Pub Date : 2014-06-01DOI: 10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.2.0084
K. Keller, R. Fritz, Carlie M. Zoubek, E. Kennedy, Katherine A. Cronin, E. S. Rothwell, T. Serfass
The relocation of animals can induce stress when animals are placed in novel environmental conditions. The movement of captive animals among facilities is common, especially for non-human primates used in research. The stress response begins with the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis which results in the release of glucocorticoid hormones (GC), which at chronic levels could lead to deleterious physiological effects. There is a substantial body of data concerning GC levels and reproduction, and rank and aggression in primates. However, the effect of transport has received much less attention. Fecal samples from eight (four male and four female) captive-bred cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) were collected at four different time points (two pre-transport and two post-transport). The fecal samples were analyzed using an immunoassay to determine GC levels. A repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) demonstrated that GC levels differed among transport times (p = 0.009), but not between sexes (p = 0.963). Five of the eight tamarins exhibited an increase in GC levels after transport. Seven of the eight tamarins exhibited a decrease in GC levels from three to six days post-transport to three weeks post-transport. Most values returned to pre- transport levels after three weeks. The results indicate that these tamarins experienced elevated GC levels following transport, but these increases were of short duration. This outcome would suggest that the negative effects of elevated GC levels were also of short duration.
{"title":"Effects of Transport on Fecal Glucocorticoid Levels in Captive-Bred Cotton-Top Tamarins (Sanguinus oedipus)","authors":"K. Keller, R. Fritz, Carlie M. Zoubek, E. Kennedy, Katherine A. Cronin, E. S. Rothwell, T. Serfass","doi":"10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.2.0084","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.2.0084","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The relocation of animals can induce stress when animals are placed in novel environmental conditions. The movement of captive animals among facilities is common, especially for non-human primates used in research. The stress response begins with the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis which results in the release of glucocorticoid hormones (GC), which at chronic levels could lead to deleterious physiological effects. There is a substantial body of data concerning GC levels and reproduction, and rank and aggression in primates. However, the effect of transport has received much less attention. Fecal samples from eight (four male and four female) captive-bred cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) were collected at four different time points (two pre-transport and two post-transport). The fecal samples were analyzed using an immunoassay to determine GC levels. A repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) demonstrated that GC levels differed among transport times (p = 0.009), but not between sexes (p = 0.963). Five of the eight tamarins exhibited an increase in GC levels after transport. Seven of the eight tamarins exhibited a decrease in GC levels from three to six days post-transport to three weeks post-transport. Most values returned to pre- transport levels after three weeks. The results indicate that these tamarins experienced elevated GC levels following transport, but these increases were of short duration. This outcome would suggest that the negative effects of elevated GC levels were also of short duration.","PeriodicalId":85037,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70853570","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2014-06-01DOI: 10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.2.0101
J. Huffman, D. Roscoe
A black bear (Ursus americanus) cub with signs of neurological disease was captured in West Milford, NJ. The animal died in captivity and was examined because of suspected rabies. At necropsy, the lungs were reddened and noncollapsed and had multiple pale round foci. Foci of necrosis were associated with Toxoplasma gondii cysts and tachyzoites in several organs. Rabies antigen was not detected.
{"title":"Fatal Disseminated Toxoplasmosis in a Black Bear Cub","authors":"J. Huffman, D. Roscoe","doi":"10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.2.0101","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.2.0101","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 A black bear (Ursus americanus) cub with signs of neurological disease was captured in West Milford, NJ. The animal died in captivity and was examined because of suspected rabies. At necropsy, the lungs were reddened and noncollapsed and had multiple pale round foci. Foci of necrosis were associated with Toxoplasma gondii cysts and tachyzoites in several organs. Rabies antigen was not detected.","PeriodicalId":85037,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70854146","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2014-06-01DOI: 10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.2.0076
Dennis C. Ebersole, Sharon Lee-Bond
Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) talent is in high demand with changes in the global workforce and economic growth trends. Community colleges can serve as a bridge of opportunities by recruiting, retaining and preparing students for careers in the STEM fields. However, different financial, personal, and academic challenges exist for community college students. The SMaRT Scholars for Success Program at Northampton Community College is an example of how to help students achieve academic success, engage in a community of learners, transfer to 4-year institutions, and explore STEM career pathways. Many reports have indicated the need for more students, especially under-represented groups such as women and minorities, to enter the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) pipeline to keep the United States competitive in a global marketplace. Predictions for job growth show that STEM jobs will grow at a higher rate than non-STEM fields. The Economics and Statistics Administration of the Department of Commerce (2011) states “Over the past 10 years, growth in STEM jobs was three times as fast as growth in non-STEM jobs.” According to the National Science Board in 2010 only 10% of U. S. science and engineering workers were members of a historically under-represented racial or ethnic group, even though they comprised 26% of the population (National Science Board, 2014). In addition, most STEM disciplines do not attract women in the ratios equal to their numbers in the population as a whole. In 2010 women comprised 28% of the science and engineering workforce, even though they represented half of all college-educated workers according to the National Science Board. Many businesses have to look abroad for employees with the education and skills they need. These businesses have to pay the government for the right to bring in these foreign employees. The National Science Foundation (NSF) uses these monies to fund the Scholarships for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program. As a funding opportunity with the Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE), the S-STEM program “provides grants to selected institutions of higher education to support scholarships for academically talented students demonstrating financial need, enabling them to enter the STEM workforce or STEM graduate school following completion of an associate, baccalaureate, or graduate-level degree in science, technology, engineering or mathematics disciplines.” The goal of the S-STEM program is to increase the recruitment and retention of STEM majors, especially among under-represented groups. Northampton Community College received a five-year S-STEM grant in 2007, the SMaRT (Science, Mathematics, and Related Technologies) Scholars for Success Program with DUE Grant 0728464. This grant had three objectives centered on (1) Recruitment, (2) Retention, and (3) Career and Transfer Services. The lessons learned from this grant were used to
{"title":"The SMaRT Scholars for Success Program– Preparing Community College Students for Careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics","authors":"Dennis C. Ebersole, Sharon Lee-Bond","doi":"10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.2.0076","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.2.0076","url":null,"abstract":"Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) talent is in high demand with changes in the global workforce and economic growth trends. Community colleges can serve as a bridge of opportunities by recruiting, retaining and preparing students for careers in the STEM fields. However, different financial, personal, and academic challenges exist for community college students. The SMaRT Scholars for Success Program at Northampton Community College is an example of how to help students achieve academic success, engage in a community of learners, transfer to 4-year institutions, and explore STEM career pathways. Many reports have indicated the need for more students, especially under-represented groups such as women and minorities, to enter the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) pipeline to keep the United States competitive in a global marketplace. Predictions for job growth show that STEM jobs will grow at a higher rate than non-STEM fields. The Economics and Statistics Administration of the Department of Commerce (2011) states “Over the past 10 years, growth in STEM jobs was three times as fast as growth in non-STEM jobs.” According to the National Science Board in 2010 only 10% of U. S. science and engineering workers were members of a historically under-represented racial or ethnic group, even though they comprised 26% of the population (National Science Board, 2014). In addition, most STEM disciplines do not attract women in the ratios equal to their numbers in the population as a whole. In 2010 women comprised 28% of the science and engineering workforce, even though they represented half of all college-educated workers according to the National Science Board. Many businesses have to look abroad for employees with the education and skills they need. These businesses have to pay the government for the right to bring in these foreign employees. The National Science Foundation (NSF) uses these monies to fund the Scholarships for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program. As a funding opportunity with the Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE), the S-STEM program “provides grants to selected institutions of higher education to support scholarships for academically talented students demonstrating financial need, enabling them to enter the STEM workforce or STEM graduate school following completion of an associate, baccalaureate, or graduate-level degree in science, technology, engineering or mathematics disciplines.” The goal of the S-STEM program is to increase the recruitment and retention of STEM majors, especially among under-represented groups. Northampton Community College received a five-year S-STEM grant in 2007, the SMaRT (Science, Mathematics, and Related Technologies) Scholars for Success Program with DUE Grant 0728464. This grant had three objectives centered on (1) Recruitment, (2) Retention, and (3) Career and Transfer Services. The lessons learned from this grant were used to ","PeriodicalId":85037,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70853910","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2014-06-01DOI: 10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.2.0095
Sasha Lisowski, N. Chinnici, J. Huffman
The microbiology of animal bite wound infections is often polymicrobial. Black bear attacks have been a rare occurrence in the past and with few published studies on their oral flora, the bacteria present in black bear bite wounds is largely unknown. This study examines the oral and nasal aerobic bacteria from research trapped bears in northwestern New Jersey during June 2014. Oral swabs from the buccal and lingual supragingival tooth surfaces and nasal swabs from 22 black bears were plated onto Tryptic Soy Agar (TSA), Eosin Methylene Blue agar (EMB), and Columbia Nalidixic Acid agar (CNA) for bacterial isolation. Twelve aerobic bacterial species were identified from the oral and nasal samples. The most frequently isolated bacteria were Bacillus sp., Klebsiella oxytoca, Micrococcus luteus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus epidermidis. The diversity in the aerobic oral and nasal flora of black bears in New Jersey suggests the importance of including these organisms in basic health risk assessment protocols and suggests a potential tool for assessment of bear/habitat interactions. To evaluate the role of black bears in the spread of antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli, oral, nasal and anal samples were collected from eight black bears (two sows and six cubs). Antibiotic resistance was measured for tetracycline and streptomycin. E.coli resistance for tetracycline and streptomycin was 7%.
动物咬伤感染的微生物通常是多微生物。在过去,黑熊攻击人的事件很少发生,而且关于黑熊口腔菌群的研究也很少发表,因此黑熊咬伤伤口中的细菌在很大程度上是未知的。本研究检测了2014年6月在新泽西州西北部捕获的熊的口腔和鼻腔需氧细菌。将22只黑熊口腔和舌上牙表面的口腔拭子和鼻拭子分别涂于Tryptic Soy Agar (TSA)、Eosin亚甲基蓝Agar (EMB)和Columbia Nalidixic Acid Agar (CNA)上进行细菌分离。从口腔和鼻腔样本中鉴定出12种需氧细菌。分离最多的细菌为芽孢杆菌、氧化克雷伯菌、黄体微球菌、铜绿假单胞菌和表皮葡萄球菌。新泽西州黑熊需氧口腔和鼻腔菌群的多样性表明,将这些生物纳入基本健康风险评估方案的重要性,并提出了评估熊/栖息地相互作用的潜在工具。为了评估黑熊在耐抗生素大肠杆菌传播中的作用,研究人员采集了8只黑熊(2只母猪和6只幼崽)的口腔、鼻腔和肛门样本。测定了四环素和链霉素的耐药性。大肠杆菌对四环素和链霉素的耐药率为7%。
{"title":"Aerobic Oral and Nasal Bacteria in New Jersey Black Bears (Ursus americanus) with a Report on Antibiotic Susceptibility of Escherichia coli","authors":"Sasha Lisowski, N. Chinnici, J. Huffman","doi":"10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.2.0095","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.2.0095","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The microbiology of animal bite wound infections is often polymicrobial. Black bear attacks have been a rare occurrence in the past and with few published studies on their oral flora, the bacteria present in black bear bite wounds is largely unknown. This study examines the oral and nasal aerobic bacteria from research trapped bears in northwestern New Jersey during June 2014. Oral swabs from the buccal and lingual supragingival tooth surfaces and nasal swabs from 22 black bears were plated onto Tryptic Soy Agar (TSA), Eosin Methylene Blue agar (EMB), and Columbia Nalidixic Acid agar (CNA) for bacterial isolation. Twelve aerobic bacterial species were identified from the oral and nasal samples. The most frequently isolated bacteria were Bacillus sp., Klebsiella oxytoca, Micrococcus luteus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus epidermidis. The diversity in the aerobic oral and nasal flora of black bears in New Jersey suggests the importance of including these organisms in basic health risk assessment protocols and suggests a potential tool for assessment of bear/habitat interactions. To evaluate the role of black bears in the spread of antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli, oral, nasal and anal samples were collected from eight black bears (two sows and six cubs). Antibiotic resistance was measured for tetracycline and streptomycin. E.coli resistance for tetracycline and streptomycin was 7%.","PeriodicalId":85037,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70854057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2014-03-01DOI: 10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.1.0063
M. Hufner, S. Reese, K. Yee, M. McTammany
In 2009 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service began stocking young American eel into Buffalo Creek, a small agriculturally impacted stream that feeds into the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. The freshwater mussel Elliptio complanata is known to have higher success rates completing its life cycle using American eel as the host fish for its glochidia (Lellis et al. 2013). The objective of this study was to determine if the American eel will affect mussel populations within their first 5 years of reintroduction into Buffalo Creek and hopes to be a baseline study for future research. A total of ten sites were randomly distributed throughout Buffalo Creek with each site consisting of four 5m x 5m quadrants. In the first year of the study (2012) most mussels found were large E. complanata adults indicating that they had been present before the eel reintroduction. In 2013 we recorded almost twice as many mussels as last year and four new species (Strophitus undulates, Lampsilis cariosa, Alasmidonta marginata, and Villosa iris).
{"title":"Mussel Population and Distribution on Buffalo Creek, an American Eel Stocked Tributary to the West Branch Susquehanna River","authors":"M. Hufner, S. Reese, K. Yee, M. McTammany","doi":"10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.1.0063","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.1.0063","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 In 2009 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service began stocking young American eel into Buffalo Creek, a small agriculturally impacted stream that feeds into the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. The freshwater mussel Elliptio complanata is known to have higher success rates completing its life cycle using American eel as the host fish for its glochidia (Lellis et al. 2013). The objective of this study was to determine if the American eel will affect mussel populations within their first 5 years of reintroduction into Buffalo Creek and hopes to be a baseline study for future research. A total of ten sites were randomly distributed throughout Buffalo Creek with each site consisting of four 5m x 5m quadrants. In the first year of the study (2012) most mussels found were large E. complanata adults indicating that they had been present before the eel reintroduction. In 2013 we recorded almost twice as many mussels as last year and four new species (Strophitus undulates, Lampsilis cariosa, Alasmidonta marginata, and Villosa iris).","PeriodicalId":85037,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70853943","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2014-03-01DOI: 10.1515/9781644691373-002
A. Lachhab, C. Iudica
{"title":"Forward","authors":"A. Lachhab, C. Iudica","doi":"10.1515/9781644691373-002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/9781644691373-002","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":85037,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/9781644691373-002","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66852097","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2014-03-01DOI: 10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.1.0040
Mel C. Zimmerman, L. Dooley
The object of this study was to describe and determine the water quality of the Lower West Branch of the Susquehanna River between Lock Haven and Sunbury. Sites were selected in relation to location of sewage treatment plants along this stretch of river. Water chemistry data (pH, alkalinity, nitrate nitrogen, nitrite nitrogen, dissolved oxygen, temperature, conductivity, orthophosphorus, total phosphorus, total dissolved solids, and turbidity) are presented from 2005 to 2013. Macroinvertebrate kick samples were collected from sample sites in the summer of 2013. These data were subjected to the EPA Rapid Bioassessment Protocol II (RBA-Family Level), Hillsenhoff Biotic Index and Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index in an attempt to describe water quality. All nine of the sewage treatment plants in this section of the river have made improvements to address discharge and combined sewer overflows (CSO's) concerns in the last decade. The overall quality of the water appears to have improved as a number of Chesapeake Bay Initiatives on sewage treatment plants has taken place. Noticeable success of the new standards for sewage treatment plants that have been or are currently being upgraded will need continued monitoring to demonstrate overall water quality improvements.
{"title":"Water Quality Assessment of the Lower West Branch – Susquehanna River: Focus on Sewage Treatment","authors":"Mel C. Zimmerman, L. Dooley","doi":"10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.1.0040","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.1.0040","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The object of this study was to describe and determine the water quality of the Lower West Branch of the Susquehanna River between Lock Haven and Sunbury. Sites were selected in relation to location of sewage treatment plants along this stretch of river. Water chemistry data (pH, alkalinity, nitrate nitrogen, nitrite nitrogen, dissolved oxygen, temperature, conductivity, orthophosphorus, total phosphorus, total dissolved solids, and turbidity) are presented from 2005 to 2013. Macroinvertebrate kick samples were collected from sample sites in the summer of 2013. These data were subjected to the EPA Rapid Bioassessment Protocol II (RBA-Family Level), Hillsenhoff Biotic Index and Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index in an attempt to describe water quality. All nine of the sewage treatment plants in this section of the river have made improvements to address discharge and combined sewer overflows (CSO's) concerns in the last decade. The overall quality of the water appears to have improved as a number of Chesapeake Bay Initiatives on sewage treatment plants has taken place. Noticeable success of the new standards for sewage treatment plants that have been or are currently being upgraded will need continued monitoring to demonstrate overall water quality improvements.","PeriodicalId":85037,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70853713","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2014-03-01DOI: 10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.1.0047
K. Guild, A. Anthony, M. Bilger, J. Holt
Macroinvertebrates are functional indicators of stream health based upon their sensitivity to pollution. Our study utilized different passive and active benthic macroinvertebrate collection methods (D-net, Surber sampler, rock baskets, and Hester-Dendy multiplate samplers) during the summer and fall of 2012 and 2013. Collections were taken on both sides of the west channel in the west channel of the upper main stem of the Susquehanna River near Shamokin Dam, PA. Sampling sites each included seven locations, one for passive sampling and six longitudinal locations for active sampling. Overall, we collected 50 taxa of macroinvertebrates identified to family-level, which allowed us to calculate pollution tolerance values and other comparative metrics. The Proportional Bray-Curtis Similarity Index analysis describes a very low to moderate overlap between benthic macroinvertebrate communities collected by active and passive methods (2% - 43%). Furthermore, other metrics including the Shannon Diversity and Hilsenhoff Biotic Indices reflected the variability in occurrence of pollution intolerant taxa according to method and location. The greatest variation occurred in percent EPT which showed a range of 0% to 56% in a single sample period using different methods. Passive sampling methods selectively collected colonizers and omitted other taxa (e.g. burrowers and mollusks) illustrating their bias in sampling. Overall, the metrics did not support the use of one technique over another. Rather, they supported the practice of using both passive and active collection methods in order to use macroinvertebrate community estimates to assess water quality in large rivers that have a wetted channel of cobble, silt, and sand like the upper main stem of the Susquehanna River. Based on our results we concluded that active samplers which target different habitats together with passive samplers which allow comparisons from one site to another would be the most appropriate methods to use in the upper main stem of the Susquehanna River.
{"title":"Assessment of Passive and Active Macroinvertebrate Collection Methods in Adjacent Reaches on the Upper Main Stem of the Susquehanna River","authors":"K. Guild, A. Anthony, M. Bilger, J. Holt","doi":"10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.1.0047","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.1.0047","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Macroinvertebrates are functional indicators of stream health based upon their sensitivity to pollution. Our study utilized different passive and active benthic macroinvertebrate collection methods (D-net, Surber sampler, rock baskets, and Hester-Dendy multiplate samplers) during the summer and fall of 2012 and 2013. Collections were taken on both sides of the west channel in the west channel of the upper main stem of the Susquehanna River near Shamokin Dam, PA. Sampling sites each included seven locations, one for passive sampling and six longitudinal locations for active sampling. Overall, we collected 50 taxa of macroinvertebrates identified to family-level, which allowed us to calculate pollution tolerance values and other comparative metrics. The Proportional Bray-Curtis Similarity Index analysis describes a very low to moderate overlap between benthic macroinvertebrate communities collected by active and passive methods (2% - 43%). Furthermore, other metrics including the Shannon Diversity and Hilsenhoff Biotic Indices reflected the variability in occurrence of pollution intolerant taxa according to method and location. The greatest variation occurred in percent EPT which showed a range of 0% to 56% in a single sample period using different methods. Passive sampling methods selectively collected colonizers and omitted other taxa (e.g. burrowers and mollusks) illustrating their bias in sampling. Overall, the metrics did not support the use of one technique over another. Rather, they supported the practice of using both passive and active collection methods in order to use macroinvertebrate community estimates to assess water quality in large rivers that have a wetted channel of cobble, silt, and sand like the upper main stem of the Susquehanna River. Based on our results we concluded that active samplers which target different habitats together with passive samplers which allow comparisons from one site to another would be the most appropriate methods to use in the upper main stem of the Susquehanna River.","PeriodicalId":85037,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70853756","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2014-03-01DOI: 10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.1.0001
H. Wieder
{"title":"The Susquehanna River Heartland Coalition for Environmental Studies (SRHCES)","authors":"H. Wieder","doi":"10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.1.0001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.1.0001","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":85037,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70853915","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2014-03-01DOI: 10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.1.0003
M. Lawrence, Reneé Carey
{"title":"Skip Wieder…The ‘Yes’ Man","authors":"M. Lawrence, Reneé Carey","doi":"10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.1.0003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/jpennacadscie.88.1.0003","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":85037,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70853924","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}