7th Annual

Finger Lakes Research Conference

Coordinated by the

November 19, 2011 HWS Scandling Center Vandervort Room, Geneva, NY

Agenda 8:30-­8:55 AM Registration/ Refreshments

8:55-­9:05 Welcome Address By Dr. Lisa Cleckner, Finger Lakes Institute

9:05-­10:00 Keynote Address: Visual Data and Outreach: Multipurposing Multimedia By David Owen Brown

10:00-­10:20 Poster Session

10:20-­10:40 The Influence of Watershed Land Use on the Composition of Dissolved Organic Matter Entering Conesus Lake, NY. By Morgan Bida, Rochester Institute of Technology

10:40-­11:00 Comparative Limnology of the Eight Eastern Finger Lakes: A 2011 Update. By Dr. John Halfman, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

11:00-­11:20 Delineating Watersheds Associated with Karst Features in Western, NY. By Paul Richards, SUNY Brockport

11:20-­11:40 Honeoye Lake Winter Dissolved Oxygen Profile-­ Mapping Aquatic Life Sustaining Capabilities. By Ben Mauri Pelto, Alfred University

11:40-­1:00 Lunch/ Poster Session Please visit the lunch buffet in the foyer. Return to the Vandervort Room to peruse the posters.

1:00-­2:00 Invasive Species Monitoring and Management Panel Discussion with Dr. Meghan Brown, Hobart and William Smith Colleges;; Dr. Bruce Gilman, Finger Lakes Community College;; and Roxanna Johnston, City of Ithaca

2:00-­2:20 The Owasco Lake Asian Clam Task Force. By Bob Brower, Institute for the Application of Geospatial Technology at Cayuga Community College

2:20-­2:40 Detection and Control Measures for the Invasive Marsh Thistle (Cirsium palustre). By Eamonn Hinchey, SUNY Oneonta

2:40-­3:00 A New Resident in the Finger Lakes: Spatial, Seasonal, and Diel Distribution Patterns of Hemimysis anomala. By Dr. Meghan Brown, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

3:00-­3:20 Poster Session

3:20-­3:40 The Effects of Seiche Activity and Sediment Loading on Daphnia retrocurva in Cayuga Lake. By Eleanor Milano WS'12, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

3:40-­4:00 Stream Community Health in the Seneca Lake Watershed. By Dr. Susan Cushman, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

4:00-­4:05 Closing Remarks By Sarah Meyer, Finger Lakes Institute

4:05-­4:30 PM Building Tours of the Finger Lakes Institute (601 S. Main St. Geneva) Provided by FLI Staff

Poster Presentations Please visit with poster presenters at 10:00 am, during lunch hour, and at 3:00 pm. Listed alphabe last name. 1. CAYUGA LAKE AND ITS WATERSHED, 1927-­2010. By David Ritchey Bouldin

2. STABLE THERMAL OSCILLATIONS IN COLUMNS OF PARTIALLY SUPERCOOL WATER. By James Brownridge, SUNY Binghamton

3. MONITORING ECOLOGICAL SERVICES IN RIVER RESTORATION PROJECTS: HEAT TRACERS AND HYPORHEIC EXCHANGE. By Mike Fay, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry

4. DREISSENID MUSSEL INVASION, COLONIZATION AND IMPACTS TO THE NUTRIENT BUDGET OF CANANDAIGUA LAKE. By Dr. Bruce Gilman, Finger Lakes Community College

5. BETWEEN MACROINVERTEBRATE STREAM QUALITY TESTS AND FISH COMMUNITY DYNAMICS. By art and William Smith Colleges

6. NUTRIENT LOADING IN THE SENECA AND OWASCO WATERSHEDS. By Dr. John Halfman, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

7. A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF BLACK BEAR TRAILS AND SIGN. By Alyssa Johnson, Finger Lakes Community College

8. MERCURY LEVELS IN SMALL FISH: art and William Smith Colleges

9. SENECA LAKE STATE PARK ENHANCEMENT PROJECT. By art and William Smith Colleges

10. INCORPORATING STREAM MONITORING INTO A MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE CURRICULUM. By Jim Murphy, Watkins Glen Middle School

11. A MASTER OF SCIENCE IN LAKE MANAGEMENT: A NEW PROGRAM FOR AN EMERGING DISCIPLINE. By Donna Vogler, SUNY Oneonta

12. FINGER LAKES STREAM MONITORING NETWORK: THE TALE OF CASTLE CREEK. art and William Smith Colleges

13. THE FINGER LAKES STREAM MONITORING NETWORK: THE STATE OF THE UNION. By Jordan Youngmann, Finger Lakes Institute

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Table of Contents Keynote Speaker: Visual Data And Outreach: Multipurposing Multimedia

Oral Presentations ........................................................................................................................................... 6

The Influence Of Watershed Land Use on the Composition of Dissolved Organic Matter Entering Conesus Lake, NY. ..............................................................................................................................................................7

Comparative Limnology of the Eight Eastern Finger Lakes: A 2011 Update. ................................................. 8

Delineating Watersheds Associated with Karst Features in Western, NY ......................................................10

Honeoye Lake Winter Dissolved Oxygen Profile Mapping Aquatic Life Sustaining Capabiliities .................. 12

Invasive Species Monitoring and Management Panel Discussion .................................................... 14

The Owasco Lake Asian Clam Task Force ........................................................................................................ 15

Detection and Control Measures for the Invasive Marsh Thistle (Cirsium palustre) ...................................... 16

A New Resident in the Finger Lakes: Spatial, Seasonal, And Diel Distribution Patterns Of Hemimysis anomala .............................................................................................................................................................. 17

The Effects Of Seiche Activity and Sediment Loading on Daphnia retrocurva in Cayuga Lake. ..................... 19

Stream Community Health in the Seneca Lake Watershed. ........................................................................... 20

Poster Presentations ....................................................................................................................................... 21

Cayuga Lake and its Watershed, 1927-­2010 ................................................................................................... 22

Stable Thermal Oscillations in Columns of Partially Supercool Water .......................................................... 23

Monitoring Ecological Services in River Restoration Projects: Heat Tracers and Hyporheic Exchange ..... 24

Dreissenid Mussel Invasion, Colonization, and Impacts to the Nutrient Budget of Canandiagua Lake. ..... 26

Quality Tests and Fish Community Dynamics. ............................................................................................... 27

Nutrient Loading in the Seneca and Owasco Watersheds. ............................................................................. 28

A Preliminary Study of Black Bear Trails and Sign. ....................................................................................... 29

in Your Watershed? .................................................... 30

Seneca Lake State Park Enhancement Project ................................................................................................. 31

Incorporating Stream Monitoring into a Middle School Science Curriculum ............................................... 33

A Master Of Science in Lake Management: A New Program for an Emerging Discipline............................ 34

Finger Lakes Stream Monitoring Network: The Tale of Castle Creek ............................................................ 35

The Finger Lakes Stream Monitoring Network: The State of the Union ........................................................ 36

Notes .................................................................................................................................................................. 37

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Keynote Speaker VISUAL DATA AND OUTREACH: MULTIPURPOSING MULTIMEDIA

David Owen Brown works worldwide as a producer, videographer, researcher, diver, photographer and lecturer. He holds degrees from Cornell University and the Brooks Institute of Photography. His work has aired on NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, the Discovery Channel and National Geographic television. His award-­winning photography has appeared in numerous exhibits and publications, including imagery for the Smithsonian's Ocean Planet and Ocean Hall, and the American Museum of Natural

well as two children's books, and served as a consultant for the National Geographic book, "The World's Wild Shores." As a member of the Cousteau team, Brown participated in filming expeditions with the vessels Calypso and Alcyone over the course of seven years, exploring above and below water environments from Papua New Guinea to Alaska. He also represented the Cousteau group as a lecturer for universities, trade associations and aboard cruise vessels around the world. He left The Cousteau Society to begin Passage Productions, a documentary film company and stock house. He conceived and built the first live underwater audio/video broadcast system for the cruise and resort industries. Passage produced the first live, interactive broadcast from underwater onto the Internet in 1997, and has created cutting-­edge interactive programming for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Sanctuary Program, GTE and a variety other clients. Brown has experienced and documented Humpback whales and submarine lava flows off Hawaii, Great White Sharks and Leafy Sea Dragons off South Australia, Killer whales feeding on sharks off Papua New Guinea and Narwhals off Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic. He has documented environmental events such as the 1989 oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Brown also filmed the discovery and raising of the submarine INS Dakar for the Nauticos Corporation, subject of a National Geographic special that aired in 2002. Recent projects include educational films about animal behavior and ocean sound for Cornell University and a NOAA sponsored nationally touring museum exhibit tracing the path of water from inland to ocean. He is currently producing a film about the rocky intertidal zone of Maine.

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Oral Presentations

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THE INFLUENCE OF WATERSHED LAND USE ON THE COMPOSITION OF DISSOLVED ORGANIC MATTER ENTERING CONESUS LAKE, NY.

Morgan R. Bida, Todd Pagano, A. Christina Tyler Program in Environmental Sciences School of Life Sciences Rochester Institute of Technology College of Science 85 Lomb Memorial Drive Rochester, NY 14623-­5603 Graduate Student

Agricultural land use within the watershed of the Finger Lakes Region of New York State influences the quality of water supplied to freshwater aquatic ecosystems by increasing the delivery of inorganic nutrients such as nitrate and phosphate. We know much less, however, about the influence of farming on the quantity or composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) supplied to these systems. With 70% of the flow to Conesus Lake supplied by more than 18 unique streams and several smaller tributaries, the lake has a topography that makes it an ideal study site for an analysis of the effects of land use on DOM quality. Further, the recent decline in the water quality of Conesus Lake suggests that the ability of the system to sustain its multiple uses may be at risk. A comprehensive characterization of DOM entering the lake in relation to sub-­watershed land use will provide valuable information for ongoing watershed restoration efforts. The chemical composition of DOM is significant for the support of aquatic food webs, the availability of nutrients and metals in aquatic ecosystems, and the optical properties of water. We hypothesize that the proportion of agricultural land use can be correlated to the chemical composition of DOM delivered to the system. By exploiting the optical properties of DOM using UV-­visible spectroscopy and fluorescence excitation-­emission matrices (EEMs) with parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC), a chemometric technique for the decomposition of characteristic fluorescence peaks, along with measurement of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), phenol, and nutrient concentrations, specific UV absorbance at 254 nm (SUVA254), and the fluorescence index (FI), we will assess the influence of land use on the quality of DOM entering Conesus Lake.

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COMPARATIVE LIMNOLOGY OF THE EIGHT EASTERN FINGER LAKES: A 2011 UPDATE. Halfman, John D., Emily G. Cummings, Maggie M. Stewart Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, New York, 14456 Halfman@hws.edu. 315-­781-­3918. Since 2005, the eight eastern Finger Lakes, Honeoye, Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca, Cayuga, Owasco, Skaneateles, and Otisco (since 2008) were sampled to investigate and compare the temporal and spatial limnological variability. CTD casts, secchi disk depths, and water samples were collected and analyzed at a minimum of two deepwater sites on a monthly basis during the May October field-­seasons. Seneca was investigated in more detail with weekly sampling at 4 sites and its major tributaries. SeaBird CTDs (SBE-­19 in 05&06, SBE-­25 since) collected water-­column profiles of conductivity (reported as specific conductance), temperature, depth, pH, dissolved oxygen, light transmission (SBE-­19), PAR (SBE-­25), fluorescence (SBE-­25), and turbidity (SBE-­25). Surface and bottom water samples were analyzed for total and dissolved phosphates, nitrates, dissolved silica, chlorophyll-­a, total suspended solids, alkalinity, and major ions using standard limnological techniques. Ramp closures prevented lake access and data collection from Honeoye and Canandaigua Lakes in October this year. The 2011 results and comparison to earlier years, when different, are highlighted below.

CTD Profiles: The temperature profiles were typical for any summer season, similar from one year to the next and reveal the typical development and decay of summer stratification in all but Honeoye. The Honeoye profiles were isothermal on all but an occasional survey, reflecting the well mixed, shallow (<= 9 m) lake. The warmest temperature detected was slightly warmer (~ 1ºC) in 2010 and 2011 than earlier years.

Specific conductance ranged from 225 S/cm in Honeoye to 705 S/cm in Seneca in 2011. The epilimnion conductivities decreased 10 to 50 S/cm through the field season in Cayuga, Canandaigua, Owasco, Otisco, Skaneateles, and Seneca, but remained unchanged in the hypolimnion in these lakes, and did not change throughout the water column in the other lakes. The largest decrease of 60 S/cm was observed in Seneca. Hypolimnetic specific conductivity decreased each year in Seneca, ~ 60 S/cm annually from 1997 to 2011. Both decreases are interpreted to reflect the dilution of the epilimnion by surface runoff and mixing during overturn.

Dissolved oxygen was nearly saturated throughout the water column in Skaneateles. Mid-­summer hypolimnetic depletion, especially right below the thermocline was observed in Cayuga, Owasco, Otisco and Seneca. The DO concentrations in the entire hypolimnion decreased to varying degrees in every lake but Honeoye. The largest decrease was observed in Owasco and Otisco, with near anoxic conditions in the hypolimnion of Otisco by August.

Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) revealed exponentially decreasing light levels to 1% Io at 10 to 40 meters in 2011, the deeper depths correlating to survey dates or lakes with smaller algal concentrations. Some light was available at the deepest lake floor in Honeoye and Otisco. Fluorescence data revealed uniform water column algal concentrations in Honeoye and mid-­epilimnion or upper metalimnion algal peaks in the other lakes. Peak concentrations were detected during July or August in 2011 and were 8 mg/m3 in Otisco, 8 in Seneca, 5.5 in Cayuga, 5 in Keuka, 4 in Owasco, 3 in Skaneateles and 2 in Canandaigua.

Benthic nepheloid layers were occasionally observed at Canandaigua, Cayuga, Keuka Owasco and Otisco, but not Honeoye, Seneca and Skaneateles. The 2011 nepheloid turbidities typically started to increase from background values of below 1 NTUs just below the thermocline up to 3 (or 5) NTUs within a few meters above the lake floor. The nepheloid layers were best developed in Cayuga, Keuka and Canandaigua, and more pronounced in 2009 and 2008 than 2011, 2010, 2007 and 2006. In Otisco, the occasional nepheloid layer is interpreted to reflect mineral precipitation at the chemocline.

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Secchi Disk, Chlorophyll-­a, TSS Data: In 2011, annual average secchi disk depths were deepest in Skaneateles (7.8 m) and Keuka (6.3 m), and shallowest in Cayuga, Honeoye, Otisco, Owasco and Seneca (~2.5 to 3.9 m). Depths were shallow in 2011 than previous years. Secchi depths, as expected, were inversely proportional to chlorophyll-­a concentrations (mean concentrations from 0.3 to 2.7 ug/L) and a lesser extent TSS data (0.9 to 3.7 mg/L). From 2010 to 2011, Chlorophyll-­a concentrations decreased in every lake. Year to year variability was large in Honeoye, Keuka, Seneca, Cayuga, Owasco and Otisco perhaps reflecting if the survey sampled or missed a bloom. Bottom water algal concentrations were largest in Honeoye and Otisco, lakes with light at the lake floor.

Nutrient Data: Mean 2010 epilimnetic nitrate concentrations were largest in Cayuga, Owasco and Skaneateles (0.3 to 0.6 mg/L), and smallest in Canandaigua, Keuka, Honeoye and Otisco (0 to 0.2 mg/L). N/P ratios indicate that phosphate is the limiting nutrient in all but Honeoye and perhaps Keuka.

Annual mean 2011 soluble reactive phosphate (SRP) concentrations were 1.2 g/L or smaller in the lakes. From year to year, epilimnetic concentrations were slightly larger in 2006 compared to the other years perhaps reflecting greater runoff of phosphates in 2006, a rainy year. Anomalously large SRP concentrations, that were previously detected in the hypolimnion of Cayuga, have steadily decreased from 10 g/L to 4 g/L since 2006, and parallel a decrease in benthic turbidities, until 2011. Perhaps phosphates were flushed out of the hypolimnion of the lake until 2011, preserved as organics in the sediments and/or sources reduced, but the wet spring in 2011 increased the hypolimnion phosphates.

Annual mean 2011 epilimnetic total phosphate (TP) concentrations ranged from a high of 25 g/L in Honeoye to 7 to 18 g/L in the other lakes, and were higher than previous years. Surface water soluble reactive silica (SRSi) concentrations in 2011 were largest in Canandaigua (950 g/L) and Honeoye (1,100 g/L), and smallest in Cayuga (520 g/L) and Seneca (300 g/L). Bottom water silica concentrations were typically larger than the surface waters, with the largest difference observed in Owasco (800 g/L).

Water Quality Ranking: An annual rank was calculated for each lake using annual mean epilimnetic water quality data (Secchi, TP, SRP, Nitrate, TSS and Chlorophyll data) to assess the relative water quality rank between lakes and the year to year variability in each lake. In 2011, Otisco revealed the worst water quality, followed closely by Honeoye, Cayuga and Seneca, whereas Canandaigua, Keuka and Skaneateles revealed the best water quality. Water quality in Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca, Cayuga, and Otisco declined from 2010 to 2011, perhaps reflecting the wet spring in 2011.

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DELINEATING WATERSHEDS ASSOCIATED WITH KARST FEATURES IN WESTERN, NY. Paul L. Richards, Dave Boehm, Jamye Babocsi, Bichen Xu* SUNY Brockport * Allendale-­Columbia High School prichard@brockport.edu (585) 260-­2988 Associate Professor In this study we employed two automated watershed delineation techniques, Jensen and Domingue (1988) and PCSA (Richards and Brenner, 2004), to identify the catchment areas associated with thinly-­soiled karst

approaches can be successfully employed in this landscape, which consists of a heterogenous mixture of thinly soiled karst, sinkholes, and glacial features such as end moraines, ground moraines, channels and other till deposits. The two automated approaches can be considered to be at opposite ends of the spectrum in their treatment of internally-­drained and zero slope regions. The Jensen and Domingue algorithm removes depressions to insure flow continuity. Its catchment delineation is thus inclusive, however, it has been known to develop unrealistic watershed divides in areas of flat or low-­sloped topography. The PCSA does not remove depressions and assumes that all breaks in flow are hydrologically realistic. Its delineation tends to be more conservative and excludes areas that are zero-­sloped and are isolated by depressions. It utilizes the assumption of multiple flow directions, so it can sometimes include unrealistic flowpaths in particular geomorphic situations. The Jensen and Domingue approach was employed by using the SWAT watershed preprocessor to remove sinks and zero-­slope areas from the 10 meter digital elevation model (DEM) and using iterative channel thresholds to obtain the best representation of the watershed. Stream enforcement was employed using streams mapped in the field and from aerials. The PCSA approach was employed using an unaltered DEM and using a 10 meter buffered stream and thinly soiled karst features as input. The true watershed was developed by taking contour maps and aerials in the field and carefully mapping the surface water divides associated with the karst feature. Care was taken to account for the effects of road berms, agricultural ditches, ephemeral channels, and culverts Figure 1 shows representative results for one site, a patterned ground sinkhole site. The Jensen and Domingue performed well for some sites, however for straight hills sloping into large karst features, fake streams had to be added in order to develop a catchment that reached the entire karst feature. The PCSA approach sometimes included areas outside of the true watershed divide. Both approaches missed the effects of roadberms, which resulted in watersheds that were too large. These results emphasize the importance of road berms and culverts in controlling surface drainage in karst areas. Further work will test these approaches on more sites and map road berms using LIDAR data.

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Figure 1 Comparison of the true watershed divide (mapped in the field with aerial photography and 1 meter contours) with watershed divides developed from automated algorithms, Jensen and Domingue (1988) and PCSA, Richards and Brenner (2004). The former is the watershed divide algorithm that is used in the preprocessors for ArcSWAT and AvSWAT. Note that road berms did appreciably reduce the area of the watershed.

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HONEOYE LAKE WINTER DISSOLVED OXYGEN PROFILE MAPPING AQUATIC LIFE SUSTAINING CAPABILIITIES. Ben Mauri Pelto Alfred University, Geology/Environmental Studies Department 1 Saxon Drive, Alfred, NY 14802 bmp5@alfred.edu, 774-­261-­0832 Undergraduate Student Physical and chemical lake data taken during the winter is scarce across the United States. To permit a full understanding of lake environments, the abundant summer data taken on lakes needs to be supplemented by winter data. Honeoye Lake is the shallowest of the twelve Finger Lakes, NY, with a maximum depth of ten meters, thus nutrient overload is a problem. During summer 2010, the lake had high chlorophyll content and secchi disk readings under one meter. In part due to the high dissolved oxygen (DO) levels, the lake has a toxic cyanobacteria bloom of one to eight or more weeks each year, greatly impairing water quality. With an insignificant turnover, the winter months could pose a real threat to fish if anoxic conditions develop and persist. Honeoye Lake has DO and water quality data, typically from late April until the end of September by the Honeoye Lake Watershed Association.

To determine the winter risk posed to aquatic life, particularly fish, in 2011 DO levels were monitored in Honeoye Lake starting in mid-­January and continued until March. The 2010-­2011 winter was of particular interest since the lake suffered its worst algae bloom to date in summer 2010. Every two weeks, temperature and DO were sampled on an east-­west transect at various depths. With Honeoye Lake ice covered and buried in snow from mid-­January to late February, the near-­surface level DO dropped from 12.9ppm (SD: 0.12) to 9.4ppm (SD: 1.1). The lake bottom DO levels, vital to fish health, dropped in early winter to 3.9ppm (SD: 1.2) and remained low throughout the ice formation season. In late Feb. DO increased to 6.6ppm (SD: 2.1), from stressful to healthier levels for fish. The increase in DO in late February was due to this rapid melt event which contributed 2-­4in of SWE (snow water equivalent) into Honeoye. Snow pack melted off rapidly from 16-­20 inches on Feb. 13th to 0 by Feb. 20th. This was followed by a heavy snowfall accumulating 20in by the 27th, whose weight pushed the ice down, allowing water to flow onto the ice. The initial period of rapid snowmelt in mid-­February marked the end of the low DO period even though lake ice still existed. This indicates the importance of melt events during the winter for DO levels of Honeoye Lake. Dissolved oxygen levels of Honeoye Lake were high enough to prevent a fish kill in the winter of 2010-­2011, yet without the remarkable speed of the mid February melt event, perhaps conditions would have been stressful or harmful to aquatic life.

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Figure 1. Dissolved Oxygen at Deepest Point in Honeoye Lake 2011.

Figure 2. Map of the lake. My sampling transect marked by arrow. (Gilman, 2010)

References Gilman, Dr. Bruce. Honeoye Valley Association. September 14, 2010. http://www.hvaweb.org/Power%20Point%20Presentations/Honeoye%20Lake%202010.ppt (accessed 11 29, 2010).

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Invasive Species Monitoring and Management Panel Discussion Panelists listed alphabetically Dr. Meghan Brown is a biological limnologist who teaches and conducts research at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. With her undergraduate colleagues, she uses field observations, laboratory experiments, and mathematical models to test hypotheses about the role of dormancy, often an obligate phase for freshwater zooplankton, in species dispersal and persistence. Her research focuses on the North American invasion of non-­native zooplankton species such as the spiny water flea (Bythotrephes) and fish hook water flea (Cercopagis). She has been awarded numerous grants to study non-­native species and is widely published in the field. Dr. Bruce Gilman is a professor in the Department of Environmental Conservation and Horticulture at Finger Lakes Community College. His teaching expertise includes limnology, forest ecology, field botany, glacial geology and environmental chemistry. Over the years, he has conducted aquatic research in Lake Ontario wetlands and several Finger Lakes streams and open water lake communities. To recognize all of his state-­wide aquatic research, the New York State Federation of Lakes honored

Roxanna Johnston is the Watershed Coordinator for the City of Ithaca and the Lab Director for the Drinking Water Plant. She has worked on water issues in the Ithaca area and Cayuga Lake watershed since 1997. As Watershed Coordinator, she networks with a number of agencies and organizations involved in water monitoring and environmental outreach. Most recently she has been a leader in the City of Ithaca's efforts to eradicate the highly invasive aquatic plant hydrilla from the Cayuga Inlet.

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THE OWASCO LAKE ASIAN CLAM TASK FORCE. Robert N. Brower CEO, Institute for the Application of Geospatial Technology at Cayuga Community College Inc. Affiliation and Address: Member of Task Force, Member of Board of Directors, Owasco Watershed Association;; Suite 300, 199 Franklin Street, Auburn NY 13021 Email: bbrower@iagt.org (315) 252 7894 The presentation will cover the history and work of the Task Force, and include attention to the initial discovery and verification of the species, the organizational structure of the Task Force created in response, the research efforts (including some innovative educational and reporting aspects), and an overview of significant finding to date, and consequent mitigation plans and proposals.

The Task Force was patterned after the Lake George Rapid Response Task Force. The same scientific research divers working in Lake George worked in Owasco Lake and trained Task Force members in species identification.

The Research efforts included a pre-­survey stratified shoreline sampling protocol, faculty and student volunteers, volunteer divers, Lake Association volunteers, and underwater research scientists. On-­going results were posted to the Owasco Watershed Network (OWN) as the area of infestation was estimated and other websites. Unresolved geospatially enriched applied research opportunities were also identified during the work and will be given some attention in the presentation.

The presentation will utilize a website and some unique visualization techniques representing the bathometric characteristics of the lake, including the area of infestation.

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DETECTION AND CONTROL MEASURES FOR THE INVASIVE MARSH THISTLE (CIRSIUM PALUSTRE). Eamonn Hinchey Department of Biology State University at Oneonta 108 Ravine Parkway Oneonta, NY 13820 evhinchey@yahoo.com (315) 256-­3713 Graduate Student Marsh Thistle (Cirsium palustre) is an invasive weed endemic to Europe that can overtake native species, destroy wildlife habitats, and lower the quality of recreational areas. To best facilitate the eradication and management of any invasive organism early detection, eradication, and education is key. This project began with three main objectives 1) Determine the extent of Marsh Thistle in Central New York, 2) Determine the most effective method of removal of this recent invader, and 3) Educate the local communities about the potential threat this invader has on their ecosystems. Studying this plant will provide vital information for future studies and management of other invasive weed species.

Our first objective was addressed by sighting the plant from roadsides throughout Otsego, Madison, Schoharie, and Herkimer counties. We collaborated with the Great Swamp Conservancy (GSC) in Madison County and plan on meeting with both the Otsego County and Madison County Natural Resources Conservation Service to further develop ways to promote education and awareness of this invasive species. In order to evaluate the extent of this population GPS data from this project was entered on a new computer database called iMapInvasives. iMapInvasives is the result of a partnership between multiple conservation programs supported by The Nature Conservancy.

To determine the most effective eradication protocol I used 6 Cirsium palustre populations. One hundred plants in each population were chosen at random and each of them received one of three different treatment protocols. Treatment A was a June cut straight to the base of the plant. Treatment B was a cut in June followed by another cut in August. Treatment C is a single cut in August. Treatment D acted as a control. All treatments began in June 2011 and continued throughout the summer. Removed plants were dried and weighed.

Results from this preliminary project will help to provide the data necessary for future studies. The information obtained will also be used to educate the public to achieve the citizen science approach to invasive species management. This plant is a very recent invader and the current research is insufficient. Species in such an early stage of invasion like this offer a rare experience of combining early detection rapid response protocols with minimal funding. Strategies like this are strongly favored by New York State Partners for Invasive Species Management (PRISM) groups.

Incidentally, during the study this past summer two interesting discoveries were made. First, we identified a potential biocontrol agent of C. palustre, the Glassy Cutworm (Apamea devastator). Our second discovery was a possible hybrid swarm of thistle plants. Cirsium has been known to readily hybridize in its native Europe (Bures 2004). Further genetic analysis will be added to the scope of this project

After our initial research we have three hypotheses. We believe that 1) C. palustre is spreading east and west of its current distribution from Madison and Otsego counties 2) C. palustre may be actively hybridizing with other members of the Cirsium family in central NY and 3) This plant is likely not a true biennial but a perennial monocarpic weed which may require a new approach to eradication and control.

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A NEW RESIDENT IN THE FINGER LAKES: SPATIAL, SEASONAL, AND DIEL DISTRIBUTION PATTERNS OF HEMIMYSIS ANOMALA Meghan Brown Hobart and William Smith Colleges Department of Biology 4095 Scandling Center, Geneva, NY 14456 mbrown@hws.edu (315) 781-­3464 Assistant Professor With this contribution, we report on the continued and rapid spread of Hemimysis anomala (Crustacea, Mysidae) to inland waters of New York State (Fig. 1). In the spring and summer of 2010 we detected Hemimysis at multiple locations in Seneca Lake, spannin -­Cayuga

Hemimysis in any of the other ten Finger Lakes. The pattern of range expansion suggests jump dispersal to Seneca Lake, followed by passive dispersal in the Seneca-­Cayuga Canal. This range expansion highlights the potential of this emerging invader to spread throughout the New York State Canal system that links the Great Lakes with the Hudson River watershed and a number of large inland lakes via the Erie Canal and its tributaries. During our nighttime sampling campaign on Seneca Lake, densities of Hemimysis exceeding 2500 ind./m3 were associated with littoral rocky structures, docks and piers. At a reference site near the source of the Seneca-­Cayuga Canal, we observed demographic shifts from an adult-­dominated population in early spring to a juvenile-­dominated population from late-­spring to autumn (Fig. 2). We also observed strong nocturnal behavior for all stages, with juveniles rising earlier than adults in the evening and remaining higher in the water column near dawn (Fig. 3). These demographic and behavioral characteristics, combined with the extensive hydrogeographic network in the Great Lakes, contribute to the species rapid range expansion and the mechanism of its spread.

Figure 1: The approximate location of lake and river sites surveyed for the presence of Hemimysis anomala. The inset in the upper left shows the outflow of each of the Finger Lakes and surface water connections among the Finger Lakes, Oneida Lake, and Lake Ontario. The area within the dotted perimeter is enlarged to show surveyed sites. In the enlarged area, lake names are provided at the southern end of each lake and only lakes and rivers where sampling was conducted are shown. For clarity, site C6 -­ C10 are labeled collectively.

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Figure 2: Hemimysis anomala demographic trends at a reference site on the Seneca-­Cayuga Canal (location C1, Fig. 1) based on triplicate horizontal zooplankton tows. In panel A, the mean density (+ SD) of juveniles, males and females is shown on the primary y-­axis, and surface temperature is plotted on the secondary y-­axis. In panel B, body length statistics are graphed as box and whisker plots. Mean body lengths were determined from > 50 individuals, except on 5 May (n =24) when all individuals collected were measured. In panel C, the percent of females that were fecund (primary y-­axis) and the mean clutch size (+ SD;; secondary y-­axis) is displayed. Dates marked with an asterisk indicate that no fecund females were detected. Mean clutch sizes were calculated from all fecund

females in a collection (nMay= 13, nAug= 6, nSep= 5). Differences in the total density, body length and clutch size among sampling dates were examined using one-­way ANOVAs. The lower case letters show significant differences determined by post-­hoc Tukey tests (P < 0.05).

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Figure 3: (A) Density (+ SD) of juveniles, adult males, and adult females and (B) box and whisker plots of body length for Hemimysis anomala collected in horizontal zooplankton tows on 19 and 20 June 2010 from 20:30 to 06:00. Body length statistics are based on > 50 individuals for all times, except 05:10 (n=20) and 05:30 (n=3) when all individuals collected in the sample were measured. Collections were made at the reference site (location C, Fig. 1). No animals were detected during the day. Differences in the total density and body length by time were examined using one-­way ANOVAs. The lower case letters show significant differences determined by post-­hoc Tukey tests (P < 0.05).

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THE EFFECTS OF SEICHE ACTIVITY AND SEDIMENT LOADING ON DAPHNIA RETROCURVA IN CAYUGA LAKE. Eleanor Milano, Nelson G. Hairston*, Lindsay Schaffner, Meghan Brown Hobart and William Smith Colleges 300 Pulteney Street, Geneva NY *Cornell University, Ithaca NY, 14853 Eleanor.milano@hws.edu 413-­281-­5537 Undergraduate Student Cayuga Lake (Ithaca NY) has dynamic physical properties. For example, heavy rains cause sediment influx into the water column, and strong wind events can create a seiche where the thermocline rocks, transporting warm and cold water to opposing ends of the events. The crustacean zooplankton Daphnia provides a model to study lake processes, due to its rapid reproductive cycle that is sensitive to changes in abiotic conditions (i.e. temperature, light), food (quality and quantity), and predation. We hypothesize that in Cayuga Lake the predominant Daphnia species D. retrocurva is adversely affected by poor food quality caused by sediment influx, and that D. retrocurva are being transported during seiche events. In the laboratory, we measured the effect of sediment on the growth rates of juvenile Daphnia over four days in two D. retrocurva clones and one D. pulicaria clone. Three treatments of ten juveniles from each clone were fed Cryptomonas (a high food quality laboratory-­grown phytoplankton) with and without sediment. Suspended sediment was collected from Cayuga Lake, settled out and then dried and ashed to remove organic matter. Daphnia growth rates were not different between treatments with and without sediment, suggesting that sediment influx at the south end of Cayuga has neither an adverse nor a beneficial effect on resident D. retrocurva To investigate the effect of seiche activity on Daphnia dynamics, weekly population density measurements were compared with surface temperature data taken from May through August 2011. D. retrocurva density increased with anomalous decreasing temperature events (signals of seiche activity). These population dynamics were neither predicted by changes in birthrate nor consistent with temperature-­driven development. Further, for three particular periods when density increases were noted despite no increase in birthrate (June 22nd, July 20th and August 17th), seiche activity was detected in proximate Seneca Lake using a stationary buoy in the north end of the lake. As a seiche transports water from the north end of Cayuga Lake to the south, it could transport D. retrocurva, and this migration could account for the changes in density reflected in the field sampling data. The dynamic processes of Cayuga Lake affect its biota. Though sediment influx from rain events does not

Daphnia populations, seiche activity has the potential to transport Daphnia from the north to the south end of the lake. Further investigation to determine the magnitude of Daphnia movement would be useful to establish the extent of storm event effects on the Daphnia population in the lake.

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STREAM COMMUNITY HEALTH IN THE SENECA LAKE WATERSHED. Cushman, Susan F. and Elijah T. Gleason. Finger Lakes Institute, Hobart & William Smith Colleges, 300 Pulteney Street, Geneva, New York, 14456. Email: cushman@hws.edu, Phone: 315-­781-­4384 Research Scientist, Finger Lakes Institute The Seneca Lake watershed is large (~194, 250 ha) and is composed of primarily agricultural (39%) and forested (41%) land use activities, with lesser amounts of idle (12%), and developed land (8%). Although many water quality surveys have been performed in the Seneca Lake watershed in the past, a survey of biological stream communities was conducted to learn more about the impacts of landuse and environmental stressors within each watershed. Stream surveys were carried out at sites in ten major subwatersheds (western shore = 6, eastern shore = 3, southern inlet = 1) in late May (benthic macroinvertebrates) and June (fish). Benthic macroinvertebrates (BMI) were collected with a benthic D-­net across the channel for 5 minutes (~1m/min) and preserved for later analysis in the laboratory to assess long-­term water quality and stream condition. Subsamples (~100 organisms) were identified to family and analyzed using a percent model affinity (PMA) and biotic index (BI). Fish were captured using double-­pass backpack electrofishing (Smith-­Root LR-­20B) in a 75 m stream reach that was isolated with blocknets. Fish species richness and abundance were recorded. Water quality in Kashong (PMA = 47%), Wilson (50%) and Reeder (51%) Creeks were all considered to be impacted, while Plum Creek represented the best (88%). The average PMA score was 61% for the watershed. Fish species richness varied across stream sites with highest fish species richness found in Wilson Creek (9) and lowest in Plum Creek (2;; mean = 5.4). Fish abundance followed different trends, with highest abundance in Glen Eldridge (449) and lowest in Wilson Creek (84). The typical fish assemblage of these streams included Rhinichthys atratulus blacknose dace, Semotilus atromaculatus creek chub, Campostoma anomalum central stoneroller and Catostomus commersoni white sucker. The most common species of fish, blacknose dace, varied in abundance (mean = 158), composing between 35 -­100% of the community sample. The only game fish and salmonid species, Salmo trutta brown trout, was collected in Hector Falls Creek. Interestingly, fish and benthic macroinvertebrate communities did not always follow similar trends with respect to known indicators of stream health, however they may not respond to the environmental stressors in the same way. The fish community may also be driven by local geology and therefore barriers to colonization from the lake due to large changes in elevation (primarily waterfalls). This study was instrumental in gaining an understanding of the stream fish community composition in subwatersheds that have a variety of potential water quality impacts.

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Poster Presentations

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CAYUGA LAKE AND ITS WATERSHED, 1927-­2010

David Ritchey Bouldin drb6@cornell.edu 814 Bradfield Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca NY.

The chemistry of both stream and lake water is described as a calcium-­carbonate system: calcium is the dominant cation and bicarbonate is the dominant anion. Phosphorus is an anion of major interest because it is a factor limiting photosynthesis in Cayuga Lake.

Over 1500 stream and lake samples from 1927-­2011 were assembled in a data base.

Based on temperature, alkalinity and pH, average total inorganic carbon (TIC) in Cayuga Lake was 2.04, 2.00, 2.03 and 2.09 millimols per liter in 1927, 1968, 1972 and 2002, respectively. Tic is an integrated sum of interchange across the water-­air interface, inputs of inorganic and organic carbon in streams, sedimentation, respiration and photosynthesis;; evidently this summation has not changed in an important way.

Many observations illustrate that calcium carbonate precipitates from Cayuga Lake and similar lakes during summer algal blooms. Analysis of lake core samples shows that calcium carbonates are important constituents of sediments over the last several centuries. CaCO3 ion activity products from lake and stream samples were a single function of pH but were not constant as expected if there were a well-­defined crystalline phase in equilibrium with the water.

We found a literature description of a family of apatitic phosphates with variable substitution of carbonate for OH which are more soluble than hydroxyapatite. Soluble reactive phosphorus for most lake samples fell within a zone between apatites containing between 2 and 4% CO2, indicative of substitution of CO3 for OH and/or PO4. These compounds are an attractive hypothetical phosphorus compound for precipitating phosphorus from solution, particularly as the pH is increased by photosynthesis.

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STABLE THERMAL OSCILLATIONS IN COLUMNS OF PARTIALLY SUPERCOOL WATER

James D. Brownridge Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, State University of New York at Binghamton, P.O. Box 6000 Binghamton, New York 13902-­6000, USA Supercooling the water at the bottom of a column of water can effectively increase the rate of heat flow through it from the top to the bottom. Furthermore, verticall

vertically fixed for long periods of time. Temperature fluctuation may exceed 2oC. Background and experimental results:

is subjected to an adverse temperature gradient. Furthermore, the onset of instability may occur as an oscexperimental studies of the phenomenon described by Veronis, heat was supplied from below. Here we cool from below and used either heavy water (D2O) and or sugar as the solute. We show several examples of stable thermal oscillations produced in partially supercooled columns of water configured as shown in fig. 1. The water must be partially supercooled and may or may not have a solute added. If during a run latent heat is released, oscillations abruptly end. The solute may be added before the start of cooling or during cooling. However, the effects are quite different. The oscillations often (but not always) spontaneously appear near the bottom of the column and sometimes move up. Refs. (1) Veronis, G., Effect of a stabilizing gradient of solute on thermal convection, J. Fluid. Mech., 315-­336 (1968). (2) Brownridge, J. D., When does hot water freeze faster then cold water? A search for the Mpemba effect, Am. J. Phys. 79, 78 (2011) (3) Gorman, W. R. and Brownridge, J. D., Vertical movement of isothermal lines in water, J. of Heat Transfer, 131, 064501-­3 (2009) Contact: jdbjdb@binghamton.edu http://www2.binghamton.edu/physics/people/james/index.html

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MONITORING ECOLOGICAL SERVICES IN RIVER RESTORATION PROJECTS: HEAT TRACERS AND HYPORHEIC EXCHANGE

Mike Fay and Dr. Ted Endreny SUNY ESF, Dept. of Environmental Resources Engineering, 106 Baker Labs, 1 Forestry Dr. Syracuse, NY 13210 mifay@syr.edu 315-­436-­0213 Graduate Student Practitioners use a variety of river restoration methods to stabilize channels and improve geomorphic stability. River restoration structures are known to reorganize water surface profiles, which should change riverbed pressure forces and hyporheic exchange fluxes. The hyporheic zone serves as an interface between surface and near-­surface waters in river systems, with important biogeochemical implications attributed to hyporheic flux. Few studies have considered the impact of restoration structures on hyporheic flow. To monitor subsurface changes in hyporheic exchange flux, we use heat tracing of simulated diurnal temperature signals. Our science question investigates whether restoration structures modify hyporheic flow paths and induce deeper subsurface flows downstream than traditional riffle-­pool sequences. The experiment is conducted in the James M. Hassett Laboratory for the Study of Hydrology and Hydraulics at SUNY ESF. We use a 0.3m wide flume with 7m working-­ water loops are employed to maintain consistent and representative flow characteristics (Figure 1). The subsurface flow rate is set based on the permeability of the substrate, determined through bench-­top permeameter experiments in the Hassett Lab. The surface and groundwater flow pumps are run until desired flow rates are achieved (approx. 8 L/s surface;; 0.02 L/s subsurface). The subsurface water temperature remains constant throughout the experiment (approx. 23°C) and the gravel substrate (D50 = 6mm) is common to Central New York streams. We install iButton temperature sensors at discrete vertical depths of the bed (5, 10, and 15cm) to monitor subsurface temperature

-­pool sequence, and then around a series of cross-­vane restoration structures. The location of the sensors will be consistent in each study: in glides of the traditional riffle-­pool scenario and 10cm (longitudinally) from the structures in the cross-­vane set-­100°C) is added at the outlet of the surface supply to ensure the pulse is well mixed when the water reaches the surface inlet. This hot water slug simulates a diurnal signal, as the surface water is heated and moves into the pore spaces of the streambed. Our method attempts to imitate this natural process and use the resulting data to calculate a subsurface, or hyporheic, flux rate. The Hatch Heat Transport Model is adapted to compare the timing of the peak temperatures detected between the surface flow and each instrumented depth. The Hatch Model conceptualizes streambed flux using a vertical temperature record, over a specific time scale (Figure 3). By comparing the timing of each signal, we can determine the magnitude and direction of the hyporheic flow paths. We also estimate hyporheic flux around the structure. Refining field and laboratory methods can advance understanding of complex hydrologic processes. Controlled-­variable laboratory experiments can strengthen both hydrologic research and river restoration design.

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Figure 1

Side view of Armfield S6MkII hydraulic flume set-­up in the James M. Hassett Laboratory for the Study of Hydrology and Hydraulics at SUNY ESF (Adapted from Tian Zhou, SUNY ESF)

Figure 2

Riffle-­pool sequence

Simulated cross-­vane restoration structures

Figure 3

(a) Vertical thermal profile through a saturated substrate. (B) Conceptual graph indicating temperature fluctuations at several depths (points A,B,C) over time. (Adapted from Hatch et

al., 2006)

Peristaltic pump

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DREISSENID MUSSEL INVASION, COLONIZATION, AND IMPACTS TO THE NUTRIENT BUDGET OF CANANDIAGUA LAKE.

Sarah N. Dresson, Paul J. Mysliwizc, Don B. Slentz, Kevin L. Olvany, Bruce A. Gilman. Department of Environmental Conservation and Horticulture, Finger Lakes Community College, 3325 Marvin Sands Drive, Canandaigua, New York 14424. gilmanba@flcc.edu, 585-­785-­1255. Originating in eastern Europe and western Asia (the Black, Caspian and Aral Seas and the Ural River drainage), the dreissenid mussels have been introduced to North America through the discharge of freshwater international shipping ballast water. First found in the Great Lakes, they ultimately entered the Finger Lakes region of New York State. Their negative ecological and economic impacts are well documented from studies in many of the larger lakes.

Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) appeared in Canandaigua Lake around 1995 and quickly dominated the littoral zone attaching to hard, natural and artificial substrates. In 2001, population growth apparently surpassed planktonic food supply and massive quantities of dead zebra mussels appeared along the shoreline. Concurrently, large foam streaks occurred across the lake surface and total phosphorus concentrations in the water column nearly doubled. The next year, surviving zebra mussels recolonized, reaching densities of over 11,000/m2 during the summer of 2002.

Quagga mussels (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) appeared in Canandaigua Lake around 2008 and quickly dominated the profundal zone and portions of the littoral zone. Dredges samples collected in 2011 at several sites and water depths revealed densities of nearly 40,000/m2. During their three years of colonization, total phosphorus levels reached historic lows for our 20 years of record.

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ONE FISH TWO FISH, R STUDY OF THE CORRELATION BETWEEN MACROINVERTEBRATE STREAM QUALITY TESTS AND FISH COMMUNITY DYNAMICS.

Elijah T. Gleason and Dr. Susan F. Cushman Department of Biology and the Finger Lakes Institute, Hobart and William Smith Colleges Undergraduate Student Watershed health is of paramount concern especially in the Finger Lakes region. In New York there are two main tests (Percent Model Affinity and Biotic Index) used to show a streams health. Both utilize stream benthic macroinvertebrate communities to rate the streams on their impact level. Fish community dynamics (FCD) and benthic macroinvertebrates (BMI) are closely related due to trophic interactions. As a result an impact indicated by the PMA or BI tests should show some correlating effect on FCD. Further, this correlation should be predictable based upon the results of either the PMA or BI test. To test this, ten streams around Seneca Lake were sampled. Macroinvertebrates were collected and the PMA and BI impact level was calculated for each stream. Fish were collected from a 75-­meter stretch of each stream using an electro fisher and Simpsons, Shannon-­Weaver, and Species Richness indexes were calculated for each site. The fish data was sorted into impacted and non-­impacted sites and tested using t-­tests. The objective of this study was to elucidate the connection between stream macroinvertebrate indicators of water quality and the community dynamics of the stream fish in the Seneca Lake watershed. This was done in the hopes that it would tell a more complete picture of the health of the Seneca Lake basin. It was found that there is some correlation between BMI indicators and FCD. PMA sorted data showed significant differences (p<0.05, p<0.05) while BI sorted data showed marginal differences (p=0.06, p=0.07). It was indicated that impacted streams tended to have both a higher diversity and a similar number of individuals in each species. However much of this correlation can be explained by other factors besides water quality such as the amount and type of habitat for fish and macroinvertebrates, the size of the stream, and the connectivity to the lake. This suggests that there are other important factors that must be taken into account when assessing stream health using either fish or macroinvertebrate communities.

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NUTRIENT LOADING IN THE SENECA AND OWASCO WATERSHEDS.

John D. Halfman, Emily G. Cummings (WS , Maggie M. Stewart (WS Hobart and William Smith Colleges Owasco Lake is critical to the local agricultural and tourism-­based economy. It also supplies Class AA drinking water to ~44,000 people. Its water quality however has consistently ranked as one of worst Finger Lakes over the past decade compared to the eight easternmost Finger Lakes. Two streams, Dutch Hollow Brook and Owasco Inlet, which collectively drain 70% of the watershed, were sampled during the spring, summer and fall of 2011 to delineate point and non-­point nutrient sources and the impact of seasonality and precipitation events on the delivery of nutrients to the lake. With a residence time of 1-­3 years, the lake is quick to pollute but also it is quick to improve if proper remediation efforts are employed.

Eight sites within the Dutch Hollow Brook watershed and ten sites within the Owasco Inlet watershed were sampled every two weeks starting in March through the end of October. Stream water was analyzed on-­site for temperature, pH, conductivity, alkalinity, dissolved oxygen and stream discharge. A few discharge measurements were not collected during in the early spring, because spring floods made the stream at that site unsafe to wade across. Additional water was collected and analyzed in the laboratory for total phosphates, soluble reactive phosphates, dissolved silica and nitrates following standard limnological techniques using a spectrophotometer, and total suspended solids by weight gain after filtration through pre-­weighed glass fiber filters (0.45 um pore size).

A Teledyne ISCO 6712 Portable Water Sampler (R2D2) was installed near the terminus of Dutch Hollow Brook to quantify nutrient fluxes to the lake and relative contributions of event and base-­flow conditions. The sampler was programmed to autonomously collect 1-­L of water every 8 hours from early June through the end of October. The sampler was serviced weekly, and each water sample was analyzed in the lab for pH, conductivity, alkalinity, total phosphates, soluble reactive phosphates, total suspended solids, dissolved silica and nitrates following identical techniques. In addition, two In-­Situ Aqua Troll 200 data loggers were installed at the same location to record stream stage, water temperature, and specific conductance (salinity) every hour from early March through the end of October. The stage data were compared to the measured discharge every two weeks at the site and USGS gauge data for both stage and discharge on Owasco Inlet. The comparison provided a rating curve for Dutch Hollow Brook.

Our preliminary findings indicate that total phosphate (TP), soluble reactive phosphate (SRP), total suspended solid (TSS), and conductivity were generally larger at the Benson tributary and South tributary sites in the Dutch Hollow Brook watershed and at Aurora Street and County Line sites in the Owasco Inlet watershed than other sample sites in each watershed. In contrast, concentrations and fluxes were generally lowest at Mill and Fillmore Creeks, and both creeks flow into Owasco Inlet. The Benson and South sites drain agriculturally-­rich landscapes whereas the Mill and Fillmore Creeks drain predominantly forested landscapes. The Aurora and County Line sites are just downstream of the municipal wastewater facilities. Thus, runoff from agricultural land and effluent from wastewater facilities are major nutrient sources in the Owasco watershed.

As expected, total phosphate (TP), soluble reactive phosphate (SRP), and total suspended solid (TSS) concentrations increased and conductivity decreased during the largest runoff events recorded by stream stage. The trends suggest a link between the stage/discharge of the river, TP, SRP, and TSS as long as the

generate runoff over the landscape and down the stream. Daily precipitation data from a nearby weather station showed that pulses in stage correlate to rain events, though in a sub-­linear fashion.

Flux calculations and a more detailed look at the data as well as a comparison to the Seneca Lake watershed are under development.

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A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF BLACK BEAR TRAILS AND SIGN.

Alyssa Johnson and John VanNiel Department of Environmental Conservation and Horticulture, Finger Lakes Community College, 3325 Marvin Sands Drive, Canandaigua, NY 14424. Undergraduate Student The Black Bear Management class at Finger Lakes Community College studied a particular type of black bear (Ursus americanus) behavior during the 2010-­11 school year. We were interested in better understanding the characteristics and potential purposes of trails (or ground markings) left by black bears in which the bears step directly into the same footfalls each time. These markings, referred to as ritual, hot foot or retread trails, consist of readily visible circular depressions. We found mention in popular and scientific literature of both grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) and black bears creating such markings, however we were unable to find any quantitative work regarding the characteristics and creation of the markings. In July, the class travelled to Massachusetts under a National Science Foundation grant to view an active set of markings. We noted the abundance of associated sign at the ground marking site including bites, scratches, rubs and straddle trees. Camera traps were deployed in an attempt to record frequency and timing of use. We measured the stride and straddle of the trails and found that these trails did not conform to the measurements one would expect from a bear walking "normally", implying that these trails are formed while bears are employing a deliberately altered gait.

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MERCURY LEVELS IN SMALL FISH: DO YOU KNWATERSHED?

Ryan Kincaid and Dr. Lisa B. Cleckner Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges Undergraduate Student

Ingestion of fish with high mercury (Hg) levels can result in a number of deleterious health effects in humans including poor performance on neurobehavioral tests. In addition, wildlife such as loons and mink that typically consume a lot of fish in their diet are adversely affected by high Hg concentrations. Consequently, fish consumption advisories have been issued in a number of states including NY (NYSDOH 2011). The primary objective of this research was to develop a standard operating procedure (SOP) for Hg testing and fish sample analysis using a Milestone Direct Mercury Analyzer (DMA-­80) at the Finger Lakes Institute (FLI). A secondary objective was to analyze Hg concentrations in blacknose dace, a ubiquitous small fish, collected from ten tributaries in the Seneca Lake watershed to determine if there are differences in fish Hg levels among the ten sampled tributaries. The DMA-­80 Hg system is established and running at the FLI with a precise and accurate SOP for analyzing fish and other solid phase samples. Preliminary analyses show that, in general, higher fish Hg concentrations were found in sampled tributaries at the northern and southern ends of the watershed, but data analysis is ongoing. Finally, blacknose dace appears to be an excellent indicator fish species for monitoring spatial and temporal Hg levels since they are found at every sampled site, show differences in Hg concentrations among sites, typically live about three years, have a relatively small home range, and are eaten by larger fish such as trout.

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SENECA LAKE STATE PARK ENHANCEMENT PROJECT

Katherine Marino Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY (585) 260-­3990 Katherine.Marino@hws.edu Undergraduate Student Introduction My 2011 HWS Summer Science Research Project, sponsored by the Finger Lake Institute, focused on the proposed enhancement of the Seneca Lake State Park nature area, which consists of a wooded, marshy area, a nature trail, and a small pond. The project has two main foci: to enhance the quality of wildlife and plant habitat within the nature area and to increase the recreational and educational uses of the park. The information gathered from various biological surveys provides a reference point as enhancement of the nature area continues and offers opportunity to further utilize the area for environmentally focused educational activities. Biological surveys included fish, birds, macrophytes, mammals, and trees and shrubs. Through my time working on this project I gained valuable experience performing fieldwork, lab work, and working in collaboration with State Park staff members. During my research I learned about wetland restoration, environmental education, and invasive plant species control methods.

Background

Zatwarnicki began the project as her Senior Integrative Experience (SIE) for Environmental Studies and completed phase I in Fall 2010, focusing primarily on the history of the park land use. With this information she drew conclusions as to how to potentially enhance the nature area to provide improved wildlife habitat and educational use. In the Spring 2011 semester, Katrina Carey continued the project as an independent study and began creating a pre-­restoration inventory of the area in order to implement a Before-­After-­Control-­Impact (BACI) assessment.

Educational Signs Near the beginning of this summer two different signs were created explaining the enhancement of the nature area, the research taking place there, and the cooperation between the Finger Lake Institute, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and the State Parks. Five of these signs are now installed on the nature trail and near to the nature area. These signs not only explain the expansion, enhancement, and research happening in the nature area, but also provide pointers to the trail entrances, which were previously unmarked. One additional sign was designed from the information gathered on the morning bird survey. This poster incorporates photos of seven different commonly seen bird species and brief descriptions of their habitats, behaviors, diets, and other notable attributes. The sign is now installed next on the nature trail next to the pond.

HWS Orientation Day of Service In their final papers and presentations, both Carey and Zatwarnicki discussed the importance of invasive species removal to the success of the project, in particular Buckthorn and Purple Loosestrife. In order to address this issue, the Finger Lake Institute, the park, and the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning (CCESL) collaborated to have a group of first-­year students go to the park as part of the orientation day of service on August 27, 2011. After discussing potential ideas for the project with botanist Jim Engel, Natural Resource Steward Biologist Tom Hughes, and Park Manager Steven Garlick, it was concluded that the most feasible and beneficial project to attempt during orientation would be a purple loosestrife removal and

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grapevine control. This type of service project not only aids in the ecological enhancement process, but also creates connections between Hobart and William Smith students and the Geneva community while simultaneously spreading knowledge about the issue of invasive species control.

Future of the Project There are numerous ways this project can be continued by future students, including additional biological surveys (both new surveys and repeated surveys to gather more comprehensive data), more educational signs and materials for the park, more invasive species removal, native seed plantings, nest box installations, educational field trips, and community service events. The future of the project should be geared toward the

In this way, the project can continue to provide a stimulating and educational experience for future research students as well as maintain a mutually supportive and beneficial relationship with the State Park.

Acknowledgements I owe many thanks to my research advisor Sarah Meyer, community outreach coordinator at the Finger Lakes Institute, for her guidance and support throughout this project;; and to Dr. Susan Cushman, professor of biology at HWS, for her help during lab work and fieldwork. I would also like to thank Tom Hughes, NYS Parks Natural Resource Steward Biologist, Steven Garlick, Seneca Lake State Park Manager, and Sue Poelvoorde, NYS Parks Natural Resources Planner, for their continued help and support. Lastly I would like to thank Jim Engle and Jim Norwalk for their help with the biological surveys and Bruce Gilman for lending me equipment for the hoop net survey. References Bitgood, Stephen. (2000). The role of attention in designing effective interpretive labels. Journal of Interpretation Research, 5. Carey, Katrina L. (2011). A Better Home: Enhancing the Ecological Resources at Seneca Lake State Park, Geneva, NY. Geneva NY: Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Zatwarnicki, Katelyn. (2010). Ecological Restoration of Seneca Lake State Park. Geneva NY: Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

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INCORPORATING STREAM MONITORING INTO A MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE CURRICULUM

Scott Gardner, Jim Murphy Watkins Glen Middle School 8th grade Science Teacher Coordinator, 5-­8 Science 200 N. 10th St., Watkins Glen, NY 14891 jimurphy@wgcsd.org (607) 535-­3230 Eighth grade students at the Watkins Glen Middle School have been conducting a Biotic Index in Glen Creek since 2006. Such an investigation has allowed the science curriculum to expand to include the following: 1. Field biology that involves stream sampling techniques 2. Analysis of data using Excel spreadsheets and graphs 3. Microphotography of the aquatic macroinvertebrates captured 4. Geospatial analysis of the watershed allowing us to correlate land uses with water quality as well as providing a visual understanding of where the water at our monitoring site originates and its ultimate pathway to the ocean

The Finger Lakes Stream Monitoring Network allows students to compare our data with other schools throughout the Finger Lakes region, effectively expanding the neighborhood of our inquiry.

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A MASTER OF SCIENCE IN LAKE MANAGEMENT: A NEW PROGRAM FOR AN EMERGING DISCIPLINE

Donna W. Vogler and Willard N. Harman Biology Department, State University of New York, College at Oneonta, Oneonta NY 13820 voglerd@oneonta.edu Tel. (607) 436-­3703 Dr. Donna Vogler is Associate Professor and Chair of the Biology Department Dr. Willard Harman is Distinguished Service Professor and Rufus J. Thayer Chair for Otsego Lake Research The complexities of environmental and societal factors that impact lake systems are driving lake associations and municipalities to seek professional management of vital aquatic resources. One route towards professional certification is the NALMS Certified Lake Manager (CLM) designation, requiring both academic coursework and practical training managing lakes. In response to this demand the Biology Department at SUNY Oneonta is now offering a Master of Science degree in Lake Management beginning fall semester of 2011. Degree recipients will meet the requirements to apply for certification as Lake Manager (CLM) by the North American Lake Management Society (NALMS). The program includes 32 hours of theory with closely aligned field and laboratory experiences, as well as thesis research involving the development and implementation of a lake management plan and monitoring of short-­term responses. Admission to the program will require a baccalaureate, including undergraduate courses in the natural sciences, communications, business, government and statistics. It is expected applicants may have a diversity of widely varying technical and liberal arts backgrounds. Those deficient in undergraduate requirements may be accepted provisionally on the condition that such deficiencies are made up over the course of graduate study. Information on this program will be presented, but potential students may also contact Bill Harman, CLM, SUNY Oneonta Biological Field Station, harmanwn@oneonta.edu or www.oneonta.edu/academics/biology.

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FINGER LAKES STREAM MONITORING NETWORK: THE TALE OF CASTLE CREEK

Derek Weiss, Jordan Youngmann, Dr. Susan Cushman and Dr. Lisa Cleckner Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges Finger Lakes Institute Summer Research Scientist 3977 Scandling Center, Geneva NY, 14456 Derek.weiss@hws.edu (802)6886636 Undergraduate Student The Finger Lakes Institute (FLI) is continuing an initiative to promote education and awareness about the health of local stream ecosystems that drain into the Finger Lakes. The Finger Lakes Stream Monitoring Network (FLSMN) is a program that allows local citizens and schools to get involved with monitoring the health of these vital ecosystems. The FLI monitors 21 streams throughout the Finger Lakes watershed in order to get an accurate representation of overall stream health (Figure 1). In order to observe changes in stream health parameters, a baseline set of data on the streams is necessary. Additionally, classes and citizen scientists alike have to be trained in proper stream monitoring protocols and sampling methods. In addition to this baseline data compilation, the impact of urban land use on stream health was investigated in a case study of Castle Creek, which runs through the heart of downtown Geneva. Five sample sites were evaluated to analyze this impact. Stream health was measured through analysis of benthic macroinvertebrates as bioindicator species (Hodkinson et al., 2005). Percent Model Affinity (PMA) (Bode et al 1992), Biotic Index Score, EPT Percentage, and Shannon-­Weaver Indices were used to analyze biotic data. These four indices of stream health returned various results, but all pointed towards a decline in stream health with increasing urbanization.

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THE FINGER LAKES STREAM MONITORING NETWORK: THE STATE OF THE UNION

Jordan Youngmann, Dr. Susan Cushman, and Dr. Lisa Cleckner Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 601 S. Main St., Geneva, NY 14456 Youngmann@hws.edu, (315) 781-­4386 Project Manager, Finger Lakes Institute The Finger Lakes Stream Monitoring Network (FLSMN) was organized to provide field-­based environmental education that served both as a hands-­on introduction to research methods in stream monitoring as well as a citizen science program that could provide a larger understand of overall water health in the region. After two years of activity, an assessment of data collected was conducted to analyze 1) the power of the monitoring

were compiled by both the Finger Lakes Institute staff during baseline data collection and by individual classrooms using the protocols for monitoring and educational purposes. An initial analysis of macroinvertebrate monitoring protocols revealed that Percent Model Affinity (PMA) and Biotic Index (BI) tests follow similar trends across streams. The data shows a negative relationship between PMA and chloride content (r2=0.26) and a positive relationship between BI and chloride (r2=0.45). Increased dissolved oxygen shows a decrease in impact levels in both PMA and BI across streams sites. However, comparisons between both biotic indices and other chemical parameters (pH, nitrate, and temperature) show no significant relationship. This is also true when physical variables such as discharge, eroded bank, and undercut bank are compared to both macroinvertebrate analyses. Using a rubric of 4 impact levels (no impact, slight impact, moderate impact, and severe impact), both tests matched in their assessment for 10 out of the 18 streams and were within one level of each other for all but 2 of the streams. Four streams showed no impact, 3 were slightly impacted, and 3 were moderately impacted for both the PMA and BI. Only two streams showed severe impact (Castle Creek and Fish Creek) by PMA, while the Biotic Index showed only moderate impact. All other streams

stream health displays a range of impacts across the region and potential problems stemming from chloride and oxygen levels in the streams. However, further comparisons of combined physical and chemical parameters may show deeper influences at work.

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Notes