A5046574459- Freshwater macroinvertebrate diversity and ecology
- Physiological and biochemical adaptations
- Aquatic Invertebrate Ecology and Behavior
- Ecology and biodiversity studies
- Fire effects on ecosystems
- Fish Ecology and Management Studies
- Hydrology and Sediment Transport Processes
- Botany and Plant Ecology Studies
- Integrated Water Resources Management
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Environmental DNA in Biodiversity Studies
- Genetic diversity and population structure
- Flood Risk Assessment and Management
- Environmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology
- Environmental and Social Impact Assessments
- Mining and Resource Management
- Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
- Subterranean biodiversity and taxonomy
- Stonefly species taxonomy and ecology
- Rangeland and Wildlife Management
- Marine Biology and Ecology Research
- Coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics
- Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
- Soil erosion and sediment transport
- Landslides and related hazards
University of Montana
2012-2024
Norwegian Institute for Nature Research
2015-2020
Idaho State University
2010
We investigated the midterm effects of wildfire (in this case, five years after fire) varying severity on periphyton, benthic invertebrates, emerging adult aquatic insects, spiders, and bats by comparing unburned sites with those exposed to low (riparian vegetation burned but canopy intact) high (canopy completely removed) wildfire. observed no difference in periphyton chlorophyll a or ash-free dry mass among different burn categories did observe significantly greater biomass invertebrates...
The effects of wildfire can alter the structure stream insect assemblages. Post-fire shifts to dominance by r-strategist taxa could drive increases in productivity primary consumer and predatory insects, but this possibility has not been explicitly investigated. Likewise, extent duration such might be mediated fire severity, hypothesis also evaluated. We report results from a comparative study that examined mid-term (5–10 y post-fire) varying severity on assemblage composition measured terms...
Abstract Recent molecular analyses of transcriptome data from 94 species across 92 genera North American Plecoptera identified the genus Kathroperla Banks, 1920 as sister group to Chloroperlidae + Perlodidae. Given that has historically been included a member family Chloroperlidae, this discovery indicated further investigation and subfamily Paraperlinae was needed. Both genome sequencing datasets were generated 32 infraorder Systellognatha, including all described Paraperlinae, test...
Increased need to quantify adult insects emerging from streams as a part of foodweb and ecosystem studies has placed new demands on techniques used sample adults. The population sampled must be better understood establish the scope inferences that may drawn emergence data. We data 2 different compare structure insect assemblages represented by benthic samples emergence-trap collected in traps at mid-channel vs streambank locations. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) ordination showed...
Summary Our aim was to determine how beavers affect habitats and food resources for juvenile salmon in the K wethluk R iver western A laska. Habitat modification by quantified using 3 years of satellite imagery assess amount spatial distribution potential rearing habitat. Macroinvertebrate community composition abundance beaver ponds, spring brooks with without upstream dams, main channel shorelines were influence. Presence dams time‐series measures water levels used hydrological...
Abstract Vulnerability to warming is often assessed using short‐term metrics such as the critical thermal maximum (CT MAX ), which represents an organism's ability survive extreme heat. However, long‐term effects of sub‐lethal are essential link fitness in wild, and these not adequately captured by like CT . The meltwater stonefly, Lednia tumana , endemic high‐elevation streams Glacier National Park, MT, USA, has long been considered acutely vulnerable climate‐change‐associated stream...
Abstract A current challenge in the fields of evolutionary, ecological, and conservation genomics is balancing production large-scale datasets with additional training often required to handle such datasets. Thus, there an increasing need for geneticists continually learn train stay up-to-date through avenues as symposia, meetings, workshops. The ConGen meeting a near-annual workshop that strives guide participants understanding population genetics principles, study design, data processing,...
Alluvial aquifers are key components of river floodplains and biodiversity worldwide, but they contain extreme environmental conditions have limited sources carbon for sustaining food webs. Despite this, support abundant populations aquifer stoneflies that large proportions their biomass derived from methane. Methane is typically produced in freshwater ecosystems anoxic conditions, while (Order: Plecoptera) thought to require highly oxygenated water. The potential importance methane-derived...
Beavers (Castor canadensis) may strongly influence juvenile salmon production by damming spring brooks that are primary rearing habitats on expansive floodplains of large Pacific Rim rivers. We studied three floodplain in the Kwethluk River, Alaska: free-flowing (beaver-free, n = 3) and beaver-influenced (below beaver dams, 4) early-successional ponds (n 4). analyzed coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) Chinook tshawytschwa) movement, survival, densities, growth using a multistate robust...
Abstract There is concern that expanding beaver ( Castor fiber ) populations will negatively impact the important economic, recreational and ecological resources of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar sea trout trutta in Europe. We studied how dams influenced habitat, food resources, growth movement juvenile on three paired beaver‐dammed beaver‐free (control) tributaries rivers central Norway. Lotic reaches control sites were similar habitat benthic prey abundance, ponds small (<3,000 m 2 )....
Beaver have expanded in their native habitats throughout the northern hemisphere recent decades following reductions trapping and reintroduction efforts. potential to strongly influence salmon populations side channels of large alluvial rivers by building dams that create pond complexes. Pond habitat may improve productivity or presence reduce if limit connectivity inhibit fish passage. Our intent this paper is contrast use production juvenile on expansive floodplains two geomorphically...
Understanding how environmental variation influences population genetic structure can help predict change connectivity, diversity, and evolutionary potential. We used riverscape genomics modeling to investigate climatic habitat variables relate patterns of in 2 stonefly species, one from mainstem river habitats (Sweltsa coloradensis) tributaries fidelis) 40 sites northwest Montana, USA. produced a draft genome assembly for S. coloradensis (N50 = 0.251 Mbp, BUSCO > 95% using "insecta_ob9"...
Like all taxa, populations of aquatic insects may respond to climate change by evolving new physiologies or behaviors, shifting their range, exhibiting physiological and behavioral plasticity, going extinct. We evaluated the importance plasticity measuring changes in growth, survival respiratory phenotypes salmonfly nymphs (the stonefly Pteronarcys californica) response experimental combinations dissolved oxygen temperature. Overall, smaller individuals grew more rapidly during 6-week...
Abstract Little is known about the life histories, genetic structure and population connectivity of shallow groundwater organisms. We used next-generation sequencing (RAD-seq) to analyse genomic in two aquifer species: Paraperla frontalis (Banks, 1902), a stonefly with larvae aerial (winged) adults; Stygobromus sp., groundwater-obligate amphipod. found similar differentiation each species between floodplains separated by ~70 river km Flathead River basin north-west Montana, USA. Given that...
Aquatic insects cope with hypoxia and anoxia using a variety of behavioral physiological responses. Most stoneflies (Plecoptera) occur in highly oxygenated surface waters, but some species live underground alluvial aquifers containing heterogeneous oxygen concentrations. Aquifer appear to be supported by methane-derived food resources, which they may exploit anoxia-resistant behaviors. We documented dissolved dynamics collected over 5 years floodplain wells the Flathead River, Montana....
Abstract Over 50 years ago nymphs of the Plecoptera species, Paraperla frontalis Banks, 1906 (Plecoptera: Chloroperlidae), were shown to exist in a shallow floodplain aquifer Tobacco River, gravel‐bed river western Montana and later they documented throughout main stems Flathead River system. Nymphs are almost never found surface waters, until emerge on shorelines. As teneral adults, mate subsequently deposit fertilized eggs into river. This novel life cycle is termed “amphibitic.” we others...
Species vulnerability to global warming is often assessed using short-term metrics such as the critical thermal maximum (CTmax), which represents an organism’s ability survive extreme heat. However, understanding of long-term effects sub-lethal essential link fitness in wild, and these are not adequately captured by like CTmax. The meltwater stonefly, Lednia tumana , endemic high-elevation streams Glacier National Park, MT, USA, has long been considered acutely vulnerable climate...