SFS Annual Meeting

5/21/2019  |   09:00 - 09:15   |  250 CF

INFORMING LAND AND FISH MANAGEMENT IN REMOTE AREAS USING ENVIRONMENTAL DNA, LANDSAPE CHARACTERIZATIONS, AND SPECIES DISTRIBUTION MODELING The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is tasked with managing oil and gas leasing, exploration and operations within the National Petroleum Reserve on the remote north slope of Alaska. The BLM does not have enough data on the 20 fish species occurring there to make fully informed leasing and management decisions. We used environmental DNA, landscape characterizations from StreamCat, and maximum entropy (MaxEnt) modeling to develop species distribution models for these 20 species. Traditional models only account for spatial variation via static datasets. We assessed whether inclusion of both spatial and temporal variation via dynamic datasets improved model performance. Generally good models were developed, with an average AUC of 0.896 overall species and dataset types, although static datasets outperformed dynamic datasets. The best models had regularization parameters controlling model parsimony between 1.0 (default) and 2.0 (slightly more parsimonious). Temperature, slope and land cover were the most important predictors and tended to have an inverse effect on the probability of fish presence. Approaches like this have great potential for providing critically needed data in rapidly developing but data poor regions like the north slope of Alaska, Africa, and South America.

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


Anna Holder (Primary Presenter/Author), Desert Research Institute, aholder@csumb.edu;


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5/21/2019  |   09:30 - 09:45   |  250 CF

DOES ECOMORPHOLOGICAL VARIATION EXPLAIN TROPHIC RESOURCE PARTITIONING BETWEEN SYMPATRIC LINEAGES OF AFROMONTANE STREAM CATFISHES? Afromontane streams harbour cryptic ichthyological diversity whose ecology is poorly studied. This study evaluated the role of ecomorphology in the trophic resource partitioning of two newly discovered lineages, Chiloglanis sp. and Amphilius sp. that occur in sympatry within Afromontane streams. It was hypothesized that ecomorphology-driven differential diet utilization would be the key factor that facilitates coexistence of these taxa. Three ecomorphological characters, namely RLDT (Relative Length of Digestive Tract), RDCP (Relative Depth of Caudal Peduncle) and DME (Distance from mouth to eye), were found to be important in distinguishing these two lineages. The RLDT, RDCP, and DME indicated that the Amphilius sp. was potentially a carnivorous and rover predator. In contrast, for Chiloglanis sp., the characters indicated it was potentially a lie-in-wait predator with an omnivorous diet. Bayesian analysis revealed that there was a high probability of dietary overlap for the two lineages. This suggests that there was little evidence of ecomorphology-driven trophic niche partitioning. This study suggests that alternative mechanisms were likely to facilitate the co-existence of these lineages, such as the stochasticity of these mountain streams, which may prevent the establishment of competitive advantage for either lineage.

Nonjabulo Matomela (Primary Presenter/Author), rhodes university , enjaymatomela3@gmail.com;


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5/21/2019  |   09:45 - 10:00   |  250 CF

MITIGATION OF COLD WATER POLLUTION USING A NOVEL THERMAL CURTAIN: POTENTIAL EFFECTS ON FISH POPULATIONS Cold water pollution occurs when hypolimnial water is released from large thermally stratified reservoirs; water released downstream can often be 12-16°C cooler than natural river temperatures. A novel, cost-effective ‘thermal curtain’ has been installed at Burrendong Dam in Australia to mitigate thermal pollution of the Macquarie River, where river temperature is often reduced by 16°C and rapid temperature changes can occur when water releases are transitioned from spillway to outlet releases. The goal of this research was to determine how the thermal curtain may affect the thermal regime of the river system and examine its possible effect upon larval freshwater fish survival, growth, development and physiology. If successful, similar structures could be used to mitigate cold water pollution in other affected regions. Experiments on three species of Australian larval freshwater fish measured growth and developmental responses to different water temperatures and determined the effect of rapid temperature reductions upon mortality and swimming ability. Larval fish growth was impeded at cooler temperatures, highlighting the importance of mitigation of cold water pollution. Rapid temperature reduction of 10°C caused almost complete immediate mortality; smaller reductions affected swimming ability and caused delayed mortality.

Laura Michie (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Technology Sydney, laura.michie@student.uts.edu.au;


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5/21/2019  |   10:00 - 10:15   |  250 CF

REUNITED AT LAST: GENETIC RECOVERY OF STREAM FISH POPULATIONS AFTER THE REMOVAL OF PASSAGE BARRIERS One of the top threats to biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems is habitat fragmentation due to human activities. In streams, road crossings with poorly-designed culverts can cause fragmentation and block fish passage, which limits genetic exchange between upstream and downstream individuals. The genetic effects of population isolation are well established, but the genetic response, or pattern of recovery, of fish populations following re-establishment of connectivity is poorly understood. We address this knowledge gap by measuring allelic diversity, genetic differentiation, and assignment probabilities in Mottled Sculpin (Cottus bairdii) sampled upstream and downstream of sites with varying time spans since culvert replacement. We collected samples during the summer of 2018 from eight streams (n=60 individuals per stream, 30 upstream and 30 downstream) located throughout western Pennsylvania. Since fish are known to immediately use pathways when barriers are removed, we expect that sculpin individuals will disperse between upstream and downstream locations following culvert replacement. Thus we will determine whether there is a positive relationship between time since culvert removal and genetic similarity, keeping in mind that genetic change happens over multiple generations.

Anne Timm (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, anne.l.timm@usda.gov;


Meredith L. Bartron (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Northeast Fishery Center, meredith_bartron@fws.gov;


Josiah H. Townsend (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Indiana University of Pennsylvania, josiaht@iup.edu;


Joseph E. Duchamp (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Indiana University of Pennsylvania, jduchamp@iup.edu;


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


Lauren M. Prasko (Primary Presenter/Author), Indiana University of Pennsylvania, laurenprasko@gmail.com;


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5/21/2019  |   10:15 - 10:30   |  250 CF

HYDRAULIC CONDITIONS INFLUENCE CAPTURE AND UPSTREAM PASSAGE OF WHITE SUCKER AND INVASIVE SEA LAMPREY IN A POOL-TYPE FISHWAY Fishways in the Great Lakes watershed mitigate fish habitat fragmentation, but also increase risk of invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) infestation upstream of dams. Techniques that guide sea lamprey into traps while allowing passage of desirable fishes would help managers minimize risk of sea lamprey infestation while addressing connectivity targets. We tracked sea lamprey and white sucker (Catostomus commersonii) as they navigated a pool-type fishway to examine how hydraulic conditions influenced capture and upstream passage. Upstream passage rates for white sucker and sea lamprey were high under streaming flow conditions. Increasing the head difference between pools by 1 cm resulted in a 6% decrease (95% CI: 4-8%) in white sucker upstream passage and a 31% decrease (95% CI: 28-34%) for sea lamprey. Sea lamprey capture rate was higher during streaming flow conditions compared to plunging flow and a 1 degree Celsius increase in water temperature was associated with a 29% decrease (95% CI: 22-36%) in capture rate. Surface-oriented behavior at high temperatures and attraction to surface turbulence likely drove reductions in sea lamprey capture rate in our bottom-oriented trap at high temperatures and during plunging flow conditions.

Peter Hrodey (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), USFWS, pete_hrodey@fws.gov;


Scott Miehls (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), USGS, smiehls@usgs.gov ;


Paul Piszczek (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Wisconsin DNR, Paul.Piszczek@wisconsin.gov;


Daniel Zielinski (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Great Lakes Fishery Commission, dzielinski@usgs.gov;


Sean Lewandoski (Primary Presenter/Author), USFWS, sean_lewandoski@fws.gov;


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