Freshwater Salinization Working Group

The VT Salt working group seeks to better understand how freshwater salinization will affect aquatic organisms and their ecological functions in communities. The need to understand salinization is paramount because surface freshwater ecosystems make up only ~2% of the Earth’s surface, but support a disproportionately high diversity of vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants.  Freshwater species are declining each year faster than terrestrial species due to anthropogenic disturbances like climate change, land conversion, water pollution, and widespread degradation of freshwater habitats that often manifest as salinization. Despite freshwater salinization occurring on a global scale in all types of freshwater habitats, little is understood about the concentrations of specific ions that will be most detrimental to aquatic animals. 

Salty Carbon

Fall 2022 Update: Team receives NSF grant award to assess how salt in freshwater streams impacts aquatic ecosystems

We continue to synthesize data on carbon processing by insects in stream reaches in headwater Appalachian streams impacted by mining.  This project was initially generated from a Global Change SEED grant.  

Participants: Stephen Schoenholtz, Daniel McLaughlin, Erin Hotchkiss, Sally Entrekin, Carl Zipper

Global Review of Salinization Imacts

2023 Publication: In a multi-year process, we reviewed and synthesized data on freshwater animal responses to salinization.  The review included data drawn from 570 journal articles across all major freshwater animals. This project was also part of an IGC PhD Capstone Project.

Richard H Walker, Abigail C Belvin, Joshua B Mouser, Amanda Pennino, Stephen Plont, Christopher D Robinson, Lucy B Smith, Jyoti Thapa, Carl E Zipper, Paul Angermeier, Sally Entrekin. (2023) Holistic valuation of non-native species requires broadening the tent. Science of the Total Environment. ISSN 0048-9697.(https:/doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164061) 

Project participants included scientists from Virginia Tech, University of Virginia, Virginia Dept of Environmental Quality, Hollins College, and UIO:  Paul Angermeier, Carl Zipper, Sally Entrekin, Joshua Mouser, Abigail Belvin, Stephen Plont, Amanda Pennino, Chris Robinson, Lucy B. Smith, Jyoti Thapa, and Rich Walker (lead).

Freshwater Salinization Reading Group

In 2019 we started a reading group of faculty and students who come together frequently to discuss literature, share research findings, and build new collaborations to identify and solve problems caused by freshwater salinization.  Relationships built and strengthened through these interactions have led to new grant proposals, collaborative research, and The Global Review of Salinization Impacts (described above). 

The group resumed in-person discussions in fall 2022 and spring 2023. 

To get invovlved, contact: sallye@vt.edu