2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference

March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH

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5/25/2021 | 8:30 AM - 10:30 AM | LINKING HYDROLOGICAL AND BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF MEGAFIRE USING ENVIRONMENTAL DNA | Virtual Platform

LINKING HYDROLOGICAL AND BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF MEGAFIRE USING ENVIRONMENTAL DNA

In the western United States, anthropogenic climate change is causing larger, more severe fires and an increase in extreme precipitation events. The compounded impact of these two changes can create massive ecosystem disturbances. In the fall of 2018, this scenario occurred in central Utah when a 610 km2 megafire affected a large portion of the Utah Lake watershed. Two weeks later, the remnants of a Pacific hurricane swept across the state, resulting in torrential rains which triggered debris flows and flash-flooding in the fire scar. To understand the impact of these mega-disturbances on aquatic ecosystems, we established 20 permanent monitoring stations and 80 sampling locations in both burned and unburned catchments. We collected hydrochemical and environmental DNA samples throughout the year, which we related to catchment characteristics, including disturbance severity. We investigated how biogeochemical and biological succession progress following large ecological disturbance events. Understanding the impacts of increasing disturbance events and the ecosystem recovery process will inform decisions that will protect native species, effectively facilitate habitat and species restoration, and ensure continued water security for communities in the arid western US.

Biodiversity
Biogeochemistry
Genomics

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Presenters/Authors

Isabella Errigo (), Brigham Young University, ierrigo95@gmail.com;