2017 ASSOCIATION OF MID-ATLANTIC AQUATIC BIOLOGISTS

PRE-REGISTRATION

March 30– 31, 2017

Mini-Workshop Preference: Important - Please prioritize your first 3 Workshop selections. The “Hands-on” workshops have limited space as indicated. We must have alternatives to consider in case your primary choice is filled.

1) ______Identification and Taxonomy of Suckers (Catostomidae)

Facilitator:Dan Cincotta() WV DNR.(Class Limit: 20)

2) _____Identificationand Taxonomy of Larval Caddisflies (Trichoptera)

Facilitator: Mike Floyd (), US Fish & Wildlife Service.(Class Limit: 20)

3) _____ Shiny Apps: Building Interactive Web Applications in R

Facilitator: Emma Jones (), VADEQ.

The Shiny package allows basic R users to become web application developers without the need to learn HTML or other web coding protocols. By transforming R projects into scalable web applications, R users separate scripts from user-friendly interfaces, allowing non-R users convenient and dynamic opportunities to interact with tools and datasets. This course will serve as an introduction to building tools and data visualizations with Shiny, thus a basic knowledge of R is encouraged.

Facilitators:Emma Jones VADEQ.(Class Limit: 20)

4) _____Identification and Taxonomy of Larval Stoneflies (Plecoptera)

Facilitator: Jane Earle ().(Class Limit: 20)

5) _____Methods in Quantifying Filamentous Periphyton
Facilitator: Ted Turner, (), and Andrew Kirk, (), VADEQ.

Due to recent challenges to Virginia’s 305 B report, the EPA has tasked the VA DEQ to develop methods to quantify and assess recreational nuisance levels of aquatic vegetation in Virginia streams. The first phase of this task has been to develop and compare several quantitative methods for determining aquatic vegetation cover and biomass, with the goal of achieving a non-subjective means of measuring aquatic plant biomass. For Virginia streams, nuisance vegetation is primarily filamentous algae, so the methods which will be presented will be primarily focused in assessing filamentous algal cover. This workshop will be a class-based survey of several approaches to measuring nuisance aquatic vegetation in wadeable and boatable streams. Attendees will not need to bring any equipment or materials.(Class Limit: 20)

6) ______Large Rivers Workshop

Facilitators:Dustin Shull, ( ), PADEP, Mike Selckmann,(), and Zach Smith , Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin.

Wadeable streams assessment methods are common; however increased depth and overall complexity of large rivers may cause inaccessibility or unacceptable index and metric variability for various biological assessment methods. As a result, significant increases in effort and time have been recommended to compensate. We will evaluate current approaches for making biological assessments on large rivers, and discuss best practices for creating accurate, precise, and efficient methodologies. This workshop is intended cover many biological communities including, but not limited to algae, macroinvertebrates, and fish.

(Class Limit: 40)

7) _____Head Water Streams Evaluation
Facilitator: Periann Russell, NC, DENR ().

Where does a stream start? When does a water feature fall into State jurisdiction? The exact answer lies in each State’s definition of a stream, but one method that quantifies stream permanence is the NC Stream Determination Method. In over 20 minutes, an observer rates a stream segment on 35 factors to produce a numeric score. In North Carolina, 19 points indicates an intermittent stream and results in the State claiming jurisdiction. This seminar will give an overview of how to use the NC Stream Determination form and how other States have modified it for their own uses. It will include both classroom and field portions. Participants should bring field gear appropriate for the weather.

(Class Limit: 20)

PLEASE RETURN THIS FORM TO Rick Browder ()

(E-MAIL PREFERRED – Be sure to change “Subject Line” & “File Name" to “’YourName’AMAABpre-reg”)

Rick Browder

Biological Coordinator

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality

P.O. Box 1105

Richmond, VA 23218

Office: (804)698-4134