Poster Presentation Society for Freshwater Science 2026 Annual Meeting

Documenting the presence of Plecoptera in fire-affected mountain streams of the H.J Andrews Experimental Forest. (136160)

Sophia M Lopez 1 , Tatianna Latorre-Beltran 1 , Ivan Arismendi 1
  1. Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, United States of America

Wildfires in the Pacific Northwest have played an increasingly significant role in shaping community composition. To gain a better understanding of how these anomalies and their consequences affect freshwater environments, we sampled emerging adult Plecoptera across several sites within the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest between June and July of 2024— nearly a year after the Lookout Creek Fire. This taxonomic group can be especially helpful in understanding the impacts of such disturbances, as many species have varied tolerances for habitat change and notable preferences for cool, high-velocity and low-turbidity water. Specimens were identified to species in a laboratory setting, and a literature review was conducted to i) assess the ecology of individuals found in the samples and ii) understand mechanisms that influence macroinvertebrate growth and emergence, such as canopy cover and food availability. We examine how presence and relative abundance of species correlate to burn severity in the forest and relate these differences to limiting environmental conditions of different Plecoptera. Considering the most recent taxonomic inventory for invertebrates in the H.J. Andrews is from about three decades ago, we hope this study can provide new insights for understanding how freshwater communities have evolved over the years and in post-fire conditions especially.

  1. DeWalt, R.E., B.C. Kondratieff, and J.B. Sandberg. 2015. Chapter 36: Order Plecoptera. Pages 933-949 in James H. Thorp and D. Christopher Rogers (editors). Thorp and Covich’s Freshwater Invertebrates (4th edition). Academic Press.
  2. Parsons, G. L., G. Cassis, A. R. Moldenke, J. D. Lattin, N. H. Anderson, J. C. Miller, P. Hammond, and T. D. Schowalter. 1991. Invertebrates of the H.J Andrews Experimental Forest, Western Cascade Range, Oregon. V: An Annotated List of Insects and Other Arthropods. U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station.