Today's Messages

Please join the Biology Department and the Great Lakes Center for the seminar “Hold the salt! Effects of winter road salt felt all year by stream organisms,” presented by Dr. Sarah Whorley on Monday, March 9, at 3:00 p.m. in SAMC 151. 

Research Seminar Abstract: After decades of seasonal winter road salt use, salinity levels in freshwater streams are rising, even during non-winter months when no road salt is being used. While several recent studies have documented these increases in salinity in stream water, very little work has been done to examine the effects of this salt on stream biota. To begin to expand what we know of salt’s effects on freshwater habitats, we have conducted a year-long investigation of annual road salt effects on stream water chemistry and biota throughout New York State. Selected streams across Western New York, Central New York, and the Hudson River Valley were surveyed from May 2024 to April 2025. We deployed HOBO conductivity loggers to capture high-resolution salinity measurements. Additionally, we visited each stream monthly to collect in situ water chemistry and periphyton biomass for chlorophyll and stoichiometric analysis. Presented here are the annual trends in periphyton chlorophyll, ash-free dry mass, and phosphorous content as they relate to stream water chemical properties and salinity measurements. Spring and summer months are characterized by mild drought conditions affecting stream flow and water levels. However winter months were heavily influenced by a series of strong winter storms. These findings will be bolstered by future analyses of how these salinity conditions affected biodiversity and fatty acid compounds.