Stroud Scientists & Educators Present Disseminating Our Findings to our Peers & the Public at Large Our ability to disseminate our findings to a broad audience allows us to increase awareness and create a public dialogue centered on the protection, preservation and restoration of watersheds everywhere. It’s for that reason that our scientists and educators engage in both scientific and public forums to share their findings. The following highlights recent presentations.

Using Population Genetics to Aid Fisheries Management
Assessing Water Quality in Latin America
Diel Cycles of Organic Matter in White Clay Creek
Fresh Water: Connecting Costs and Challenges
Trees, Streams, and Water Quality: The Connection

USING POPULATION GENETICS TO AID FISHERIES MANAGEMENT

West Chester University’s Biology Department invited Willy Eldridge, research scientist and head of the molecular fish ecology department at the Stroud Water Research Center, to address its faculty and students on November 24th, 2008. Eldridge’s discussion focused on several issues, including how hatcheries can wisely use genetics to compare strains to determine the best parentage to stock, the evaluation of hatchery success in maintaining diversity in an endangered salmon species, and the negative impacts of past practices on wild coho salmon — a candidate for the endangered species list.
 
Eldridge will attend the Annual Meeting of the NY & PA Sections of the American Fisheries Society in Owego, NY from February 4th to 6th where he will present, Effect of rate of change during diel (24-hour) temperature fluctuations on growth, stress and pathology of seven warm water fish species.

For more information about the Annual Meeting of the NY & PA Sections of the American Fisheries Society, go to:
http://www.newyorkafs.org/meet.html

For more information about Willy Eldridge go to:
http://www.stroudcenter.org/about/eldridge.htm

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For Latin America, fresh water is no longer just a public health issue; it means big business. Many countries lack the regulation and sewage infrastructure to protect their watersheds and safeguard their water supplies. Addressing these problems is an essential step to ensure public health and continued income from increasingly important tourism and other industries. A business need has begun to drive the desire for greater understanding of how to best use and protect Latin American watersheds and capitalizing on that renewed interest was the catalyst for a January 27th meeting of several prominent environmental organizations hosted by Conservation International at their San Pedro, Costa Rica office with funding from Blue Moon Fund. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss water-related conservation issues in Costa Rica, and also the potential for using the Rio Sierpe system as a model project for an integrated approach to water, biodiversity and ecosystem service conservation management. In attendance were representatives from: Amigos de Osa, Asociación Centroamericana para la Economía, la Salud y el Ambiente (ACEPESA), Blue Moon Fund, Centro de Derecho Ambiental y de los Recursos Naturales (CEDARENA), Conservation International (CI), Earthwatch Institute, Nectandra Institute, Rainforest Alliance, University of Vermont, and Bern Sweeney, senior research scientist and director of the Stroud Water Research Center, who discussed past and present approaches to assessing water quality.

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DIEL CYCLES OF ORGANIC MATTER IN WHITE CLAY CREEK
At the invitation of event cosponsors NJ Department of Environmental Protection, United States Geological Survey (USGS), NJ Water Science Center and Rutgers University NJ Water Resources Research Institute, Stroud senior scientist Lou Kaplan presented to an audience of environmental scientists and government agency environmental and regulatory personnel in Trenton, NJ on December 12th, 2008 at the event, Diel Cycling of Chemical Constituents of Organic Matter in Surface Waters and Related Media - Scientific and Regulatory Considerations. Kaplan’s presentation, Diel Cycles of Organic Matter in White Clay Creek, which he coauthored with Stroud scientists Anthony Aufdenkampe, Denis Newbold and Dave Richardson (now of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies) highlights dramatic changes in dissolved and particulate organic matter (DOM, POM) concentrations and compositions in water samples taken over a 24-hour period from the White Clay Creek. The research on which his presentation was based points to the need to understand the causes for the fluctuations, as well as their implications for water quality monitoring — implications which include the actual amounts of DOM and POM in streams and rivers as well as their specific interactions with regulated substances, such as heavy metals and man-made organic chemicals.

For more information on Lou Kaplan, go to:
http://www.stroudcenter.org/about/louiskaplan.htm

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FRESH WATER: CONNECTING COSTS AND CHALLENGES
Senior research scientist and director of Stroud Water Research Center, Bern Sweeney, was asked to a kick off workshop hosted by Chester County Water Forum on December 16th, 2008. The workshop entitled, Fresh Water: Connecting Costs and Challenges, was attended by Chester County commissioners, representatives from the USGS and the Water Resources Authority. Its purpose was to define and address the key issues related to the county’s ability to provide an adequate quantity of clean, fresh water to its citizens today and for future generations. Sweeney’s presentation, Clean Water Action: Improve, Conserve, Forget it, was designed to outline the primary issues prior to the breakout brainstorming sessions led by attendees. This comprehensive workshop went beyond discussions of science and infrastructure to equally critical issues, such as what can be done to create the incentives that will begin to engage the public in essential conservation measures at home. Chester County 2020 will be summarizing the results to share with state senate and congressional representatives.

For more information on Bern Sweeney, go to:
http://www.stroudcenter.org/about/bernardsweeney.htm

For more information about Chester County 2020, go to:
http://www.cc2020.org/

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TREES, STREAMS AND WATER QUALITY: THE CONNECTION
Senior research scientist, John Jackson addressed the White Clay Creek Watershed Management Committee on April 7th with data amassed from the Schuylkill River Basin over a 12-year study period, which outlines the links between land use and water quality.

To learn more about Jackson’s research, go to:
http://www.stroudcenter.org/research/projects/schuylkill/index.shtm

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