{"id":1207,"date":"2018-02-23T11:11:45","date_gmt":"2018-02-23T19:11:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspiration\/?p=1207"},"modified":"2018-02-23T11:15:14","modified_gmt":"2018-02-23T19:15:14","slug":"aquatic-invertebrates-give-dam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspiration\/2018\/02\/23\/aquatic-invertebrates-give-dam\/","title":{"rendered":"Aquatic Invertebrates: Why You Should Give a Dam"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Rivers are ecosystems that attract and maintain a diversity of organisms. Fish, birds, mammals, plants, and invertebrates live in and around rivers. Have you considered what services these groups of organisms provide to the river ecosystem? For example, river invertebrates provide numerous ecosystem services:<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1212\" style=\"width: 160px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspiration\/files\/2018\/02\/IMG_5294.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1212\" class=\"wp-image-1212 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspiration\/files\/2018\/02\/IMG_5294-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1212\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dragonfly larvae caught in in the waters of a small stream flowing into the Grand Canyon.<\/p><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Insects and mussels improve water quality by fixing nutrients, such as those from agricultural runoff.<\/li>\n<li>River invertebrates are food resources for fish, bats, birds, and other terrestrial organisms.<\/li>\n<li>Grazing insects can control and\/or stimulate algal growth.<\/li>\n<li>Mussels can help to stabilize the bed of the river.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_1210\" style=\"width: 210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspiration\/files\/2018\/02\/EA_5764.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1210\" class=\"wp-image-1210 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspiration\/files\/2018\/02\/EA_5764-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2150\/files\/2018\/02\/EA_5764-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2150\/files\/2018\/02\/EA_5764-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2150\/files\/2018\/02\/EA_5764-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2150\/files\/2018\/02\/EA_5764-624x936.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1210\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">High school students are the best helpers for sampling aquatic insects!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>And the list continues. These invertebrates have adapted to the native conditions of their river ecosystem, and major disturbances, such as a change in the flow of a river from a dam, can change the community of organisms downstream. If dams decrease the diversity of invertebrates downstream, then they may also decrease the diversity of ecosystem services offered by the invertebrate community.<\/p>\n<p>Our guest this week, Erin Abernethy PhD candidate from the department of <a href=\"http:\/\/ib.oregonstate.edu\/\">Integrative Biology<\/a>, is investigating the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Community_structure\">community structure<\/a> (or the number of species and the number of individuals of each species) of freshwater aquatic invertebrates downstream of dams. Specifically, Erin wants to know if invertebrate communities near dams of the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Colorado_River\">Colorado River<\/a> are different than those downstream, and which factors of dams of the Southwest US affect invertebrate communities.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1211\" style=\"width: 635px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspiration\/files\/2018\/02\/EA_5718.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1211\" class=\"wp-image-1211 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspiration\/files\/2018\/02\/EA_5718-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"625\" height=\"417\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2150\/files\/2018\/02\/EA_5718-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2150\/files\/2018\/02\/EA_5718-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2150\/files\/2018\/02\/EA_5718-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2150\/files\/2018\/02\/EA_5718-624x416.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1211\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Getting to field sites in the Grand Canyon is easiest by raft! It&#8217;s a pretty float, too!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Erin\u2019s dissertation also has a component of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Population_genetics\">population genetics<\/a>, which examines the connectivity of populations of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mayfly\">mayflies<\/a>,populations of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Caddisfly\">caddisflies<\/a>, and populations of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gerridae\">water striders<\/a>. The outcomes of Erin\u2019s research could inform policy around dam operation and the maintenance of aquatic invertebrate communities near dams.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1209\" style=\"width: 210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspiration\/files\/2018\/02\/EA_5907.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1209\" class=\"wp-image-1209 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspiration\/files\/2018\/02\/EA_5907-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2150\/files\/2018\/02\/EA_5907-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2150\/files\/2018\/02\/EA_5907-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2150\/files\/2018\/02\/EA_5907-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2150\/files\/2018\/02\/EA_5907-624x936.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1209\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8220;One must dress for sampling success in the Grand Canyon!&#8221; said this week&#8217;s guest, Erin Abernethy, who is pictured here.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Growing up, Erin participated in many outdoor activities with her parents, who are biologists. She became interested in how dams effect ecology, specifically fresh water mussels, doing undergraduate research at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.appstate.edu\/\">Appalachian State University<\/a>. After undergrad, Erin completed a <a href=\"https:\/\/srel.uga.edu\/\">Master\u2019s in Ecology<\/a> from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.uga.edu\/\">University of Georgia<\/a>. She was investigating the foraging behavior of animals in Hawaii. This involved depositing animal carcasses and monitoring foraging visitors. Check out <a href=\"https:\/\/erinfosterabernethy.weebly.com\/photos.html\">Erin\u2019s blog<\/a> for photos of these animals foraging at night! Erin decided to keep going in academia after being awarded a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nsfgrfp.org\/\">Graduate Research Fellowship<\/a>, which landed her a position in <a href=\"http:\/\/lytlelab.science.oregonstate.edu\/\">David Lytle<\/a>\u2019s lab here at Oregon State. After she completes her PhD, Erin is interested in working for an agency or a nonprofit as an expert in freshwater ecology and the maintenance of biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Tune in at 7 pm this Sunday February, 25 to hear more about Erin\u2019s research and journey to graduate school. Not a local listener? <a href=\"http:\/\/kbvr.com\/listen\">Stream the show live.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rivers are ecosystems that attract and maintain a diversity of organisms. Fish, birds, mammals, plants, and invertebrates live in and around rivers. Have you considered what services these groups of organisms provide to the river ecosystem? For example, river invertebrates provide numerous ecosystem services: Insects and mussels improve water quality by fixing nutrients, such as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7039,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1375,644489],"tags":[1024658,745432,2110,2249,1409,1024664,1324,201236,205461,1024662,1945,1024666,1024665],"class_list":["post-1207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-college-of-science","category-integrative-biology","tag-aquatic","tag-aquatic-invertebrates","tag-biodiversity","tag-colorado-river","tag-community","tag-dams","tag-ecology","tag-ecosystem","tag-ecosystem-services","tag-grand-canyon","tag-policy","tag-population-genetics","tag-tailwaters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7039"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1207"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1214,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1207\/revisions\/1214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}