SFS Annual Meeting

5/21/2019  |   11:00 - 11:15   |  250 CF

A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING FISH COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO FLOW ALTERATION Riverine fish communities, like other communities, can be viewed as the product of both selective and neutral processes acting on the available species pool. Selective processes include abiotic habitat filtering and all species interactions, which together define the realized niche and depend on species traits. Neutral processes include the random loss of species and undirected dispersal, and imply a substantial degree of exchangeability or redundancy among subsets of species. Much effort has gone into understanding fish species’ niches and the traits that govern their response to human perturbations, yet trait-based frameworks for predicting specific responses to individual stressors remain fairly primitive. Neutral relationships of species richness with stream size and with downstream link magnitude, which can be derived from island biogeography theory, can provide a complementary approach to predicting whole-community response to stressors such as water withdrawals. We describe a conceptual framework that considers both selective and neutral processes as a way to make sense of the complexity of fish community responses to anthropogenic river flow alteration, particularly reduced low flows.

Seth Wenger (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Georgia, sethwenger@fastmail.fm;


Mary Freeman (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), US Geological Survey, mcfreeman@usgs.gov;


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5/21/2019  |   11:15 - 11:30   |  250 CF

EXAMINING THE PHYSIOLOGICAL HEALTH OF RECENTLY- AND FORMERLY-RELEASED CAPTIVE-REARED JUVENILE BLANDING’S TURTLES (EMYDOIDEA BLANDINGII) The Blanding's Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and is offered protection throughout much of its known range. Significant head-starting efforts have been conducted to recover populations of E. blandingii in northeastern Illinois, with over 2,500 turtles released since 1995. However, the success of these programs both locally and range-wide have not been fully quantified. Our research project gauged the success of an augmentation program in northern Illinois (Blanding's Turtle Recovery Project) by assessing the long-term physiological health through blood biochemistry of captive-reared recently-released (i.e. released in 2017) and captive-reared formerly-released (i.e., captive reared and released prior to 2016) juvenile turtles at multiple local wetlands. Our results have indicated several blood biochemistry metrics vary between the two groups and between months. Additionally, there are differences between both groups in the increasing or decreasing trends of biochemical responses across months. Examining these efforts will provide a measure of how released juveniles are acclimating to their environment, help us gain an understanding for the consequences of rearing and releasing, and will provide an assessment of the health of captive-reared and released juvenile turtles.

Armand Cann (Primary Presenter/Author), Loyola University Chicago, acann@luc.edu;


Joseph Milanovich (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Loyola University Chicago, jmilanovich@luc.edu;


Leigh Anne Harden (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Benedictine University, lharden@ben.edu;


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5/21/2019  |   11:30 - 11:45   |  250 CF

UNDERSTANDING THE ELEMENTS OF METACOMMUNITY STRUCTURE IN STREAM FISH COMMUNITIES OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES Community ecologists have always been interested in how species assemble themselves within their given environment. Metacommunity ecology offers a strategy for disentangling the spatial and environmental components for species assemblages. We investigated 190 stream fish metacommunity assemblages in the Eastern United States using the elements of metacommunity structure approach in a quantitative and qualitative manner. Quantitatively, we used linear models to understand how different landscape level variables predict coherence, turnover, and boundary clumping. We used logistic regression to investigate whether landscape variables could predict metacommunity patterns. Qualitatively, we used spatial analyses to investigate areas in the Eastern US where certain metacommunity patterns were more prevalent and make inferences for those patterns. We observed seven metacommunity patterns with clementsian, quasi-clementsian, clumped species loss, and quasi-clumped species loss being the most common. Dams and distance between local communities significantly predicted coherence and turnover. Agriculture significantly predicted boundary clumping, potentially adding further meaning to the pattern assigned to the metacommunity. An increase in elevation better predicted a clumped species loss pattern over clementsian. This research illustrates a new way to study fish metacommunities using the elements of metacommunity approach.

Brandon K. Peoples (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Clemson University, peoples@clemson.edu;


Lauren Stoczynski (Primary Presenter/Author), Clemson University, lstoczy@clemson.edu;


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5/21/2019  |   11:45 - 12:00   |  250 CF

UNRAVELING THE IMPACTS OF COMPETITION AND WARMING ON JUVELINE ATLANTIC SALMON (SALMO SALAR) PERFORMANCE IN MAINE STREAMS Understanding the temperature dependence of competition with warmwater species is a key aspect of managing salmonid fish populations as climate changes. By 2050, mean temperature in the state of Maine is expected to increase nearly 1oC, which could directly impact native coldwater salmonid performance and facilitate the spread of smallmouth bass and other non-native warmwater species. We conducted a microcosm experiment to examine the performance of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) at two temperatures (18oC and 21oC) in the presence and absence of non-native smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu). Since bass are known to be aggressive competitors with higher thermal tolerance than salmon, we predicted salmon would exhibit lower feeding activity at higher temperatures compared to warm-adapted bass. By visually reviewing footage of fish competition in our tanks, we found salmon feeding activity was significantly reduced by bass presence and this effect was stronger at higher temperatures. These findings illustrate the potential for invasive warmwater species to outcompete native salmonids for resources, especially under warmer conditions. Therefore, salmonids may be vulnerable to impacts of invasive species and loss of coldwater as predicted in a changing climate.

Stephen Coghlan (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Maine, stephen.coghlan@maine.edu;


Joseph Zydlewski (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), USGS, University of Maine, josephz@maine.edu;


Hamish Greig (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Maine, hamish.greig@maine.edu;


Nicole Ramberg-Pihl (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Maine, nicole.rambergpihl@maine.edu;


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5/21/2019  |   12:00 - 12:15   |  250 CF

INFLUENCE OF INTERANNUAL AND SEASONAL WEATHER VARIABILITY ON YOUNG-OF-THE-YEAR BROOK TROUT ABUNDANCE Weather variation can have widespread effects on reproductive success, potentially altering the demographics and viability of aquatic animal populations. In streams, extreme temperatures coupled with streambed scouring during rain events can reduce survival of juvenile fish, but these mechanisms have seldom been examined over large spatial scales across years. To address this research gap, we analyzed eastern brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) population data collected from 2,500 streams across Pennsylvania from 2010 to 2018. Relative abundance of young-of-the-year (%YOY) brook trout was highly synchronized across state management regions in five out of nine years, suggesting that large-scale factors influence population dynamics. Next, using an information theoretic approach and 16 possible parameters, we found that %YOY is lower in years with higher spring precipitation (R2=0.15, p<0.01) and higher maximum winter temperatures (R2=0.31, p<0.0001). Specifically, YOY represented 50-75% of the catch when maximum winter temperature was less than 16ºC, compared to only 5-25% when winter temperature exceeded 22ºC. If this result is ultimately tied to high flows scouring substrate and eggs, then an increased frequency of extreme weather in the future may negatively impact Pennsylvania’s trout populations.

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


Lauren Prasko (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Indiana University of Pennsylvania, l.m.prasko@iup.edu;


David Argent (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), California University of Pennsylvania, argent@calu.edu;


Eric Chapman (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, echapman@paconserve.org;


Christopher Grant (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Juniata College, grantc@juniata.edu;


Rachel Kester (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Trout Unlimited, rkester@tu.org;


William Kimmel (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), California University of Pennsylvania, kimmel@calu.edu;


Kathleen Lavelle (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Trout Unlimited, klavelle@tu.org;


Allison Lutz (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Trout Unlimited, allison.lutz@tu.edu;


Jonathan Niles (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Susquehanna University, niles@susqu.edu;


Shawn Rummel (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Trout Unlimited, srummel@tu.org;


Steven Seiler (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Lock Haven University, sseiler@lockhaven.edu;


Robert Smith (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Lycoming College, smithr@lycoming.edu;


Andrew Turner (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Clarion University, aturner@clarion.edu;


Scott Wissinger (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Allegheny College, swissing@allegheny.edu;


Melvin Zimmerman (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Lycoming College, zimmer@lycoming.edu;


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5/21/2019  |   12:15 - 12:30   |  250 CF

SOCIAL NETWORK STRUCTURE IS EXPLAINED BY ANIMAL BEHAVIOR Social network theory was used to elicit details of the social structure of an experimental population of a planktivorous cyprinid, Hypophthalmichthys nobilis. We combined behavioral assays with social network analysis to quantify the role behaviors play in sociality. Fish behaviors were assayed for general activity and boldness (i.e., the propensity to engage in risky behavior), then PIT tagged and stocked in an experimental pond (1-acre) where their associations were monitored for one month and then used to construct their social network. Considerable inter-individual variation was observed for both activity and boldness assays. Within the social network, four subgroups of fish were identified by a modularity algorithm. Two subgroups were consistently bolder and more active whereas the other two were less active and less bold. Although individuals associate with many others, we observed some associations were more frequent than others and influenced by similar behaviors, even within a small animal social network. By integrating social network analysis with animal behavior assays we show that structure within a fish social network can be explained by variation in animal personalities.

Scott Collins (Primary Presenter/Author), Texas Tech University, Scott.Collins@ttu.edu;


Michael Nannini (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Illinois Natural History Survey, mnannini@illinois.edu;


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