NTRES 4560

Stream Ecology

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2023-2024.

Lecture examines patterns and processes in stream ecosystems, including geomorphology and hydrology, watershed-stream interactions, trophic dynamics, biogeochemistry, disturbance, and conservation and management. Field and laboratory exercises focus on experimental and analytical techniques used to study stream ecosystems, including techniques to measure stream discharge, physical habitat, water chemistry, and stream biota. Field project with lab papers.

When Offered Fall.

Prerequisites/Corequisites Prerequisite: BIOEE 1610 or permission of instructor.

Comments During the required field trip, students will travel to stream sites from the headwaters of the Susquehanna River basin to its mainstem, evaluating how the stream environment and biota shift from upstream to downstream. This field experience will complement the field lab exercises and lecture topics, helping students to enrich their understanding of stream ecology across the landscape. Not offered every year.

• Students will understand the morphology and classification of streams based on channel formation and characteristics of stream networks and watersheds.
• Students will understand the basic chemical and physical dynamics of stream ecosystems.
• Students will be familiar with the important organic matter sources that fuel running water ecosystems.
• Students will understand the major longitudinal, vertical, and lateral linkages that connect streams to the surrounding land- and riverscape.
• Students will gain knowledge and appreciation of the tremendous diversity of stream ecosystems found around the world, along with basic characteristics that distinguish them.
• Students will learn common groups of stream biota including fish, invertebrates, and stream algae.
• Students will gain knowledge of the importance of different biotic interactions and abiotic factors that shape patterns and processes in stream ecosystems.
• Students will learn basic conceptual models that link stream ecosystem structure and function.
• Students will gain basic knowledge of stream conservation biology, factors contributing to degradation of stream environments, and strategies for the restoration of damaged running water ecosystems.
• Students will conduct field and lab exercises throughout the course to familiarize them with methods for collecting and analyzing stream ecological data. Students will engage in a semester-long project in which they set up a field experiment, collect and analyze samples from their experiment, and summarize and interpret experimental results.

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