi (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, albert.ruhi@berkeley.edu;


Gabriel Singer (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Innsbruck, gabriel.singer@uibk.ac.at;


Avi Uzan (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Nature and Parks Authority, Israel, avi-uzan@npa.org.il;


Paolo Vezza (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Politecnico di Torino, Italy, paolo.vezza@polito.it;


Adam Ward (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Indiana University, adamward@indiana.edu;


Margaret Zimmer (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of California, Santa Cruz, margaret.zimmer@ucsc.edu;


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5/21/2019  |   09:30 - 09:45   |  151 G

BIOASSESSMENT OF EPHEMERAL STREAMS AND INTERMITTENT RIVERS AFFECTED BY OIL SPILLS Dry stream ecosystems are an important component of freshwater systems. We have just begun to develop bioassessment tools for these systems impacted by oil spills, but we do not yet understand how biota respond to severe alterations like those associated with resource extraction. We examined how bryophyte and arthropod assemblages responded across a gradient of increasing amounts of upstream oil and gas extraction along with physical and chemical measurements of ephemeral streams near Bakersfield, CA. We quantified the amount of stress using GIS and hydrocarbon soil concentrations and related this stress to potential biological end points possibly sensitive to alteration. We found that the abundance of bryophytes and arthropods increased with increasing extraction stress, while richness of arthropods increased for stressed sites but did not differ for bryophytes. This information gives us a deeper understanding for the role of dry streams within the freshwater network and how these ecosystems respond to stress. These results also support the development of tools like these that resource agencies can use for monitoring and assessing freshwater ecosystems when they are dry.

Raphael Mazor (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Southern California Coastal Water Research Project, raphaelm@sccwrp.org;


John Olson (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Dept of Applied Environmental Science, California State University Monterey Bay, CA, USA, joolson@csumb.edu;


Savannah Johnson (Primary Presenter/Author), California State University Monterey Bay, Johnson.savannah123@gmail.com;


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5/21/2019  |   09:45 - 10:00   |  151 G

BIOGEOCHEMICAL PATTERNS OF INTERMITTENT STREAMS IN SPACE AND TIME: IMPACTS OF DRYING AND WILDFIRE ON CARBON AND NUTRIENT DYNAMICS Stream drying (intermittency) and wildfire are expected to increase under current climate change projections for the western United States. However, the impacts of both stream drying and fire on stream carbon and nutrient dynamics are not well understood. To close this gap, In 2016 and 2017, we examined spatial and temporal patterns and carbon dynamics of a burned and an unburned headwater stream in southwest Idaho. We predicted that chemical constituent heterogeneity increases with drying, and hypothesized that as streams dry, evapoconcentration and/or increased in-stream production increases dissolved carbon concentration. Also, we expected that spatial heterogeneity in biogeochemistry would decrease with time following fire. During stream drying, we sampled surface water at 10 to 50 meter intervals over 2500 meters. We found a 2-fold increase in downstream DIC concentrations with drying. DIC semivariograms showed a 20-fold increase for the burned stream and a 3-fold increase for the unburned stream from April to June. We conclude that stream DIC chemistry becomes more heterogeneous with drying, and that heterogeneity increases immediately following fire. Additionally, there is high variation in DOC sourcing along the longitudinal stream profile.

Kathleen Lohse (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Idaho State University, klohse@isu.edu;


Sarah Godsey (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Idaho State University, godsey@isu.edu;


Julia Perdrial (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Vermont, julia.perdrial@uvm.edu;


DeWayne Derryberry (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Idaho State University, derrdewa@isu.edu;


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


Ruth MacNeille (Primary Presenter/Author), Idaho State University, macnruth@isu.edu;


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5/21/2019  |   10:00 - 10:15   |  151 G

CHANNEL MORPHOLOGY, STREAMFLOW PATTERNS, AND SEDIMENT TRANSPORT OF TWO INTERMITTENT RIVERS ALONG THE BALCONES ESCARPMENT The rise of intermittent river research coincides with them becoming increasingly more prevalent on Earth due to climate change and water abstraction, among other factors. To date little research is focused in areas with greater rainfall amounts, such as in central Texas. Here, we collected data over the course of nine months within two public parks in Central Texas to determine how their morphology changed over time, their capacity to transport sediment, and the drivers of their intermittency. To answer these questions, three methods were used: 1. Morphology changes with ten cross-sectional profiles measured at the beginning and end of the study; 2. Passive Integrated Transponders were inserted into 60 grains varying in size to track how far those grains traveled after a rainfall event; and 3. 30 Stream, Temperature, Intermittency, and Conductivity sensors deployed longitudinally down each river to determine where and when water is present. In each intermittent river, little to no sediment transport was recorded, despite the historical rainfall associated with Hurricane Harvey.

Katie Costigan (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Louisiana Lafayette, costigan@louisiana.edu;


Taylor Dorn (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), UNIVERISTY OF LOUISIANA AT LAFAYETTE, TDORN8@GMAIL.COM;


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5/21/2019  |   10:15 - 10:30   |  151 G

CHARACTERIZING TERRESTRIAL ARTHROPOD ASSEMBLAGES IN DRY STREAMS: ASSOCIATIONS WITH NATURAL GRADIENTS AND ANTHROPOGENIC STRESSORS As perennial river systems become increasingly intermittent worldwide and dry phases become more common, there is a growing need to focus attention on characterizing the terrestrial assemblages that inhabit dry channels. Recent work has highlighted the use of terrestrial arthropods as biological indicators of ecological health, but the mechanisms driving biological responses to human activities and their direct causal networks are poorly understood. We assessed the relationships between environmental gradients and terrestrial arthropods sampled in the San Diego region to determine their response to natural variation in the absence of human activities. We explained between 11-55% of variation in 20 arthropod responses as a function of 14 local catchment and watershed scale measures of environmental gradients. Arthropods showed consistent responses to several natural factors, including decreased richness with increased slope and increased abundance with increased precipitation. We also assessed the relationship between the terrestrial arthropods and watershed measurements of land use and found that some taxa decreased in response to alteration, but many increased. Understanding the natural responses of terrestrial arthropods to environmental variation may provide insight into how human activities may alter terrestrial arthropod assemblages in dry streams.

Matthew Robinson (Primary Presenter/Author), California State University Monterey Bay, marobinson@csumb.edu;


Raphael Mazor (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Southern California Coastal Water Research Project, raphaelm@sccwrp.org;


John Olson (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Dept of Applied Environmental Science, California State University Monterey Bay, CA, USA, joolson@csumb.edu;


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