Headwater Streams IV: Merging Understanding at the Watershed Scale

Wednesday, September 15, 2010: 8:20 AM-2:40 PM
406 (Convention Center)
Headwater streams consist of ephemeral, intermittent, and permanent water courses that are at the interface of the aquatic-terrestrial continuum.  Despite their concealed nature, headwater streams and associated catchments make up the bulk of watersheds by area, and they make up the bulk of riverine habitats by length.  Consequently, the ecological integrity of headwater systems may have important influences on the ecological integrity of the entire downstream riverine continuum.  Headwaters differ widely in their physical, chemical, and biotic attributes, and provide habitats for a range of unique species, thereby contributing to the overall biodiversity of a river system. Headwater species include permanent residents as well as migrants that travel to headwaters at particular seasons or life stages. Additionally, retention and export of materials in headwater streams (emergent and drifting insects, detritus, sediment, nutrients) play key roles in structuring downstream river ecology and adjacent terrestrial ecosystems.  Degradation and loss of headwaters and their connectivity to ecosystems downstream threaten the biological diversity of entire river networks.  In this symposium, we will explore the diversity in headwater systems across North America and how these unique systems interact with downstream rivers and their terrestrial ecosystem at a watershed scale. To assist us we have gathered speakers across a wide range of geographies (Great Plains, Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf Coasts, Appalachians, and Rocky Mountains) and systems (Deserts, Forests, Grasslands, Urban, and Coastal Plains).
Moderators:
George T. Merovich Jr., PhD , Andrew W. Hafs and E.J. McGinley
Organizers:
George T. Merovich Jr., PhD , Jon Niles, PhD and Kyle Hartman, Ph.D.
8:20 AM
Welcoming remarks
George T. Merovich Jr., PhD, West Virginia University
9:00 AM
9:20 AM
Riparian and instream variation among headwater streams of the Bogue Chitto River, Louisiana USA
A. Raynie Harlan, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center; William E. Kelso, PhD, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center; Michael D. Kaller, PhD, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center; Angela Williamson, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center
9:40 AM
Implications of intra-ecoregion variability on Gulf of Mexico coastal plain stream biological assessment
Catherine E. Murphy, Louisiana State University; Michael D. Kaller, PhD, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center; William E. Kelso, PhD, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center
10:00 AM
Break
10:20 AM
Monitoring headwater streams in Maryland to short term natural variability and long term climate change impacts
Andrew J. Becker, Maryland Department of Natural Resources; Scott Stranko, Maryland Department of Natural Resources; Ron Klauda, Maryland Department of Natural Resources
10:40 AM
Comparing the biological diversity of urban restored streams to non-urban streams
Scott A. Stranko, Maryland Department of Natural Resources
11:00 AM
Mining and residential development interact to produce highly impaired stream conditions in an intensively mined Appalachian watershed
E. R. Merriam, West Virginia University; George T. Merovich Jr., PhD, West Virginia University; J. T. Petty, Ph.D., West Virginia University
11:20 AM
Effects of acid precipitation and acid mine drainage on leaf litter decomposition rates in central Appalachian streams
M. Fiona Stewart, Masters, Candidate, West Virginia University; George. M Merovich, PhD, West Virginia University; J. Todd Petty, Ph.D., West Virginia University
11:40 AM
Effects of land use and seasonality on community and food web structure in headwater streams
Eden L. Effert, University of Illinois; Robert U. Fischer, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham; David H. Wahl, PhD, University of Illinois
12:00 PM
Lunch Break On Your Own
1:20 PM
Feeding ecology of young-of-year brook trout in Appalachian headwater streams
Jon Niles, PhD, West Virginia University; Andrew W. Hafs, West Virginia University; Kyle J. Hartman, PhD, West Virginia University
1:40 PM
Stream fish energy budgets under differing riparian timber harvest intensities
Kyle Hartman, Ph.D., West Virginia University; Jered Studinski, West Virginia University
2:00 PM
2:20 PM
Responses of downstream aquatic ecosystems across a gradient of headwater enclosure in agricultural streams
Katie L. Stammler, MSc, University of Western Ontario; Robert C. Bailey, PhD, Cape Breton University; Nicholas E. Mandrak, PhD, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
See more of: Symposium Submissions