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Spotted knapweed (Centaurea maculosa) is one of the most problematic invasive species in the western United States, and is currently established in every county in Montana. Invasion by spotted knapweed causes major shifts in the ecosystems of invaded areas, resulting in loss of biodiversity and increases in runoff and stream sedimentation. Spotted knapweed excretes a chemical compound called catechin from its root system. Given the tendency of knapweed to form massive monocultures over large areas of streamside environments, it is very probable that this antimicrobial catechin is reaching waterways in significant concentrations. This could damage critical microbes and prove detrimental to many aquatic flora and fauna. Our only undergraduate fellow, University of Montana student Lewis Kogan, along with this advisor Dr. William Holben, is studying “Effects of spotted knapweed root exudate catechin on native Montana soil microbes.”

Spotted Knapweed.

The team set out to extract microbes from soils from many environments, including Montana soils previously exposed to spotted knapweed. Results showed that catechin has the greatest inhibitory effects on microbial populations from soil which has not been exposed previously to knapweed. At higher concentrations, catechin is strongly inhibitory to populations from all soil environments. Other tests suggest that catechin inhibits microbial growth but does not seem to kill the microbes, meaning that catechin removal from the local environment allows microbes to resume growth. Results may help reveal whether catechin acts by binding/altering common carbon sources in the environment, making them unavailable to microbial uptake. In addition, catechin could have potentially anti-microbial effects on spore-formers if environmental conditions become unfavorable to these species, resulting in major microflora species shifts.

Mohammed Rahman, a Montana State University Civil Engineering graduate student, is studying corrosion of copper in water distribution systems. In his study “Towards sustainable materials for drinking water infrastructure,” he is looking at microbial contributions to corrosion in copper pipes, which are used in 90% of household plumbing systems. The team’s counterpart at Virginia Tech is investigating the chemical aspect of the corrosion. After the completion of the project we will have a better understanding of the chemistry and microbiology of corrosion. Test results show that copper corrosion increases with increasing alkalinity and it may decrease in the presence of disinfectant. Water quality such as color and turbidity are also affected by the presence of disinfectant. Mohammed also found that the biofilm community changes with disinfection and copper concentrations. In a second set of experiments, he examined nitrification in copper plumbing. His team found that after three months of operation, nitrification did not occur, due possibly to toxicity of copper and its effect on nitrification. A final set of experiments is now studying nitrification in PVC reactors.

Declines in the abundance, distribution, and genetic diversity of westslope cutthroat trout throughout its native range, especially within the upper Missouri River basin in the Northern Rocky Mountains, have prompted fisheries managers to identify reasons for population declines, and develop effective conservation and recovery programs. MSU Fisheries doctoral student Brad Shepard is examining “Factors that influence displacement of native cutthroat trout by nonnative brook trout” along with his advisors, Drs. Al Zale and Mark Taper. His research focuses on how watershed conditions influence the persistence of cutthroat trout, especially on how these conditions influence the displacement of cutthroat trout by nonnative brook trout. Using several key databases, he assessed the presence or assumed absence of cutthroat and brook trout over the entire historical range of westslope cutthroat trout at thousands of sites. In his contact with state and federal fisheries biologists, he also identified sites where fish habitat and stream restoration projects have occurred, or are planned, and developed a program for sampling habitats and fish populations within these sites. Much of Brad’s sampling work will align fishery population surveys with habitat. In addition, Brad has assembled a large body of literature on fish habitat enhancement, habitat monitoring, and effects of habitat enhancement on fish populations.

Tim Covino installing a flume.

Tim Covino, hydrology graduate student at Montana State University, has made significant findings at Humphrey Creek watershed in southwest Montana in his study, “Stream-groundwater interactions in a mountain to valley bottom transition: Impacts on watershed hydrologic response and stream water chemistry.” His research is important for understanding mountain front recharge (MFR) mechanisms, valley bottom ground water (GW) status and valley bottom stream flow generation, and solute and contaminant transport. Future research calls for study of MFR/Stream-GW exchange across a variety of watersheds to see if these results are comparable to studies in other locations, and for an assessment of whether scientists can model stream-GW exchange and MFR in non-instrumented watersheds.

University of Montana graduate student Jennifer Corbin looks at “Nitrate loading and ecological response in high alpine aquatic systems.” The objective of her study is to build on a completed study of lake chemistry in the alpine zone of the Rocky Mountains and take into account the interactions of atmospheric deposition, change in runoff from glaciers and snowfields, and changes in the way soils and talus interact with precipitation and snowmelt. Her first task has been to compare lakes in Grand Teton and Glacier National Parks. To interpret her data, she is carrying out an intensive, paired watershed study in Grand Teton National Park where she will estimate the flux of nitrogen species from snowmelt and rain through two side-by-side watersheds--one with glacial melt and one without. She will also take review climate monitoring in the sampling program and secure permits to install climate and deposition monitoring stations in the spring of 2006. Snow surveys have been scheduled for March 2006. Corbin hopes the study gives managers valuable information on the dual stresses of air pollution and global climate change, and their effects on lake water quality.

Dr. Paul Byleveld.

The risk of disease following the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami greatly affected most public health services in Aceh, Indonesia. Water supply systems were destroyed or contaminated and tens of thousands residents and tourists were moved to displaced persons camps and host communities. There was a rapid change in the populations of mosquito disease vectors. Byleveld’s public health and surgical team members were deployed from Australia, all as part of an unprecedented international response in Aceh.

Dr. Byleveld’s presentation is hosted by the Montana Water Center at Montana State University. Refreshments will be served. Please call 994-6690 for questions.

2006 Spring Engineering Festival

Employment Opportunity

February 4, 2006 is the deadline for submitting applications for Director of the Montana Watercourse. Application information can be found at http://dnrc.mt.gov/jobs.

For other water-related job opportunities also check http://water.montana.edu/resources/funding/jobs.asp.

2006 Water Conferences in Montana

We know of many water-related conferences slated for Montana this year, some of them regional in nature. Those with dates and locations in place include:

Produced Waters Workshop, Energy & Water: How Can We Get Both for the Price of One?, April 4-5, 2006, Fort Collins, Colorado. More information is available at http://www.cwrri.colostate.edu.

Billings Land Reclamation Symposium, June 4-8, 2006, Billings, Montana. Registration begins in April. Go to http://www.billingslandreclamationsymposium.org for more information.

Northwestern Water Policy and Law Symposium hosted by the Montana Water Center, Burton K. Wheeler Center, and Inland Northwest Research Alliance at Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, September 18 - 20, 2006. Contact Gretchen Rupp - grupp@montana.edu or Sue Higgins - shiggins@montana.edu.

AWRA Montana Section Annual Meeting, October 12 & 13, 2006, Polson, Montana. Visit http://www.awra.org/state/montana/events/conference.htm for upcoming details.

Montana Watershed Symposium, December 5-7, 2006, Great Falls, Montana. Contact Jennifer Boyer at 406-587-7331 or jboyer@sonoran.org.

For more information about these or other events, check out the Montana Water Events Calendar at http://water.montana.edu/resources/events.

So many meetings, so little time. Take special note of upcoming national and local water meetings on the Events Calendar at MONTANA WATER.

Amber Waves of Change: Tips and Tools to Grow with the Shifting Agricultural Landscape, Billings, February 1 - February 2, 2006 [INFO]

Whirling Disease Symposium 2006, Denver, CO, February 9 - 10, 2006 [INFO]

MWCC Outreach and Education Committee Meeting, Helena, February 15, 2006 [INFO]

2006 Spring Engineering Festival, Bozeman, March 2 - 3, 2006 [INFO]

7th Specialised Conference on Small Water and Wastewater Systems, City of Merida, Mexico, March 7 - 10, 2006 [INFO]

World Water Forum, Mexico City, Mexico, March 16 - 22, 2006 [INFO]

American Society of Mining and Reclamation 2006 Annual Meeting, St. Louis, MO, March 27 - 29, 2006 [INFO]