Biology 890: Reservoir Ecology (Spring 2007)
Dr. Keith Gido
208 Bushnell Hall
532-5088 (office); 532-6616 (lab)
e-mail: kgido@ksu.edu
web page: www.ksu.edu/fishecology/
Office hours: By appointment
Meeting times
TBA
Friday 3:00 - 4:00 pm, AK 324 or at the “LAB”
Objectives
Reservoirs are human-engineered habitats that occur in almost all major river basins in the world. Most reservoirs are young relative to many evolutionary processes (i.e., < 60 years old), thus much of the information on dynamics of aquatic organisms and mineral cycling in these systems is based on studies of rivers or lakes. Because reservoirs are a prominent feature of the landscape, it is important for aquatic ecologists to understand the ecological functioning of impoundments. The first objective of this course is to give students an understanding of the environmental gradients that exist within reservoirs and in rivers surrounding impoundments. This information is necessary to establish linkages between these gradients and the structure of aquatic communities. Because reservoirs typically have strong environmental gradients, the use of multivariate statistical methods that facilitate the interpretation of complex data is essential. Thus, the second objective of this course is to introduce students to a variety of multivariate statistical techniques that will be used to analyze data collected from a nearby reservoir. This course will have a strong field component in which we will sample biotic and abiotic factors from a nearby reservoir. In addition, we will use data collected on field trips to test theoretical models that have been developed for reservoirs that place them in a continuum between rivers and natural lakes.
Grading (300 total points)
Homework (100 points) – There will be a homework assignment for each major topic we cover in this course. Generally this will involve manipulating a database, running a series of analyses and interpreting the results.
Written report (100 points) – Each student will be required to turn in a class paper in which they have analyzed a complex data set with the statistical tools presented in class. Although I would encourage students to use their own data, this paper can also be written using the data collected during field exercises. The manuscripts should follow the format of Ecology. This paper can be a simple description of the gradients found in local reservoirs, or you can test specific hypotheses that are of particular interest to you.
Paper discussions, problem sets, and participation (100 points) – We will have weekly discussion either in class or during our Friday afternoon Aquatic Ecology Journal Club meeting. There are a series of “classic” reservoir ecology and multivariate statistical papers that we will read, but I welcome suggestions of current articles for discussion.
Required Text
Jongman, R.H.G., C.J.F. Ter Braak, and O.F.R. Van Tongeren. 1995. Data analysis in community and landscape ecology. Cambridge University Press, New York.
Additional sources
Legendre, P. and L. Legendre. 2000. Numerical Ecology, 2nd edition. Elsevier Science, Amsterdam.
TerBraak, C.J.F. and P. Smilauer. 2002. CANOCO 4.5, Reference Manual and CanoDraw for Windows User’s Guide: Software for Canonical Community Ordination (version 4.5). Microcomputer Power (Ithaca, NY, USA), 500 pp.
Tentative Lecture Schedule for Reservoir Ecology (Biol 890)
|
Date |
Topic |
Reading Assignment |
|
15 Jan |
Student Holiday |
|
|
22 Jan |
Data manipulation; Similarity dissimilarity |
pp. 176 - 186 Jongman et al. (1995) |
|
29 Jan |
Cluster analysis
|
pp. 174 - 207 Jongman et al. (1995) |
|
5 Feb |
Gone |
|
|
12 Feb |
Ordination |
pp. 91 - 135 Jongman et al. (1995) |
|
19 Feb |
Canonical analysis (CCA) |
pp. 135 - 173 Jongman et al. (1995) |
|
26 Feb |
Classification (DFA, CART, ANN) |
TBA |
|
5 Mar |
Spatial relationships (Mantel tests, Procrustes analysis) |
pp. 213 - 248 Jongman et al. (1995) |
|
12 Mar |
Hypothesis testing with multivariate statistics |
TBA |
|
19 Mar |
Spring Break |
Processing samples |
|
26 Mar |
Introduction, Gradients in Reservoirs Field sampling |
Process samples |
|
2 Apr |
Midterm Exam (take home due 11 April) |
|
|
9 Apr |
|
|
|
16 Apr |
Field Sampling |
|
|
23 Apr |
|
|
|
20 Apr |
|
|
Written report (100 points)
The final portion of you grade in this class will be based on a written report summarizing the data we collected from Tuttle Creek or another dataset that is appropriate for the type of analyses we discuss in this class. You should explore a number of different analytical techniques, but only present those that clearly represent the data. Think about a hypothesis to test before you conduct your analysis!
The manuscripts should follow the format of Ecology. I would like you to limit your paper in the following ways:
1) Hard copy of all papers turned by May 13th.
2) DOUBLE SPACED 12 PT FONT.
3) Text should be no longer than 10 pages.
Outline of procedure for processing samples from Tuttle Creek Reservoir
Water chemistry
1) Analyze total nitrogen and total phosphorous on the autoanalyzer
Productivity
1) Calculate productivity based on light-dark bottle equation given in Wetzel and Likens (1991)
Chlorophyll a
1) Fill plastic vial with 95% ETOH (10 - 15 ml)
2) Place in 85 oC hot water bath
3) Store in refrigerator for 24 hours
4) Centrifuge?
5) Measure fluorescence
Algal species composition
1) Take grab sample from frozen water chemistry bottles
2) Place 0.1 ml in Palmer counting cell?
Zooplankton
1) Bring total sample to known volume (600 ml)
2) Mix vigorously and take 1-mm subsample with Hansen-Stemple
3) Place subsample in counting wheel and enumerate species
4) Use Thorp and Covich (2001) to identify to species
5) Calculate #/m2 from net-opening diameter and depth
Benthic invertebrates
1) Sieve Ponar sample through 250 :m sieve
2) Pick bugs and identify to species using Thorp and Covich (2001) and Merritt and Cummins (1996)
3) Calculate #/m2 from diameter of core and number of cores
Benthic sediment organic content
1) Take one or two ponar grab samples from bottom of reservoir. Homogenize samples in 5 gal. bucket. Take approximately 100 ml volume grab sample in whirlpack.
2) Label an aluminum tray by inscribing bottom
3) Weigh on analytical balance
4) Place approximately 5-10 g wet weight of sample in tray and dry to constant weight at 60 oC
5) Weigh tray and dried sample
6) Ash in muffle furnace at 550 oC for 24 hours and reweigh
Benthic sediment size fractionation
1) After weighing ashed sampled as described above, sieve through 1000, 500, and 250 :m sieve
2) Weigh each fraction on analytical balance
References
Merritt, R. W. and K. W. Cummins (eds). 1996. An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America, 3rd Edition. Kendal/Hunt Publishing Company, Dubuque, Iowa.
Thorp, J. H. and A.P. Covich (eds.). 2001. Ecology and classification of North American freshwater invertebrates. Second Edition, Academic Press, San Diego.
Wetzel, R. G. and G. E. Likens. 1991. Limnological Analyses, 2nd edition. Springer-Verlag, New York