Faculty -- Feminella

Jack W. Feminella

Professor and Graduate Program Officer
Ecology of Aquatic Invertebrates; Stream Ecology

OFFICE: 331 Funchess Hall
PHONE: (334) 844-3906
FAX : (334) 844-9234
E-MAIL: feminjw@auburn.edu

Research Interests
Graduate Student Theses/Dissertations
Theses/Dissertations in Progress
Selected Publications
Grants
Classes
Useful Links

Research/Interests:

Dr. Jack W. Feminella is Professor of Invertebrate Ecology in the Department of Biological Sciences. He has studied ecology of a wide variety of freshwater invertebrates inhabiting streams in Oregon, California, Washington, Arkansas, and in the southeastern United States since 1978. At Auburn University, he is currently evaluating benthic invertebrates, water quality, and watershed conditions in Piedmont, Appalachian, and Coastal Plains streams of the Southeast. His research focus has centered on understanding biotic and abiotic controls of benthic communities in streams.

His specific research interests include:

Effects of watershed disturbance on stream populations and communities.

Ecology of benthic invertebrates in temporary habitats.

Biological interactions and life history patterns of aquatic invertebrates.

Influence of aquatic invertebrate grazers on stream ecosystems.

Experimental design and analysis of aquatic ecological studies.

Completed Theses/Dissertations:

Mary Lou Ewald, M.S. 1995. Effects of environmental pH and calcium on the physiology, behavior, and shell strength of freshwater snails.
Michael Chadwick, M.S. 1997. Influences of seasonal salinity and temperature on Hexagenia limbata (Serville) (Ephemeroptera: Ephemeridae) in the Mobile River
Charles Howard, M.S. 1999. Effects of suspended sediment on the growth, behavior, and tissue condition of the freshwater mussel, Amblema plicata.
Kristin Lenertz, M.S. 2002. Feeding and physiological responses of Elimia flava (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia) to infection by a trematode parasite.
Daniel Rinella, M.S. 2002. Influence of coarse woody debris on macroinvertebrate assemblages in Alabama coastal plains streams.
Ken Fritz, Ph.D. 2002. The role of riparian and aquatic vegetation at the aquatic-terrestrial interface of southeastern streams.<
Lara Panayotoff, M.S. 2002. Patterns in benthic algal assemblages across a geologically diverse landscape.
Michael Gangloff, Ph.D. 2003. The ecology of freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionidae) in streams of the Alabama River Basin: Spatial and temporal relationships.
Kelly Maloney, Ph.D. 2004. The influence of catchment-scale disturbance on low-order streams at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Miller, Stephanie, M.S. 2005. Response of periphyton assemblages to sediment disturbance in southeastern coastal plains streams.
Abbie Tomba, Ph.D. 2006. The effects of trematode parasites on foraging, habitat use, and population dynamics of freshwater snails in the genus Elimia.

Theses/ Dissertations in Progress:

Richard Mitchell, Ph.D. 2008. Benthic invertebrate response to sediment disturbance and riparian restoration in southeastern coastal plains streams.
Brian Helms, Ph.D. 2008. Effects of urbanization on streamwater quality, biodiversity, and function across a forested landscape in the southeastern United States.
Brian Lowe, Ph.D. 2009. Role of salamanders in benthic food webs of small southeastern Piedmont streams.
Molli Newman. M.S. 2009. The effect of benthic macroinvertebrates and sediment disturbance on microbial assemblages associated with leaf breakdown in small streams of western Georgia.
Laura Heck. M.S. 2009. Effects sedimentation on microbial communities colonizing Acer rubrum and Quercus nigra litter in a small coastal plains stream of western Georgia.
Emily Hartfield. M.S. 2009. Effects of low-head dams on crayfish assemblages and gene flow in Alabama streams.

Selected Publications:

Maloney, K.O, J. W. Feminella, P. J. Mulholland, R. M. Mitchell, S. A. Miller, and J. N Houser. In press. Land use legacies and small streams: identifying relationships between historical landuse and contemporary stream conditions. Journal of the North American Benthological Society.

Gangloff, M. M. and J. W Feminella. 2007. Distribution and status of freshwater mussels in the Coosa and lower Tallapoosa River drainages, Alabama. Bulletin of the Alabama Museum of Natural History 25:24-70

Lamberti, G.A., J.W. Feminella, and C.M. Pringle. 2006. Producer–consumer interactions, Pages 537-559 in: F. A. Hauer and G.A. Lamberti, editors. Methods in stream ecology. 2nd edition. Academic Press, San Diego, California.

Gangloff, M. M., J. D. Williams, and J. W. Feminella. 2006. A new species of freshwater mussel (Bivalvia: Unionidae), Pleurobema athearni, from the Coosa River drainage of Alabama, USA. Zootaxa 1118:43-56. PDF

Gangloff, M. M. and J. W Feminella. 2006. Stream channel geomorphology influences mussel abundance in southern Appalachian streams, USA. Freshwater Biology 52:64-74. PDF

Maloney, K. O. and J. W. Feminella. 2006. Evaluation of single- and multi-metric benthic macroinvertebrate indicators of catchment disturbance at the Fort Benning Military Installation, Georgia, USA. Ecological Indicators, 6:469-484. PDF

Fritz, K. M., J. W. Feminella, C. Colson, B. G. Lockaby, R. Governo, and R. B. Rummer. 2006. Biomass and decay rates of roots and detritus in sediments of intermittent Coastal Plain streams. Hydrobiologia, 556:265-277. PDF

Walsh, C. J., A. H. Roy, J. W. Feminella, P. D. Cottingham, P. M. Groffman, and R. P. Morgan. 2005. The urban stream syndrome: current knowledge and the search for a cure. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 24:706–723. PDF

Rinella, D.J. and J. W. Feminella. 2005. Comparison of benthic macroinvertebrates colonizing sand, wood, and artificial substrates in a low-gradient stream. Journal of Freshwater Ecology, 20:209–220.

Maloney, K.O., P. J. Mulholland, and J.W. Feminella. 2005. Influence of catchment-scale military land use on stream physical and organic matter variables in small Southeastern Plains streams (USA). Environmental Management, 35:677–691. PDF

Helms, B.S. , J.W. Feminella, and S. Pan. 2005. Detection of biotic responses to urbanization using fish assemblages rom small streams of western Georgia, USA. Urban Ecosystems, 8:39–57. PDF

Fritz, K. M., M. M. Gangloff, and J. W. Feminella. 2004. Habitat modification by the stream macrophyte Justicia americana. Oecologia 140:388-397. PDF
Fritz, K. M., M. A. Evans, and J. W. Feminella. 2004. Factors affecting biomass allocation in the riverine macrophyte, Justicia americana . Aquatic Botany 78:279-288. PDF
Fritz, K. M., and J. W. Feminella. 2003. Substrate stability associated with the emergent riverine macrophyte. Justicia americana, Freshwater Biology 48:1-10. PDF
Chadwick, M.A., J. W. Feminella, H. Hunter, and R. P. Henry. 2002. Salt and water balance in Hexagenia limbata (Ephemeroptera: Ephemeridae) when exposed to brackish water. Florida Entomologist 85:560-561. PDF
Chadwick, M.A. and J. W. Feminella. 2001. Influence of salinity and temperature on the growth and production of a freshwater mayfly population along a salinity gradient in the Lower Mobile River, Alabama. Limnology and Oceanography 46:532-542.
Feminella, J. W. 2000. Correspondence between stream macroinvertebrate assemblages and 4 ecoregions of the southeastern USA. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 19:442-461. PDF
Hawkins, C. P., R. H. Norris, J. N. Hogue, and J. W. Feminella. 2000. Development and evaluation of predictive models for measuring the biological integrity of streams. Ecological Applications 10:1456-1477. PDF
Feminella, J. W. and K. W. Flynn. 1999. The Alabama Watershed Demonstration Project: Biotic indicators of water quality. Alabama Cooperative Extensive System Circular ANR-1167. PDF
Hawkins, C. P., J. N. Hogue, L. M. Decker, and J. W. Feminella. 1997. Channel morphology, water temperature, and assemblage structure of stream insects. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 16:728-749. PDF
Feminella, J. W. 1996. Comparison of benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages in small streams along a gradient of flow permanence. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 15:651-668. PDF
Feminella, J. W. and C. P. Hawkins. 1995. Interactions between stream herbivores and periphyton: a quantitative analysis of past experiments. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 14:465-509. PDF
Feminella, J. W. and C. P. Hawkins. 1994. Tailed frog tadpoles differentially alter their feeding behavior in response to non-visual cues from four predators. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 13:310-320. PDF
Feminella, J. W., and V. H. Resh. 1991. Herbivorous caddisflies, macroalgae, and epilithic microalgae: dynamic interactions in a stream grazing system. Oecologia 87:247-256.
Feminella, J. W. and V. H. Resh. 1990. Hydrologic influences, disturbance, and intraspecific competition in a stream caddisfly population. Ecology 71:2083-2094. PDF
Feminella, J. W., M. E. Power, and V. H. Resh. 1989. Periphyton response to grazing invertebrates and riparian canopy in three northern California coastal streams. Freshwater Biology 22:445-457.
Feminella, J. W. and V. H. Resh. 1989. Submersed macrophytes and grazing crayfish: an experimental study of herbivory in a freshwater marsh. Holarctic Ecology 12:1-8. PDF

Recent Grants

National Science Foundation –“GK-12 fellows in science and mathematics for East Alabama Schools”. (Co-PI with O.M. Jenda) 2006-2009.
Alabama State Wildlife Grant: “Alabama Mill Dam Inventory (AMDI): an assessment of the impact of low-head dams on mollusck, crayfish and fish assemblages in Alabama streams.” (Co-PI with M. M. Gangloff and D. E. Wernke). 2006-2008.
National Science Foundation –Biological Research Collections "Improvements to the Auburn University aquatic invertebrate, fish, and amphibian and reptile collections." (Co-PI with J. Armbruster and C. Guyer) 2003-2005.
US Dept. of Defense, Dept. of Energy, & Environmental Protection Agency: Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) "Riparian ecosystem management at military installations: determination of impacts and evaluation of restoration and enhancement strategies." (Co-PI with P. Mulholland [Oak Ridge] and G. Lockaby, [AU School of Forestry and Wildlife], 2001-2007).
USDA Forest Service: "Occurrence of Cambarus englishi and Cambarus halli within theTalladega and Tuskegee National Forests, Alabama. (2002-2003).
USDA Forest Service: "Status, distribution, and ecology of unionid mussels in streams of the Tuskeegee National Forest, Alabama. (2000-2001).
US Dept. of Defense, Dept. of Energy, & Environmental Protection Agency: Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) "Evaluation of stream macroinvertebrate community parameters as indicators of ecological change resulting from military training at Fort Benning, Georgia." (Co-PI with P. Mulholland [Oak Ridge], 1999-2003).
USDA Forest Service. "Benthic invertebrate assemblages within small streams of contrasting geology within the Sipsey Wilderness, Bankhead National Forest, Alabama." (1999-2000).
USDA Forest Service. "Biological water quality responses to riparian zone management in Coastal Plain streams" (1998-2001).
Alabama Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, Division of Game & Fish. "Analysis of relationships between unionid mussels and stream hydrology in tributaries of the Coosa River, Alabama" (1998-2000).
USDA Forest Service, National Forests in Alabama: "Response of stream invertebrates to forest understory management: effects of understory thinning and prescribed burning" (1994-1999).
American Forestry & Paper Association / Conservation Fund: "Relationships between watershed characteristics and non-point source pollution: cumulative impacts." (Co-PI with G. Lockaby, L. Teeter, K. Flynn, and M. MacKenzie, AU School of Forestry, 1996-1998).
U.S. Geological Survey & State Water Resources Research Institute Program: "Effects of forest understory management on stream water quality: Assessment of natural variation" (1995-1996).

Classes

Organismal Biology (BIOL 1030) http://www.auburn.edu/academic/classes/biol/1030/
General Ecology (BIOL 3060)
Invertebrate Biodiversity (BIOL 4010)
Stream Ecology (BIOL 7370)

Useful Links

North American Benthological Society http://www.benthos.org/index.cfm
Ecological Society of America http://www.sdsc.edu/~ESA/ESA.html
Society for Conservation Biology http://conbio.net/
Auburn University Museum & Learning Center http://www.auburn.edu/academic/science_math/cosam/museum/museum.html
Auburn Group in Ecology http://www.auburn.edu/ecology/
Alabama Water Watch http://www.alabamawaterwatch.org/