Using national scale data to quantify ecological subsidies and assess biological condition

Fluxes of material and energy between adjacent ecosystems can have profound implications. Many insects undergo development in aquatic ecosystems and then metamorphose into winged-terrestrial adults. Upon entering the terrestrial ecosystem, these insects become a valuable food source for terrestrial consumers or contribute to nutrient pools as detritus.  Several chapters from my dissertation focused on elucidating factors that could drive geographical variation in the quantity of insects emerging from rivers and streams of the contiguous United States. Among several potential factors, I demonstrated that components of stream network geometry can influence the configuration of aquatic insect deposition and that trait composition of stream macroinvertebrate assemblages could influence the duration and extent. Because stream network geometry and trait composition varies across large spatial scales, this could drive large scale patterns in linkages between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

Impact/Purpose

This presentation provides an overview of my research on aquatic-terrestrial linkages. Fluxes of material and energy between adjacent ecosystems can have profound implications. Many insects undergo development in aquatic ecosystems and then metamorphose into winged-terrestrial adults. Several chapters from my dissertation focused on elucidating the factors that could drive geographical variation in the quantity of insects emerging from rivers and streams of the contiguous United States and the potential implications for insectivorous birds. Benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages collected by the National Rivers and Streams Assessment and the National Hydrography Dataset Plus were two data products that made this research possible. By presenting research from my dissertation to the participants of the SystemsLink working group, I will introduce an international audience to these unparalleled datasets that are collected and maintained by the EPA and partners. 

Citation

Kopp, D. Using national scale data to quantify ecological subsidies and assess biological condition. SystemsLink Working group on aquatic-terrestrial interactions, Landau, Rhineland, GERMANY, November 11 - 15, 2024.