SFS Annual Meeting

5/22/2019  |   09:00 - 09:15   |  150 G

THE ALLIANCE FOR FRESHWATER LIFE: INTRODUCING THE INITIATIVE AND IDEAS FOR FRESHWATER BIODIVERSITY RESEARCH FROM LOCAL TO GLOBAL SCALES Global pressures on freshwater ecosystems are high and rising. Viewed primarily as a resource for humans, current land use and water management practice have led to catastrophic declines in freshwater species and the degradation of freshwater ecosystems, including their genetic and functional diversity. An improved understanding of all facets of freshwater biodiversity is required to inform better decision making and for establishing the socio-economic context for sustainable water management. Here we introduce the Alliance for Freshwater Life (AFL), an emerging global initiative that seeks to unite specialists in research, data synthesis, conservation, education and outreach, and policymaking. The AFL aims to provide a common platform and the critical mass required for the effective representation of freshwater biodiversity at policy meetings, to develop solutions balancing the needs of development and conservation, and to better convey the important role freshwater ecosystems play in human well-being. We introduce examples of ongoing and future research aimed at developing tools and frameworks for better management, closing knowledge gaps about the distribution and status of freshwater biodiversity, and identifying the necessary data and knowledge needed to balance human needs with sustaining freshwater biodiversity.

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


William Darwall (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), IUCN Global Species Programme; Freshwater Biodiversity Unit, William.DARWALL@iucn.org;


Ian Harrison (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Conservation International, iharrison@conservation.org;


Michael T. Monaghan (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, monaghan@igb-berlin.de;


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5/22/2019  |   09:15 - 09:30   |  150 G

TOOLS OF ENGAGEMENT IN RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND OUTREACH: THE MULTIPLIER EFFECT OF BOUNDARY SPANNING, NETWORKS AND COMMUNICATION IN THE LAND OF PRIVATE PROPERTY Llano River Field Station was involved numerous engagement efforts prior to the Watershed Protection Plan, but that plan and process provided the focus that sewed together the many disparate efforts and was instrumental in addressing the challenges associated with: 1) public skepticism of government in a rural conservative region of Texas, 2) gaining trust, 3) communicating goals, 4) enlisting participation and sustainability. Stakeholders identified all decisions as to problems and solutions in the watershed. LRFS learned how to interact and communicate with new audiences, the need to place research in the context of “real world” problems, being a credible resource, how to walk the fine line of informing the debate rather than perceived as an advocate, and role in providing critical guidance to resource managers. We used Social Network Analysis to map, measure, and find patterns in the connections between people and organizations and how an organization embedded in a larger system influences its actions, power, and resources. Field Stations together with agency partnerships and stakeholder/landowner involvement in research and education are resistance and resilience components of watersheds that promote stability by increasing capacity to absorb and recover from disturbances.

Tom Arsuffi (Primary Presenter/Author), Texas Tech Llano River Field Station, tom.arsuffi@ttu.edu;


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5/22/2019  |   09:30 - 09:45   |  150 G

COMMUNITY CONSEQUENCES OF INDISCRIMINATE OVERFISHING IN LARGE TROPICAL RIVERS Inland fisheries provide millions of people with their primary source of nutrition and livelihoods, especially in the world’s largest tropical rivers. While the potential impact of climate change and hydropower development on fish yields has raised concerns, overharvest remains a key challenge to sustainable inland fisheries. Assessing these fisheries using common tools for marine systems can be inadequate because tropical inland fisheries are indiscriminate, highly diverse, and data-limited. Here we develop new metrics to assess indiscriminate fisheries and test them against an unprecedented tropical inland fisheries timeseries. We find that while yields remain stable, catch species composition changes according to a three staged development model. In early stages, when exploitation is light to moderate, catch Shannon-diversity increases as large, dominant and high revenue species, are developed into. When exploitation is moderate, Shannon-diversity plateaus as previously dominant taxa are replaced by a diverse set of species. Finally, at late stages, Shannon-diversity is expected to decrease as fast-growing species dominate catches. We conclude that this inverted U-shaped Shannon-diversity curve is characteristic of indiscriminate and diverse inland fisheries development and can aid in assessing the sustainability of data-limited tropical river fisheries.

Sebastian Heilpern (Primary Presenter/Author), Columbia University, s.heilpern@columbia.edu;


Suresh Sethi (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Cornell University, suresh.sethi@cornell.edu;


Alexander Flecker (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA, asf3@cornell.edu;


Fabrice Duponchelle (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Institute of Research for Development, fabrice.duponchelle@ird.fr;


Carolina Doria (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Universidade Federal de Rondônia, carolinarcdoria@unir.br;


Vandick Batista (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Universidade Federal de Alagoas, vandickbatista@gmail.com;


Victoria Isaac (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Federal University of Pará, biologiapesqueira@hotmail.com;


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5/22/2019  |   09:45 - 10:00   |  150 G

COUPLING A PURPOSE BUILT IMAGING SYSTEM WITH COMPUTER VISION TO ESTIMATE INVERTEBRATE DRIFT WITHIN LOTIC ECOSYSTEMS Imaging systems are becoming more common place for monitoring target organisms in diverse ecosystems. Yet the integration of imaging lotic ecosystems has not gained the same traction as in terrestrial, lentic, or marine environments due to the challenges and costs associated with deploying traditional sampling methods. The methodology for deploying imaging systems within lentic and marine ecosystems cannot be utilized within lotic ecosystems due to these environments being characterized by unidirectional flow. Constant barrage from abrasive flow material requires a strong housing to protect the specialized lens, camera, and lighting configuration from harsh environments with variable physical conditions. These unique conditions required the development of a purpose specific imaging system that can be utilized within lotic ecosystem. Recent advances in next generation imaging systems, together with open-source software, provide a way to identify and enumerate stream invertebrates in drift that can greater reduce the time and costs associated with sampling this process manually. I present here a study that employs a prototype, purpose-built, imaging system to address the challenges associated with accurately sampling invertebrate drift within lotic ecosystems along California’s redwood coast.

Nicholas Macias (Primary Presenter/Author), University of California, Santa Cruz, niamacia@ucsc.edu;


Eric Palkovacs (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of California - Santa Cruz, epalkova@ucsc.edu;


Eric Danner (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), NOAA, eric.danner@noaa.gov;


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