Research Interests

During my years of research, I have come to understand and appreciate a wide diversity of biological areas such as the fields of aquatic biology, fisheries biology, evolutionary biology, and physiological ecology. My approach within these fields of interest integrates theoretical and applied research on natural populations to answering questions concerning such topics as parental investment theory in ectotherms to determining the effects of environmental stressors on aquatic organisms. At the present time, my research focuses on the following two specific areas: 1) examining changes in morphology, physiology, behavior and life-history traits of bluegills and other aquatic organisms in response to environmental perturbation. This research involves both field and laboratory experiments utilizing state of the art laboratory equipment and procedures to answer questions concerning changes in body shape, performance traits, lipid cycles, reproductive cycles, metabolic rates, and age at sexual maturity in bluegills and other aquatic organisms from stressed sites, and 2) determining the effects of land-use practices on stream ecosystems. This research involves intense field analysis to answer questions related to the effects of flow regime and riparian zone changes on species diversity, species richness, biotic integrity and genetic structure of stream fish and invertebrate communities. Recent research projects have specifically examined 1) the effects of landscape processes on fish and invertebrate communities, 2) the effects of near stream habitat changes on the Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI),  3) the effects of stream habitat fragmentation on the genetic diversity of stream fish populations and 4) landscape effects on stream water chemistry and benthic productivity . In addition, I am also conducting research aimed at determining the egg components and developmental process of fish and reptiles in relation to parental investment patterns.

 

Present Graduate Students

Catherine Ciak ─  The Effect of Extreme Hydrologic Events on Macroinvertebrate Community Structure 
    Anthropogenic influences on river ecosystems can lead to changes in the biotic communities that inhabit them.  One of the most adverse disturbances exerted on aquatic systems is river impoundment.  The expansion of human populations and activities has resulted in extensive damming, regulation, and diversion of the world’s rivers (Dynesius and Nilsson 1994).  One of the most significant influences exerted by dams on downstream biota, specifically invertebrates, is a reduction in seasonal flow variability and alterations in the timing or occurrence of extreme flow events (Blinn et al 1998).  Freshwater invertebrates are used as biomonitors, as they are very sensitive to stress exerted on the aquatic environment.  The recolonization of macroinvertebrates below river impoundments after a significant flow event has not received much attention to date.  This study will investigate the effect of dam activity on the benthic macroinvertebrate community within the downstream reach of the Sangamon River.  Specifically, the study will address the following objectives:  
1.) determine the baseflow macroinvertebrate community downstream from the impoundment
2.) determine the effect of an extreme hydrologic event on the macroinvertebrate community structure downstream from the impoundment
3.) determine recolonization rates of macroinvertebrates after the high flow disturbance
4.) determine what life histories and other human impacts on the river might effect recolonization rates of the invertebrates representative of the river.


Jeff Fore - Relationship between Geomorphology and Stream Fish Species Composition in Illinois

     Stream fish assemblages are often considered limited by instream habitat availability and thus most current research has focused on determining habitat features that may be limiting the abundance and persistence of stream fish species.   These studies provide valuable information to managers who are concerned with increasing species abundance and persistence at local scales (e.g. stream reach) but may not provide information on the variables shaping the stream fish community at the watershed or ecoregion scale.  However, stream geomorphic variables may allow managers to determine fish persistence, abundance and community structure at a variety of scales. (Walters D.M. et al. 2003, Dauwalter 2006).  Analysis of geomorphic variables such as bankfull width, slope, entrenchment ratio, sinuosity, and channel materials may provide insight into how fish communities are structured at multiple scales (e.g. watershed and reach). To date the relationships between geomorphology and stream fish communities have received little attention and further investigation, especially in Illinois, is warranted to aid managers with information essential for stream restoration at a variety of scales. This research will provide insight into geomorphic factors limiting stream biological potential and provide implications for large scale stream restoration.  The objectives of this study are 1) to determine if any correlations exist between stream geomorphology and fish community structure.  If correlations exist between geomorphology and fish species we will be able to determine factors limiting fish presence/absence in Illinois streams.  Identification of factors affecting fish assemblages would provide implications for stream restoration.  


Jeff Butler - The Effects of Bridges on the Aquatic Communities in Illinois Streams

    The project will sample fish and macroinvertebrates upstream from bridges, underneath bridges, and downstream from bridges on 10 stream sites located throughout central Illinois. This study will test for differences in the aquatic community by comparing fish and invertebrate diversity and abundances near bridges. The major reason for choosing to sample invertebrates and fish is to gain an understanding of how aquatic communities respond to bridges and then using this data incorporate the conclusions into improving the criteria for the selection of sampling sites in Illinois streams. I will sample fish communities near bridges using seines and standard stream electrofishing techniques. Fish collected during sampling will be preserved in formalin while macroinvertebrates will be collected using a core sampler and a kick net and preserved in ethanol for later identification.


Steve Warrner - Assessment of Stream Valley Segments as Determinants of Stream Habitat Quality
     Stream habitat assessments procedures have been used to monitor the biological potential of streams and stream habitat restoration projects, predict fish presence and absence, and determine anthropogenic impacts.  In the past, the IDNR has determined which stream sites to sample for habitat quality based on historical data, site accessibility, location to point source pollution, relative location to tributaries, relative position in the watershed, and whether or not the site is representative of the entire watershed.  To develop a more consistent and unbiased  procedure for choosing sites to sample for habitat quality the IDNR has proposed a technique by which watersheds are divided into homogenous stream segments, called valley segments.  The valley segments within a watershed are determined by Geographic Information System (GIS) parameters such as surficial geology, predicted flow class, predicted thermal class, slope, drainage area, and link number. The assumption behind the proposed procedure is that habitat quality of the entire valley segment can then be determined by sampling one site within that valley segment. To date no research has been done to document that the habitat within a valley segments are homogeneous or that habitat between segments have varying habitat variables.  Thus the objectives of the project are to 1) determine if stream habitat within each valley segment is homogeneous, 2) determine if differing valley segments have varing habitat variables and 3) determine if disturbance has any effect on the distribution of valley segments.  



Recent Graduate Student Projects

 

Chris North ─The effects of agricultural land-use on stream fish and invertebrate community structure.

    In order to better understand the processes that occur within streams it is important that researchers attempt to incorporate some knowledge of the surrounding landscape into their studies.  This is particularly true in areas like the Midwest where human alteration of the landscape, such as the conversion of natural cover types to cultivated row crops, is widespread.  When assessing the health of streams, the composition and structure of the biological communities themselves tend to be the best indicators of water quality. Previous work in Hurricane Creek (Coles and Cumberland Counties, IL) has demonstrated significant differences in water chemistry and community metabolism between sites subject to differing intensities of farming in the upstream watershed.  Our objective was to examine the differences in fish and invertebrate communities at four sites along the stream representing varying degrees of agricultural land-use over four sampling periods, once each season.  Fish were sampled using electroseining techniques and invertebrates were collected using the 20-jab method. Fish and invertebrate communities were compared using indices of biotic integrity (IBI, MBI) and a selection of statistical tests.  This study will help researchers better understand the affects of land-use on stream ecosystems and allow land managers to make more informed decisions about rehabilitating stream ecosystems. (In PhD program in Biology at the University of Wyoming)

 

Mark Fincel - Does variable flow regime, produced by an overflow dam, alter downstream fish communities in a Midwestern stream?

    Both natural and human induced disturbances, such as floods, have long been recognized as having adverse effects on the abiotic and biotic components of streams. Flood disturbances can hinder the predator-prey interactions that usually shape a community, influence reproductive timing and frequency, and physically injure and displace individual organisms within the stream. In 1920, a dam was built on the Sangamon River located in Cumberland County, Illinois to create Lake Decatur.  With the building of the dam, a large number of variable flood disturbances have occurred in the central part of the Sangamon River over the past 84 years. 

    From 1998-99 and then from 2001-2002, an intensive sampling program was initiated to document temporal and spatial heterogeneity of an 8.5 km urban reach of the Sangamon River beginning just below Lake Decatur Dam and extending downstream to incorporate discharges from the Sanitary District of Decatur (SDD).  The study was designed to characterize stream habitat quality and to assess impacts resulting from ongoing municipal and reservoir flow management (Pederson and Fischer, 2003).   Results from the study indicate that the Sangamon River can be considered a fair quality aquatic ecosystem with minimal habitat heterogeneity. The variability observed in the stream habitat was primarily dependent upon such factors as substrate stability and pool variability, which are directly attributable to flow rates.   Overall, the study suggest that a threshold flow rate of 100 cfs exists and when discharge falls below this level the upstream and downstream reaches are discrete habitats while they appear to behave as a continuum when discharge exceeds 100 cfs.   This suggests, that at low flow rates water quality is reduced in the reach of the Sangamon River extending downstream from the dam to the discharge of the main treatment plant of the SDD and is a result of management practices employed to maintain reservoir levels.      

     One aspect not addressed by the study is the effect highly variable instream flow, resulting from random reservoir discharge, has played on shaping the steam biotic communities.  Field stations placed below the dam have recorded an average base flow from 0 to 100 cfs.  However, frequent releases from the overflow dam have caused dramatic flow fluctuations of up to 20 to 24 times the magnitude of base flow with a maximum observed outflow of 19,000, 190 times base flow, happening once within the last 20 years. This variability observed in flow rate may be detrimental to habitat quality and play a role in structuring communities. Thus, the central part of the Sangamon River offers a unique opportunity to investigate the effects of highly variable flow regimes on stream biota.  The objectives of the research project were  to evaluate the effects of fluctuating flow regimes on: 1) fish community structure, 2) stream fish re-colonization patterns and 3) flow management recommendation needed to maintain a diverse ecosystem.  (In PhD program in Biology at the University of South Dakota)

 

BETHANY BOSTROM - The Effectiveness of Artificial Riffles in Illinois Streams.

    In the late 19th and early 20th centuries large expanses of land in the Midwest were drained for agricultural activities, causing the loss of woody debris and gravel deposits.  The outcome of these human disturbances were that fine and course cobble that create natural riffles were replaced by a fine sediment.  To mediate the loss of riffle habitat and associated loss of aquatic diversity, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources installed thirty artificial riffles on eight different perturbated streams between 2000 and 2003.  To date, very few studies have been conducted to investigate the effectiveness of artificial riffles as an aquatic habitat restoration technique.  Thus, the artificial riffle projects completed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources offer me the opportunity to study the efficiency of artificial riffles as techniques for increasing stream habitat and aquatic diversity.   This project answered the question of whether man-made riffles successfully imitate natural riffles in streams and allow for an evaluation of the economic practicality of this type of habitat restoration. (Working for an environmental firm in Vermont)

 

MARYBETH BREY - CHANGES IN DIET AND CONDITION OF LAKE MICHIGAN LAKE TROUT WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF THE ROUND GOBY

    With the stocking of Pacific salmon in the Great Lakes, and the development of sustainable salmon fisheries, excessive predation pressure has been exerted on the forage base of the Great Lakes. Specifically, the growth, survival, and reproduction of lake trout in Lake Michigan have been directly linked to forage base quality and availability. Thus, with the decline of forage fish, specifically alewife and bloater, which make up the majority of lake trout diets, one would predict that lake trout populations will continue to face periods of limited resource availability and remain a unsustainable population.  Therefore, there is a clear need to understand how changes in the forage fish community, especially since the introduction of the round goby, have affected lake trout condition and prey selection. This project will utilize both current field data and a data set provided by the Michigan DNR in Charlevoix, MI on lake trout diet and forage base structure.  The objectives of the research were to 1)  Determine the forage base and diet of Lake Michigan lake trout during the years1997-2005, 2) Determine how the forage base of Lake Michigan has responded to the introduction of the round goby  and 3) Determine how changes in the forage base have affected lake trout diet and condition. (In PhD program at  North Carolina State University)

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Past Graduate Students
1994 - Brett Eggert, Eastern Illinois University - Effects of inbreeding on fish physiology*
1994 - Amy Moon, Eastern Illinois University - Effect of landscape processes on a fish communities*
1994 - Mike Marlin, Eastern Illinois University - Parental investment theory*
1995 - Amy Ragusa, Eastern Illinois University - Endangered species habitat analysis*
1995 - Ann Hogan, Eastern Illinois University - Stream habitat analysis*
1996 - Lori Rose, Eastern Illinois University - Habitat preference in larval fish*
1996 - Ben Hausmann, Eastern Illinois University - Role of Bowfin in Fisheries Management*
1997 - Colin Smith, Eastern Illinois University – Ayers Sand Prairie Nature Preserve box turtle study.*
1998 - Mandy Dust, Eastern Illinois University - Heavy metal perturbation in dollar sunfish.*
1998 - Steve Paglia, Eastern Illinois University - Turtle communities of the Illinois River.*
1998 - Chris Diel, Eastern Illinois University – Life history of the european eel*
1999 – Lori Queeen, Eastern Illinois University – Energy components of turtle eggs*
1999 - Rita Klien, Eastern Illinois University - Population isolation in greenside darters*
1999 - Matt Gosses, Eastern Illinois University - Asymetry in striped shiners and common stonerollers*
2000 - Erin Casey, Eastern Illinois University – Genetic isolation in salamanders*
2000 - Ross Wincdowski, Eastern Illinois University - Effects of habitat fragmentation on invertebrates*
2001 – Shari Fanta, Eastern Illinois University – Effects of habitat fragmentation on primary productivity*
2001– Daphne Kampagn, Eastern Illinois University - Effects of habitat fragmentation on the microbial loop*
2002 – Scott Seeley, Eastern Illinois University – Effects of Dan activity on invertebrate communities*

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