A Stream Multimetric Macroinvertebrate Index (MMI) for the Sand Hills Ecoregion of the Southeastern Plains, USA.

A macroinvertebrate multimetric index is an effective tool for assessing the biological integrity of streams. However, data collected under a single protocol may not be available for an entire region. We sampled macroinvertebrates from the full extent of the Sand Hills ecoregion Level IV of the Southeastern Plains with a standard protocol during the summers of 2010-2012.

Litter Breakdown and Microbial Succession on Two Submerged Leaf Species in a Small Forested Stream.

Microbial succession during leaf breakdown was investigated in a small forested stream in west-central Georgia, USA, using multiple culture-independent techniques. Red maple (Acer rubrum) and water oak (Quercus nigra) leaf litter were incubated in situ for 128 days, and litter breakdown was quantified by ash-free dry mass (AFDM) method and microbial assemblage composition using phospholipid fatty acid analysis (PLFA), ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (RISA), denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), and bar-coded next-generation sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons. Leaf breakdown was faster for red maple than water oak.

Defining the reference condition for wadeable streams in the Sand Hills subdivision of the Southeastern Plains ecoregion, USA.

The Sand Hills subdivision of the Southeastern Plains ecoregion has been impacted by historical land uses over the past two centuries and, with the additive effects of contemporary land use, determining reference condition for streams in this region is a challenge. We identified reference condition based on the combined use of 3 independent selection methods. Method 1 involved use of a multivariate disturbance gradient derived from several stressors, method 2 was based on variation in channel morphology, and method 3 was based on passing 6 of 7 environmental criteria.

Acute physiological responses of the freshwater snail Elimia flava (Mollusca: Pleuroceridae) to environmental pH and calcium.

The individual and interactive effects of environmental pH (7 [control], 6, 5, and 4) and calcium (0, 5, and 50 mg/L) were studied on hemolymph ions (pH, Ca(2+), total CO(2), Na(+), K(+)) and osmolality in the freshwater snail, Elimia flava, over a 72-h exposure. All hemolymph factors strongly differed with environmental pH. Snails exposed to pH 4 were inactive and experienced more dramatic ionic disturbances than snails at pH 5, 6, and 7, including reduced hemolymph pH, depressed Na(+) concentrations, and increased Ca(2+) and total CO(2) concentrations.

Influence of catchment-scale military land use on stream physical and organic matter variables in small southeastern plains catchments (USA).

We conducted a 3-year study designed to examine the relationship between disturbance from military land use and stream physical and organic matter variables within 12 small (<5.5 km2) Southeastern Plains catchments at the Fort Benning Military Installation, Georgia, USA. Primary land-use categories were based on percentages of bare ground and road cover and nonforested land (grasslands, sparse vegetation, shrublands, fields) in catchments and natural catchments features, including soils (% sandy soils) and catchment size (area).

Habitat modification by the stream macrophyte Justicia americana and its effects on biota.

We conducted an in-stream experiment to determine if and by what mechanisms the emergent macrophyte, Justicia americiana, enhances streambed stability and influences associated benthic organisms. Treatments included removal of aboveground stems, removal of stems and rhizomes, and a control. Stone stability and embeddedness were higher within intact patches of Justicia compared with areas where stems and rhizomes were removed.

Herbivorous caddisflies, macroalgae, and epilithic microalgae: dynamic interactions in a stream grazing system.

1. During the low-flow period (April-October) in sunlit pools of Big Sulphur Creek (northern coastal California), the attached algal community predictably changes from an assemblage dominated by lush, upright Cladophora glomerata filaments in spring and early summer to one dominated by epilithic diatoms and blue-green algae (together=microalgae) in late summer through early autumn. Previous studies in this stream indicated that grazing by the caddisflies Helicopsyche borealis and Gumaga nigricula maintain low algal biomass during the latter part of this period.