Protocols

Plastic pan traps with soapy water deployed along stream transects to capture terrestrial invertebrates falling into or near the river. Traps are pooled by transect and processed for taxonomic identif...

Controlled experimental system using circular plastic tanks to test mayfly larval responses to chemical cues by measuring foraging behavior on substrate surfaces before and after treatment application...

Time-lapse camera monitoring of aquatic insect landing and oviposition behavior on paired emergent rocks with different embedding characteristics. Combines behavioral observation with egg mass countin...

Multi-parameter assessment of beaver pond physical characteristics including area, depth, flow velocity, and beaver activity indicators to control for habitat differences in community analyses.

Comprehensive measurement of stream physical and chemical parameters including substrate characteristics, water quality, and algal biomass. Provides environmental context for species distribution patt...

Factorial experimental design using artificial stream channels to test temperature and nutrient effects on algae growth. Solar heating systems create temperature gradients while drip systems deliver c...

Standardized measurement of individual larval dry mass using precision microbalance after oven-drying at controlled temperature. Applied to assess growth and biomass responses to experimental treatmen...

Artificial stream channels with controlled flow regimes and nutrient treatments to test effects of phosphorus availability on D. geminata growth and bloom formation.

Three-pass electrofishing to estimate fish densities and species composition in stream reaches for characterizing predator presence and abundance.

Field surveys of river systems to document the relationship between diatom cellular division rates and mat coverage patterns under natural conditions.

DNA extraction using modified Chelex protocols followed by PCR amplification and sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene to assess genetic variation within and among mayfly populatio...

Controlled experiment using flow-through tanks to test whether artificial D. geminata mats (polyester pillow stuffing) provide refuge for T. tubifex from stonefly predation. Treatments included presen...

Manual removal of invasive diatom D. geminata from stream substrate plots with adjacent controls to test effects on invertebrate community composition and abundance over a three-week period.

Experimental manipulation of existing egg mass densities on preferred substrates to test whether females exhibit aggregative oviposition behavior in response to conspecific egg presence.

Method for collecting fish skin mucus by gentle rubbing in plastic bags followed by freeze-drying and chemical characterization of mucus components including glycosaminoglycans, hexosamine, and uronic...

Systematic search and compilation of published records of D. geminata blooms with associated soluble reactive phosphorus measurements to characterize global patterns.

Experimental removal of D. geminata cells and stalks from stream rocks to test regrowth capacity under natural conditions with different initial stalk densities.

Magnesium hydroxide co-precipitation method using Sargasso Sea water to concentrate low-level soluble reactive phosphorus samples 70-fold prior to colorimetric analysis.

Tracer Additions for Spiraling Curve Characterization method involving simultaneous injection of water tracer and nutrients with downstream breakthrough curve monitoring to quantify reach-scale nutrie...

Standardized substrate tiles deployed in stream channels for algae colonization, followed by systematic scraping, filtering, and microscopic enumeration of didymo cells.

Cellulose acetate electrophoresis to analyze genetic variation at enzyme loci in mayfly populations, involving initial enzyme screening, locus selection, and final allele frequency determination acros...

Transcriptomic analysis of whirling disease-resistant rainbow trout to understand gene expression patterns related to resistance.