2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference
March 13 - 15, 2022
5/25/2021 | 8:30 AM - 10:30 AM | INSECT BIOMASS AND EMERGENCE SUSTAINED DESPITE MAYFLY DECLINES IN MINING-INDUCED SALINIZED APPALACHIAN HEADWATERS. | Virtual Platform
INSECT BIOMASS AND EMERGENCE SUSTAINED DESPITE MAYFLY DECLINES IN MINING-INDUCED SALINIZED APPALACHIAN HEADWATERS.
In Appalachian headwaters, macroinvertebrate diversity declines following mining-induced salinization, but changes to biomass and subsequent emergence remain unclear. Larval biomass may be sustained through replacement by salt-tolerant taxa. However, late instars and pupae may succumb to cumulative stress (e.g., oxygen deprivation, ion regulation, diet alteration), resulting in decreased emergence to riparian habitats and recipient food webs. Therefore, assessments relying on immatures may not fully characterize salinization effects. We predicted that larval and emergent biomass would decouple in response to sulfate-dominated salinity where emergent biomass would decrease disproportionately to benthic biomass as late instars succumb to stress. We also predicted that biomass of salt-sensitive taxa (e.g. Ephemeroptera) would decrease. We sampled macroinvertebrates from riffles of six central Appalachian streams representing a salinization gradient of annual mean specific conductances (25-1460 µS/cm) in August and November 2019 and April 2020. Concurrently, we deployed emergence traps and collected insects for one to three weeks. Preliminary results from November suggest that total benthic biomass was sustained across the salinization gradient but mayfly biomass declined. We will present coupled benthic and emergent metrics as enhanced assessments of material transfer across aquatic-terrestrial interfaces.
- Anthropogenic
- Aquatic–terrestrial biodiversity
- Conductivity
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Presenters/Authors
Aryanna James
(), Virginia Tech, aryannaj@vt.edu;
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Erin Hotchkiss
(), Virginia Tech, ehotchkiss@vt.edu;
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Daniel McLaughlin
(), Virginia Tech, mclaugd@vt.edu;
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Gregory Pond
(), USEPA, Region 3, Office of Monitoring and Assessment, pond.greg@epa.gov;
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Stephen Schoenholtz
(), Virginia Tech, schoenhs@vt.edu;
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Anthony Timpano
(), Virginia Tech, atimpano@vt.edu;
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Carl Zipper
(), Virginia Tech, czip@vt.edu;
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Sally Entrekin
(), Virginia Tech, sallye@vt.edu;
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