2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference

March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH

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5/27/2021 | 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM | WHAT’S MOSS GOT TO DO WITH IT? AQUATIC BRYOPHYTES PROVIDE ROOM AND BOARD FOR ALGAE IN HEADWATER STREAMS | Virtual Platform

WHAT’S MOSS GOT TO DO WITH IT? AQUATIC BRYOPHYTES PROVIDE ROOM AND BOARD FOR ALGAE IN HEADWATER STREAMS

Recent observations document a greening of the headwater streams at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. It is presently unclear whether this greening is caused by the rising temperatures, altered terrestrial phenology, or shifting hydrologic regimes induced by climate change. These streams are also rebounding from a legacy of acid rain, associated with rising stream water pH, declining concentrations of toxic Al3+, and increasingly low conductivity. Three years of weekly algal data collection and comparison of historic and modern bryophyte cover are revealing important new insights about the interactions between these two groups of autotrophs. Instream, we measured 6.7 times more algal biomass accrual on artificial moss substrates than on ceramic tiles, and 50% more algal accrual on moss substrates under unlimited light and reduced flow. Further, microscopy reveals abundant filamentous algae in moss beds throughout the stream channels. We hypothesize that increases in the extent or surface area of stream bryophytes is allowing higher algal biomass to accrue because bryophytes provide physical protection from bed scour or abrasion, and bryophytes trap particulates and enhance nutrient availability for algae.

Nutrients
Stream
Climate change

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Presenters/Authors

Audrey Thellman (), Duke University , audrey.thellman@duke.edu;