Aquatic macroinvertebrates: ecosystem services and implications for river restoration
Celeste A. Mazzacano, Ph.D. Staff Scientist/Aquatic Program Director The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation www.xerces.org [email protected] 13th Annual Northwest Stream Restoration Symposium Stevenson, WA, February 2014 Celeste Mazzacano The Xerces Society is an international nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat
628 NE Broadway, Suite 200 Portland, OR 97232 (503) 232-6639 www.xerces.org Siuslaw Hairy-necked Tiger Beetle; Ron Lyons
Floater; C. Mazzacano Canola field, Saskatchewan;Boreal Snaketail, Celeste C. Mazzacano "What sort of insects do you rejoice in, where you come from?" the Gnat inquired.
"I don't rejoice in insects at all," Alice explained, "because I'm rather afraid of them—at least the large kinds.
Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll Cutthroat and coho; C. Mazzacano
Celeste Mazzacano Alexa Carleton Aquatic macroinvertebrates
Visible to the unaided eye
Lack a backbone
Insects, crustaceans, mussels, worms
Floater mussel; Diving beetle; Society for Freshwater Science Celeste Mazzacano Habitats
Perennial, intermittent, and ephemeral waters
Whychus Creek, Sisters OR; C. Mazzacano
Hyporheos, sediment, substrate, water column, plants
Celeste Mazzacano Whychus Creek, Sisters CelesteOR; C. MazzacanoMazzacano Habitats
Lotic and lentic waters
Depositional and erosional zones
Balch Creek, Portland OR; C. Mazzacano Reed Canyon Lake, Portland OR; C. Mazzacano Microhabitats
• water surface (neuston): skaters, jumpers
• water column (nekton & plankton): floaters, swimmers, drifters
• substrate (benthos), plants, wood, rocks: clingers, sprawlers, climbers, burrowers
McCafferty, 1998 Microhabitat influences
Physical factors: temp., light, current, substrate, depth
Chemical factors: oxygen, pH, nutrients
Temporal factors: seasonal changes
Ecola Falls, Columbia Gorge, OR; C. Mazzacano Microhabitat influences
Contaminants: agriculture, industrial, residential
Hydrology: flow rate & duration
Non-native species: competition, predation Ecola Falls, Columbia Gorge, OR; C. Mazzacano Feeding Habits
Collectors: filter fine Shredders: chew large pieces of organic particles live or dead plant material, detritus
Caddisfly net; Society for Freshwater Science
Salmonfly; Jeff Adams/ Xerces
Giant casemaker caddisfly; Celeste Mazzacano Western Pearlshell; Pat Burns Mary Grunstra Feeding Habits
Scrapers: rasp Piercers: pierce living plants algae from surfaces
Spongillafly; Rock snail; C. Mazzacano Mac Strand
Pursecase-making caddisfly; Jeff Adams, Xerces
Water penny; Jaclyn McCormick, EoL Feeding Habits
Predators: hunt living prey Parasites: live host
Common Green Darner; nematode John Abbott
Dobsonfly eating common Tadpole with leech stonefly; Larry Serpa Major Groups
Insects: Non-insects: • Mayflies • Flatworms • Stoneflies • Leeches • Caddisflies • Aquatic • True flies earthworms • True bugs • Sowbugs • Beetles • Scuds • Dragonflies & • Crayfish & shrimp damselflies • Snails • Mussels & clams
Celeste Mazzacano Mayflies (Ephemeroptera)
Baetidae Caenidae Alexa Carleton (small minnow mayfly) Heptageniidae (small squaregill mayfly) (flatheaded mayfly)
Leptophlebiidae (pronggill mayfly) Ephemeridae (little stout crawler) Ephemeridae (common burrower)
Ephemerellidae (spiny crawler) Encyclopedia of Life C. Mazzacano Stoneflies (Plecoptera)
Capniidae Chloroperlidae Nemouridae Perlidae Peltoperlidae (slender winter (sallfly) (forestfly) (golden stonefly) (roachfly) stonefly )
Pteronarcyidae (salmonfly) Caddisflies (Trichoptera)
Helicopsychidae (snail case-maker) Hydropsychidae (common netspinner) Goeridae Northern case maker (armored case-maker) (Limnephilidae)
Encyclopedia of Life
Glossosomatidae (tortoise case-maker)
Rhyacophilidae Celeste Mazzacano (green rockworm) True Flies (Diptera)
Ceratopogonidae (biting midge) Chironomidae (non-biting midge) Simuliidae (black fly)
Empididae (dance fly) Tipulidae (crane fly) Blepharicidae (netwinged midge)
Dixidae (dixid midge)
Encyclopedia of Life Kevin Hall True Bugs (Hemiptera)
Nepidae (water scorpion) Gerridae Belostomatidae (water strider) (giant water bug)
Notonectidae Corixidae Naucoridae (backswimmer) (water boatman) (creeping water bug ) Beetles (Coleoptera)
Hydrophilidae (water scavenger beetle) Psephenidae Elmidae (water penny) (riffle beetle)
Dytiscidae (predaceous diving Gyrinidae Haliplidae beetle) (whirligig (crawling water beetle) beetle) Dragonflies & Damselflies (Odonata)
Celeste Mazzacano Celeste Mazzacano Libellulidae (skimmers) Aeshnidae (darners)
Celeste Mazzacano
Coenagrionidae Celeste Mazzacano (pond damsels) Lestidae (spreadwings) Non-Insects
Biopix, EoL Turbellaria Oligochaeta (flatworm) (aquatic earthworm)
Celeste Mazzacano
Scott Bauer, EoL Amphipoda (scud) Hirudinea (leech) Non-Insects
Smithsonian, EoL Isopoda (aquatic sowbugs)
Gastropoda (snails)
Decapoda Celeste Mazzacano (crayfish, freshwater shrimp)
invasive New Zealand mud snail Ecological Importance Food for birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals
Provide 25-100% of energy budget to consumers
Celeste Mazzacano
Winged adults move energy and nutrients into terrestrial systems
Larry Rea Ecological Importance
Vital resource for breeding and migrating waterfowl, hatchlings
Diet of laying female ducks
Oaks Bottom, Portland up to 75% invertebrates OR; C. Mazzacano Ecological Importance Tools for biological assessment: community composition, species diversity, abundance change with disturbance (PREDATOR, IBI) Ecological Importance Tools for determining duration of stream flow: different groups characteristic of perennial, intermittent, and ephemeral streams Mussels: a special case
Margaritifera falcata (western pearlshell) Gonidea angulata Anodonta (floater) (western ridged mussel) Bivalves: mussels & clams
Sphaeriidae invasive Asian clam invasive zebra mussel (fingernail/pea clam) (Corbicula fluminea) (Dreissena polymorpha) Mussels: a special case
Fr eshwat er M ussel s 69% Cr ayf i shes 51% St onef l i es 43% Fr eshwat er Fi shes 37% Most at-risk group Amphibians 36% in North America Flowering Plants 33%
Gymnosperms 24% Fer ns/ Fer n A l l i es 22% T i ger Beet l es 19% Presumed/Possibly Extinct (GX/GH) Butterflies/Skippers 19% Critically Imperiled (G1) Rept i l es 18% I mper i l ed (G2) Vul ner abl e (G3) D r agonf l i es/ D amsel f l i es 18% M ammal s 16%
Birds 14% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Stein et al. 2000 Per cent of Speci es Mussels: a special case
72 Endangered, 11 Threatened, 5 Candidate species
Freshwater Mussel Species Status
4% 4% 21.60%
Extinct Possibly Extinct 30.10% Endangered Threatened Vulnerable Currently Stable 24.70%
15.60%
AFS Endangered and Threatened Mussel Committee Mussels: a special case
survival depends on fish! Host fish
juvenile glochidia
sperm dispersal inadequate if population sparse
Males broadcast sperm Mussels: a special case US EPA 2013 Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Ammonia—Freshwater Functions of Mussels Improve water quality and clarity
visibility 20X greater 1 mussel can filter near dense bed 20-70 L/day
Richard Neves Functions of Mussels
Increase abundance of aquatic invertebrates
Increase complexity of substrate
Sue Scott Functions of Mussels
Capture and excrete nutrients
Decrease algal blooms
Sue Scott Functions of Mussels Important food source for wildlife
Celeste Mazzacano Fish, muskrats, otters, raccoons, waterfowl, USFWS birds, crayfish, turtles, frogs, salamanders
Johnson Creek , Sarah Skelly Gresham Woods restorationSueUSFWS Scott Functions of Mussels
Substrate stabilization
Bioturbation; increases
nutrients & O2 in sediment, releases nutrients into water
Gales Creek, Forest Grove OR; C. Mazzacano Functions of Mussels
Protect against exotic bivalves
Sentinel animals in biomonitoring
Bioremediation
Deschutes River, OR; C. Mazzacano Mussels & restoration: a special case
De-watering & sediment slugs are lethal
Long life span = long term effects of local extirpation
Slow recovery from disturbance
Joe Tousignant, Missouri Department of Conservation Mussels & restoration: a special case
Rescue & relocation: • Evaluate target population • Analyze relocation site • Assess potential biological effects of relocation • Plan timing, logistics, permits • Monitor post-relocation
US Forest Service Mussels & restoration : a special case
Mortality variable: • collection, handling, holding, transport • temperature & depth changes • microhabitat • flow, substrate • source effects: locally adapted? Mussel saved from certain death
Johnson Lake, Portland OR: Bureau of Environmental Services Mussels & restoration: a special case
Consult with regional experts, fish & wildlife agencies, state endangered species program, state natural heritage program
Alexa Carleton
Freshwater Mussel Relocation Guidelines www.fws.gov/columbiariver/mwg/pdfdocs/ Mussel_Relocation_position_statement.pdf Restoration & invertebrates
Lewis River, WA; C. Mazzacano Veracruz, Mexico; C. Mazzacano
“If you build it, they will come”
Won’t they???
Skykomish, WA; C. Mazzacano Saskatchewan, Canada; C. Mazzacano Restoration & invertebrates
Effects of de-watering and in-stream work
Integrity of riparian corridor
Connectivity of populations
Host fish (mussels)
Long-term monitoring
Adaptive management
Johnson Creek, Portland OR; C. Mazzacano Restoration & invertebrates Microhabitat characteristics
Species-specific habitat preferences often unknown
May see differential survival of different species in same substrate (esp. mussels)
Celeste Mazzacano Celeste Mazzacano Restoration & invertebrates Spatial Scale
• In-channel • Riparian zone • Upland
Crystal Springs Creek, Portland OR; Al Smith
• Single reach vs. multiple reaches • Reach vs. stream • Stream vs. watershed
The Ohio River, Crystal Springs Creek, Portland OR; PortlandNCTC State Image University Library Restoration & invertebrates Spatial Scale
Three Forks, Saskatchewan CN; C. Mazzacano
Populations require intact riparian corridor maintained over long term
Upland landscape practices impact populations
Mississippi River,Celeste MN; C. Mazzacano Restoration & invertebrates Spatial Scale
Landscape ecology may explain distribution patterns
Time to see landscape-level effects on populations may differ
Columbia River; Celeste Mazzacano Restoration & invertebrates Time Scale
Is the time scale appropriate?
• Lag period between restoration & response • Monitoring must be long- term to be meaningful
Crystal Springs Creek, Portland OR; C. Mazzacano Restoration & invertebrates Time Scale
Shift in community composition & species dominance patterns
Different rates of recovery & re- colonization in different groups CelesteAl Smith Mazzacano Closing Messages
Biologically meaningful restoration requires large-scale collaboration with multiple partners to achieve watershed-level improvements
Herman Creek, OR; C. Mazzacano Closing Messages
A healthy community of aquatic macroinvertebrates is critical to stream ecology and food web dynamics
Herman Creek, OR; C. Mazzacano Closing Messages
Macroinvertebrate community composition changes in response to restoration, but systems differ in timing, extent, and rate of change Closing Messages
Macroinvertebrates can provide valuable information about potential stressors operating on a stream, and biological effects of restoration Closing Messages
Macroinvertebrate monitoring is a great way to connect people with water & increase stakeholder engagement
Questions?
Four-spotted Pennant, San Antonio TX, C. Mazzacano