SFS Annual Meeting

5/21/2019  |   11:00 - 11:15   |  251 AB

EFFECTS OF URBANIZATION AND GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE ON STREAM HABITAT AND BENTHIC COMMUNITY COMPOSITION IN PIEDMONT HEADWATER STREAMS Green infrastructure (GI) is increasingly implemented to mitigate the effects of urbanization on stream ecosystems. This type of stormwater management, which focuses on distributed infiltration of stormwater runoff, was implemented in Clarksburg, MD as it underwent urban development over the past 20 years. To understand the ecological effects of urbanization and GI implementation, five headwater streams were intensively monitoring during the same 20-year period, including three watersheds that underwent development and GI implementation and two control watersheds (one forested watershed and one older developed watershed). Stream health was assessed by monitoring streamflow, measuring water quality and habitat, and annual sampling of benthic macroinvertebrate communities. Preliminary results show declines in benthic index of biological integrity (IBI) scores, declines in habitat metrics, and increases in stream conductivity in all three watersheds that underwent development. While IBI scores declined during development in the three GI watersheds, their scores were typically greater than those in the urban control watershed. Future analyses will include characterizing the effects of GI on streamflow patterns, and the application of structural equation modeling to identify key stressors affecting benthic community composition in urbanizing Piedmont streams.

Rosemary Fanelli (Primary Presenter/Author), USGS South Atlantic Water Science Center, rfanelli@usgs.gov;


Kristina Hopkins (Co-Presenter/Co-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.

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5/21/2019  |   11:15 - 11:30   |  251 AB

DO URBAN MULTI-STRESSORS AND THEIR EFFECTS ON STREAM BIOTA SHIFT DURING DROUGHTS? In 2015 during a 30-year drought, U.S. Geological Survey sampled 87 streams across an urban disturbance gradient in the Pacific Northwest region (PNR) of the U.S. Objectives were to assess how aquatic assemblages respond to multiple stressors and how drought conditions modulate them. Ecological condition was assessed in relation to streamflow, habitat, nutrients, and contaminants. Streams were sampled for algae, macroinvertebrates, and fish in the summer under base-flow conditions. Response models developed using Boosted Regression Trees indicate that flow alteration accounted for less of the variability in ecological condition than might be expected in urban systems, likely due to drought conditions. Contaminants were among the most important explanatory variables in the invertebrate and algal models; this was surprising considering there were few if any storm generated run-off events during our sampling. Temperature and water depth were common variables in the fish models. Explanatory variables in the three biotic assemblage models under drought conditions in the PNR appeared to have shifted from what might be expected and also differ from many other urban studies.

Ian Waite (Primary Presenter/Author), U.S. Geological Survey, Portland, OR, iwaite@usgs.gov;


Mark Munn (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), U.S. Geological Survey, Tacoma, WA, mdmunn@usgs.gov;


Rich Sheibley (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), USGS Washington Water Science Center, Sheibley@usgs.gov;


Christopher Konrad (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), US Geological Survey, cpkonrad@usgs.gov;


Patrick Moran (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), U.S. Geological Survey, pwmoran@usgs.gov;


Jennifer Morace (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), U.S. Geological Survey, jlmorace@usgs.gov;


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5/21/2019  |   11:30 - 11:45   |  251 AB

QUANTIFYING CUMULATIVE STRESS EXPERIENCED BY MACROINVERTEBRATE ASSEMBLAGES IN LOWLAND STREAMS Macroinvertebrates in lowland streams experience multiple stress from the urban environment. Yet, quantifying how these multiple stressors impact macroinvertebrate assemblages is challenging. Therefore, we developed a novel method to quantify the cumulative stress experienced by macroinvertebrate assemblages in lowland streams. To this purpose, we considered 22 stressors from different stressor categories such as hydrological, morphological and chemical stressors, acting over multiple spatial scales ranging from instream to the catchment scale. Stressor intensity was categorized based on impact on macroinvertebrates. To validate the cumulative stress quantification method, the lowland stream Tungelroyse Beek in the Netherlands, located in urbanized region of the Netherlands, was used as a case study. It was shown that independently derived ecological quality scores based on macroinvertebrate samples decreased with increasing calculated cumulative stress scores, supporting the design of the method. Based on the contribution of each specific stressor to the cumulative stress scores, the reasons for the absence and presence of target macroinvertebrate species may be elucidated. Hence, the cumulative stress quantification method may help to identify and localize the most stringent stressors limiting target assemblages, and can thereby provide better focus of management resources.

Jip de Vries (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Amsterdam, j.de.vries@uva.nl;


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5/21/2019  |   11:45 - 12:00   |  251 AB

SURFACE DISTURBANCE INTENSIFIES THE EFFECT OF LOW FLOWS ON STREAM FISHES Oil and natural gas development (ONGD) is an emerging threat that modifies the landscape, resulting in increased surface disturbance (SD). Hydrology strongly regulates fish populations, with stressful low-flow events potentially interacting with anthropogenic stressors. Yet few studies have evaluated the interactions between hydrology and anthropogenic SD on stream fishes. We evaluated the individual and interactive effects of hydrology and SD associated with ONGD on populations of two fishes at 64-sites in the Wyoming Range, over 7 years. Overall, fish abundance, colonization, and persistence declined with low flows. The effect of SD differed between species, where abundance of one species declined and the other increased. Both synergistic and antagonistic interactions occurred between hydrology and SD, but the effect of hydrology was always greatest at sites with more SD, suggesting SD can intensify low flow effects. Species’ responses likely differed because of physiological tolerances and behavioral adaptations, where sensitive, sedentary species had lower persistence and colonization rates at disturbed sites compared to tolerant, mobile species. Development of flow-ecology relationships in a multiple-stressor framework can highlight management needs for stream fishes, and provides a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying flow-ecology relationships.

Carlin Girard (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Teton Conservation District, carlingirard@gmail.com ;


Saman Alford (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Wyoming, salford1@uwyo.edu;


Annika Walters (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), USGS Wyoming Coop Fish and Wildlife Unit, annika.walters@uwyo.edu;


Richard Walker (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Wyoming, rwalker2442@gmail.com;


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5/21/2019  |   12:00 - 12:15   |  251 AB

TRASH SPECIES OR EXPLOITATIONAL MARVEL? EMERGENCE PATTERNS OF PACHYDIPLAX LONGIPENNIS ON AN URBAN-RURAL LANDSCAPE GRADIENT IN SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND The most common and abundant species found in a 3-year, cross-seasonal survey of dragonfly exuviae at small wetlands in Rhode Island (USA), Pachydiplax longipennis (Anisoptera: Libellulidae) is remarkable because it appears to successfully breed almost everywhere. Populations of exuvial P. longipennis were found at 76-90% of the sites surveyed each year and varied in abundance from 1 to >1000 (exuviae collected per hour effort). I analyzed populations along landscape (wetland area, surrounding land-use, water quality) and biotic (fish presence, species richness, abundance of the other 10 most common dragonfly species) gradients. The data show that, overall, P. longipennis has a long emergence period in southern New England (late May through September, peaking in late June), but revealed few apparent patterns for this species along the variables that were measured. The questions remain: Why does it fare so well each year at many sites, while it is not even detected at a few? Is there a common feature to the sites where it does not appear to successfully reproduce? Other potential forces driving observed abundance patterns will be considered.

Maria Aliberti-Lubertazzi (Primary Presenter/Author), RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN, MALIBERT@RISD.EDU;


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5/21/2019  |   12:15 - 12:30   |  251 AB

INVESTIGATIONS OF AQUATIC COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO VARIATION IN LAND-USE TYPE AND INTENSITY ACROSS URBANIZATION GRADIENTS With increasing urbanization of watersheds in the lower Laurentian Great Lakes basin, there is an increased need to improve our understanding of urban impacts to aquatic ecosystem diversity and function. In Durham Region, Ontario, watersheds drain from headwaters in the relatively pristine Oak-Ridges Moraine to the north-central shores of Lake Ontario. Watersheds in the region typically experience an agriculture-urban gradient from north-south, and an urban-agriculture gradient from west to east. Stormwater is primarily managed by stormwater management ponds or direct sewer drainage in older areas. We conducted studies on urban wetlands, stormwater management ponds, and tributaries to assess the impacts of urbanization on ecosystem diversity (i.e., bacteria, algae and macrophytes) and function (i.e., biomass production and biodegradation of organic contaminants). Our results indicate that increased urbanization, as inferred by water conductivity, total suspended solids and % impervious surface in the watershed, had variable effects on community composition, and to a lesser extent, biomass production. Biodegradation of organic contaminants (2, 4-D and 3-CBA) was relatively slow, suggesting a diminished role for contaminant removal in stormwater management ponds and urban wetlands.

Andrea Kirkwood (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Ontario Institute of Technology, andrea.kirkwood@uoit.ca;


Alexandra Johnson (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Ontario Institute of Technology, alexandra.johnston@uoit.net;


Carrie Strangway (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Ontario Institute of Technology, carrie.strangway@gmail.com;


Kathryn Thomas (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Ontario Institute of Technology, kathomas31@gmail.com;


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