ENR 5280: STREAM ECOLOGY
Autumn 2015 - Syllabus
Instructors: Dr. David Manning
manning.413@osu.edu
614-292-1098
Dr. Kay Stefanik
stefanik.13@osu.edu
614-688-1927
Olentangy River Wetland Research Park
Heffner Wetland Research and Education Bldg. – Room 127
352 W. Dodridge St.
Lecture: Tuesday & Thursday 9:35am -10:55am, Room 128 - Heffner Wetland Bldg.
Lab: Tuesday 12:45pm – 3:45pm (see lab schedule for locations)
Office Hours: Manning: Thursday 1:00 – 3:00pm
Stefanik: Wednesday 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Course Description: This course focuses on the integrative principles of stream, river, and
watershed ecology as a means of understanding the natural history and ecology of running
waters. Lectures will examine the composition and function of biota in streams and rivers;
their interactions with their physical, chemical, and biotic environments; and human
influences on these ecosystems. Specifically, we will address:
1. Physical, chemical, and biological organization of streams.
2. Current theory in stream, groundwater, and watershed ecology.
3. Landscape/watershed perspectives for studying flowing waters and for
understanding the effects of anthropogenic activities on streams and rivers.
4. Laboratory and field skills for conducting stream research.
Course Content: The course consists of several major segments:
1. Geomorphology, hydrology, and hydraulics of mountain and lowland streams.
2. Water chemistry and nutrient cycling in streams and rivers.
3. Structure of stream biota, including algae, heterotrophic
4.
5.
6.
7.
microorganisms, meiofauna, benthic invertebrates, fish, and other
aquatic and riparian consumers.
Ecosystem processes, including primary production, secondary
production, decomposition, organic matter retention in streams,
and aquatic-terrestrial exchanges of nutrients and energy.
Trophic interactions, such as herbivory, predation, and food-web dynamics.
Major theories in stream and groundwater ecology, such as the river
continuum concept, nutrient spiraling, hyporheos, and flood-pulse
concept.
Management issues for streams and watersheds, such as land
use, stream restoration, and river impoundments.
Laboratory: The laboratory meetings will be composed of modules, field trips,
presentations, laboratory activities, and problem-sets. Please read the appropriate
information (available on Carmen) before attending the laboratory and bring any handouts
with you. Waders, boots, or other wading shoes will be available for the field trips.
However, if your prefer your own, please bring them with you. During laboratory, students
should have a laboratory notebook and a calculator.
Grading:
Assignments
Literature review & presentation
Exam 1
Exam 2
Final exam
Laboratory attendance, quizzes, write-ups/reports
Point Distribution
15%
15%
15%
25%
30%
Academic Misconduct: Academic integrity is essential in maintaining excellence in
teaching, research, and other educational and scholarly activities. Thus, The Ohio
State University and the Committee on Academic Misconduct (COAM) expect that all
students have read and understand the University’s Code of Student Conduct, and that
all students will complete all academic and scholarly assignments with fairness and
honesty. Students must recognize that failure to follow the rules and guidelines
established in the University’s Code of Student Conduct and this syllabus may
constitute “Academic Misconduct.”
The Ohio State University’s Code of Student Conduct (Section 3335-23-04) defines
academic misconduct as: “Any activity that tends to compromise the academic
integrity of the University, or subvert the educational process.” Examples of
academic misconduct include (but are not limited to) plagiarism, collusion
(unauthorized collaboration), copying the work of another student, and possession of
unauthorized materials during an examination. Ignorance of the University’s Code of
Student Conduct is never considered an “excuse” for academic misconduct. Please
review the Code of Student Conduct and, specifically, the sections dealing with
academic misconduct. If I suspect that a student has committed academic misconduct
in this course, I am obligated by University Rules to report my suspicions to the
Committee on Academic Misconduct. If COAM determines that you have violated
the University’s Code of Student Conduct (i.e., committed academic misconduct), the
sanctions for the misconduct could include a failing grade in this course and
suspension or dismissal from the University.
Students with Disabilities: If you have a documented disability, please register with Student
Life Disability Services. After registration, make arrangements with us as soon as possible to
discuss your accommodations, so they may be implemented in a timely fashion. If you have
any questions about this process, please contact Disability Services at 614-292-3307
or slds@osu.edu.
Required Textbook:
Allan, J.D. and M.M. Castillo. 2007. Stream Ecology: Structure and Function of
Running Waters. Second Edition. Springer.
Required Articles (posted on Carmen):
Baxter, C. V., K. D. Fausch, and W. C. Saunders. 2005. Tangled webs: reciprocal flows of
invertebrate prey link streams and riparian zones. Freshwater Biology 50:201-220.
Benstead, J.P., March, J.G., Pringle, C.M., Ewel, K.C., and J.W. Short. 2009. Biodiversity and
ecosystem function in species-poor communities: community structure and leaf litter
breakdown in a Pacific island stream. Journal of the North American Benthological Society
28:454:465.
Bernhardt, E.S. and M.A. Palmer. 2011. River restoration: the fuzzy logic of repairing reaches to
reverse catchment scale degradation. Ecological Applications 21:1926-1931.
Corsi, S. R., D. J. Graczyk, S. W. Geis, N. L. Booth, and K. D. Richards. 2010. A fresh look at road
salt: aquatic toxicity and water-quality impacts on local, regional, and national scales.
Environmental Science and Technology 44:7376-7382.
Driscoll, C.T., Han, Y.J., Chen, C.Y., Evers, D.C., Lambert, K.F., Holsen, T.M., Kamman, N.C.,
and R.K. Munson. 2007. Mercury contamination in forest and freshwater ecosystems in the
northeastern United States. BioScience 57:17-28.
Fausch, K. D., C. E. Torgersen, C. V. Baxter, and H. W. Hi. 2002. Landscapes to riverscapes:
bridging the gap between research and conservation of stream fishes. BioScience 52:483498.
Flores, L., J.R. Diez, A. Larranaga, C. Pascoal, and A. Elosegi. 2013. Effects of retention site on
breakdown of organic matter in a mountain stream. Freshwater Biology 58:1267-1278.
Gende, S.M., T.P. Quinn, R. Hilborn, A.P. Hendry, and B. Dickerson. 2004. Brown bears selectively
kill salmon with higher energy content but only in habitats that facilitate choice. Oikos
104:518-528
Gurnell et al. 2002. Large wood and fluvial processes. Freshwater Biology 47:601-619.
Hynes, H. B. N. 1975. Edgardo Baldi Memorial Lecture. The stream and its valley. Verhandlungen
der Internationelen Vereinigung für Theoretische und Angewandte Limnologie 19:1-15.
James, A.B.W., Z.S. Dewson, and R.G. Death. 2009. The influence of flow reduction on
macroinvertebrate drift density and distance in three New Zealand streams. Journal of the
North American Benthological Society: 28:220-232.
Junk, W.J., Bayley, P.B., and R.E. Sparks. 1989. The flood pulse concept in river-floodplain
systems. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences – Special Publication 106:110
127.
Karr, J. 1981. Assessment of biotic integrity using fish communities. Fisheries6:21-27.
Leuchtenberger, C., L.G.R. Oliveira-Santos, W. Magnusson, and G. Mourao. 2013. Space use by
giant otter groups in the Brazilian Pantanal 94: 320-330.
Montgomery, D. R., and J. M. Buffington. 1997. Channel-reach morphology in mountain drainage
basins. Geological Society of America Bulletin 109: 596-611.
Mosopele, K., Moyle, P.B., Merron, G.S., Purkey, D.R., and B. Mosepele. 2009. Fish, floods, and
ecosystem engineers: aquatic conservation in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Bioscience 59:
53-64.
Moyle, P.B., and M.P. Marchetti. 2006. Predicting invasion success: freshwater fishes in California
as a model. BioScience 56:1-10.
Power, M.E. and W.E. Dietrich. 2002. Food webs in river networks. Ecological Research 17: 451471.
Rosgen, D. L. 1994. A classification of natural rivers. Catena 22:169-199.
Silva, T.S., Costa, M.P.F., and J.M. Melack. 2010. Spatial and temporal variability of macrophyte
cover and productivity in the eastern Amazon floodplain: a remote sensing approach.
Remote Sensing of the Environment 114: -2010.
Sandin, L., and R.K. Johnson. 2000. Ecoregions and benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages of
Swedish streams. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 19:462:474.
Steinmetz, J., S.L. Kohler, and D.A. Soluk. 2003. Birds are overlooked top predators in aquatic
food webs. Ecology 84:1324-1328.
Sullivan, S.M.P. and A.D. Rodewald. 2012. In a state of flux: the energetic pathways that move
contaminants from aquatic to terrestrial environments (Invited). Environmental Toxicology and
Chemistry 31:1-9.
Vannote, R. L., G. W. Minshall, K. W. Cummins, J. R. Sedell, and C. E. Cushing. 1980. The river
continuum concept. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 37:130-137.
Ward, J. V., K. Tockner, D. B. Arscott, and C. Claret. 2002. Riverine landscape diversity.
Freshwater Biology 47:517-539.
Laboratory Schedule: Laboratory sessions will run from 12:45-3:45 pm (Tues.) unless
otherwise noted. Please note that the following schedule is subject to adjustments. Please
check Carmen for updates.
Week Date Lab
2
Sept 1
3
4
5
6
Sept 8
Sept 15
Sept 22
Sept 29
7
Oct 6
Topic
Activity
1
Landscapes, basins & fluvial
geomorphology
2
Habitat & geomorphic assessments
3
Aquatic macroinvertebrates (field)
4
Fish
Rosgen online
module
Outdoor lab Waterman Farm
Outdoor lab Highbanks
MetroPark
Outdoor
lab Olentangy River
and Wetlands
Lab
group Due date
Both
Sept 8
1
2
1
2
Sept 15
Sept 22
see below
see below
1
2
Oct 1 3
Oct 20
1
2
Grad
only
Nov 17
Nov 24
8
Oct 13
9
10
Oct 20
Oct 27
3
Aquatic macroinvertebrates (lab)
Indoor lab
11
Nov 3
5
Mussel Conservation and Research
Center
Field trip
-
No scheduled lab meetings
-
-
-
-
Evaluations, wrap-up, etc.
-
Both
-
Nov 24
12 Nov 10
13 Nov 17
14 Nov 24
15 Dec 1
16 Dec 8
Lecture Schedule (A&C = Allan & Castillo)
Week Date
1
Aug 25
Topic
Required Readings
A&C Chapter 1
2
Sept 1
Sept 3
Introduction; Stream Ecosystems I
(Stefanik)
Stream Ecosystems II; Presentation
example (Stefanik)
Fluvial Geomorphology (Stefanik)
Hydrology (Stefanik)
3
Sept 8
Sept 10
Sept 15
Sept 17
Stream Chemistry (Stefanik)
Large Wood (Manning)
Organic Matter (Manning)
Nutrient Dynamics (Stefanik)
5
Sept 22
6
Sept 24
Sept 29
Oct 1
Aug 27
4
7
Oct 6
Surface-Hyporheic-Groundwater
Interactions (Stefanik)
Synthesis & Review
Exam I
Aquatic Primary Producers
(Stefanik)
Aquatic Invertebrates (Manning)
8
Oct 8
Oct 13
Drift and Dispersal (Manning)
Fish (Manning)
9
Oct 15
Oct 20
Oct 22
Oct 27
Oct 29
Autumn Break – No Classes
Other Aquatic Consumers
(Manning)
Synthesis & Review
Exam II
Stream Metabolism (Manning)
Nov 3
Nov 5
Nov 10
Nov 12
Herbivory (Manning)
Predation (Manning)
Trophic Ecology I (Manning)
Trophic Ecology II (Manning)
13
Nov 17
Nov 19
14
Nov 24
15
Nov 26
Dec 1
16
Dec 3
Dec 8
Invasive Species Dynamics
Ecosystem Contamination
(Stefanik)
Ecosystem Restoration and
Conservation I (Stefanik)
Thanksgiving Break – No Classes
Ecosystem Restoration and
Conservation II (Stefanik)
Synthesis & Review
Evaluations, wrap-up
10
11
12
A&C Chapter 14
A&C Chapter 3; Rosgen 1994
A&C Chapter 2; Montgomery &
Buffington 1997
A&C Chapter 4; Corsi et al. 2010
Gurnell et al. 2002
A&C Chapter 7; Flores et al. 2013
A&C Chapter 11; Vannote et al.
1980
A&C Chapter 5; Ward et al. 2002
Junk et al. 1989; Hynes 1975
A&C Chapter 6; Silva et al. 2010
A&C Chapter 10; Sandin & Johnson
2000
James et al. 2009
Karr 1981; Fausch et al. 2002
Luechtenberger et al. 2013
Steinmetz et al. 2003
A&C Chapter 12; Benstead et al.
2009
A&C Chapter 9
A&C Chapter 12; Gende et al. 2004
A&C Chapter 8; Baxter et al. 2005
A&C Chapter 8; Power & Dietrich
2002
Moyle & Marchetti 2006
Sullivan & Rodewald 2012; Driscoll
et al. 2007
A&C Chapter 13; Mosopele et al.
2009
Bernhardt & Palmer 2011
Final Exam: Friday, December 11th 8:00am – 9:45am
5
GUIDELINES FOR LITERATURE REVIEW & “SPEED” PRESENTATIONS
Each student/ pair will prepare a short handout (1-2 pages) and prepare a short presentation
on either a review or research paper that will be assigned to you at the beginning of the
semester. The following guidelines provide a general template for review, write-up and
presentation/discussion (~12 min/paper) of assigned articles.
Outline for Class Handout:
I) Definitions: Write down words or terms that are new to you in the assigned
paper. (Define these terms prior to arrival in class)
II) Summary: Write a short, objective summary of the paper. Do not evaluate
the paper at this point, simply summarize in a few sentences its purpose, main
findings and "take home" message.
III) Objectives: Explicitly state the objectives of the paper, as given by the
author(s). What reasons are given to support the importance and/or relevance
of the research objectives and/or findings?
IV) Methods: Are the methods used appropriate and adequate for the questions
or hypotheses being addressed? Identify any methods that are not clearly
presented or that you do not understand (applies to research papers only).
V) Results: Outline the main results presented in the paper. How do the results
relate to the questions or hypotheses set forth in the objectives? Identify any
unclear results.
VI) Discussion: (Here is where you should offer your personal evaluation of the
paper.) How well does the discussion reflect the results? Are interpretations of
the data presented in the results section justified, or to what extent are the
interpretations and discussion speculative? Does the paper adequately represent
both the strengths/weaknesses of the research findings?
VII) Overall: What do you consider as the main strengths of the paper? What are
some weaknesses? What is interesting about the paper? What did you learn?
What relevance does this paper have to issues or topics that have been discussed
in class? What other areas of ecological research can you relate this paper to,
either in terms of basic or applied science?
Class presentation/discussion:
Do not read your handout to the class. Prepare a power-point presentation
containing key figures, photos of research area, researchers, etc. Focus your
presentation (~12 min) on research highlights (methods, results, discussion) &
implications for future studies and tie the material in to class lectures. Be
prepared for a brief discussion by bringing questions you can ask your classmates.
6