Texas Groundwater Invertebrate Forum

The 2023 TGIF Planning Committee would like to express gratitude to the presenters and attendees for this year's Forum. We look forward to our future growth and success.


The 5th Annual Texas Groundwater Invertebrate Forum (TGIF) is scheduled to take place on OCTOBER 20, 2023 from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm.  

A workshop will not be held this year. 

The meeting will be virtual and will consist of invited talks (15 min with 5 additional min for QA) and coordinated Lightning talks (3 min with 2 min QA).

We are always open to suggestions for topics, comments and thoughts on meeting or any constructive criticism you would like to share. Please send all responses to vc05@txstate.edu 


2023 TGIF SCHEDULE - OCTOBER 20, 2023

TIMEPRESENTATION TITLE - PRESENTER
`Welcome & Introduction - Hutchins, Ben
9:05-10:30 15 minute presentations with 5 min QA (moderator: Ben Hutchins)
9:05-9:25San Antonio Urban Waters Federal Partnership: Web Applications with New Information Delivery Capabilities - Opsahl, Stephen P. (presenter); Eller, Kirstin; Musgrove, MaryLynn; Pedraza, Diane E.; Neafie, Ramona J.; Watermolen, Shannon C.; and Clark, Allan, K.
9:25-9:45Seasonal Occurrences of the Sessoms Spring Ostracoda (Crustacea): A comparative analysis - Külköylüoğlu, Okan
9:45-10:05Distributional patterns and species boundaries revealed through phylogeographic analyses of the amphipod genus Hyalella - Cannizzaro, Andrew
10:05-10:25Barcoding and Phylogenetics of Texas Ground Water Copepods - Figueroa, Diego
10:25-10:30overflow buffer- 5 min
10:30-10:50 Break
10:55-12:00 Lightning Talks- 3 min with 2 min QA (moderator: Amelia Hunter)
10:55-11:00It came from the deep - Diaz, Pete
11:00-11:05Update from the Trans-Pecos: Conservation status of Trans-Pecos stygobionts - Hutchins, Ben
11:05-11:10Predicting Regulatory Changes to Aquifer-dependent Species in Texas & Implications for Project Proponents - Irle, Brittany
11:10-11:15Tagging techniques for Heterelmis comalensis - Moore, Desiree
11:15-11:20Isopods: There's more than meets the eye! Cryptic diversity within the genus Lirceolus - Pustka, Lucas
11:20-11:25Distribution and Occurrence of Stygobionts in Hyporheic Systems Downstream of Karst Regions - Sparks, Kenneth
11:25-11:30 Groundwater Well Assessment at Join-Base San Antonio - Bockrath, Katherine
11:30-11:35Drought Response by Captive Assurance Colony Refuge following Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan - Bockrath, Katherine
11:35-11:40Hyporheic Invertebrate Community Composition as a Function of Flow Regime in the Colorado River Basin, TX - Austin-Bingamon, Eryl
11:40-11:45Two new phreatic snail species from central Texas - Guerrero, Yamileth; and Perez, Kathryn (presenter)
11:45-11:50Biodiversity of anchialine ecosystems in Cozumel Island and the Yucatan Peninsula, Gutierrez, Fernando Calderon
11:50-12:00The future of TGIF, Hutchins, Ben
12:00-1:00Lunch
1:00-2:00Networking Breakouts
2:05-3:3015 minute presentations with 5 min Q&A (moderator: TBD)
2:05-2:25You're still here?: persistence of pre-Holocene relics in drought refugia - Worsham, McLean
2:25-2:45Insights on hyporheic zone invertebrates from 6+ years of student-led research in Ozark streams - Finn, Debra
2:45-3:05Remipedes: A Story of Cenotes, Pseudogenes, and The Species That Never Existed - Calderon,Fernando; Sahi, Max; Teufel, Ashley, and Borda, Elizabeth (presenter)
3:05-3:25Searching for stygobionts in 'unlikely' places: lessons from sampling in Australia - Schwartz, Benjamin
3:25-3:45 Outro. Close Meeting- Hutchins, Ben
  • Amelia Hunter US Fish and Wildlife Service-Austin Ecological Services Field Office  
    Michael Warriner US Fish and Wildlife Service-Austin Ecological Services Field Office
    Karen Myers US Fish and Wildlife Service-Austin Ecological Services Field Office  
    Kathryn Perez University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley      
    Randy Gibson US Fish and Wildlife Service – San Marcos Aquatic Resources Center  
    Benjamin Schwartz Edwards Aquifer Research & Data Center      
    Benjamin Hutchins Edwards Aquifer Research & Data Center      
    Victor Castillo III Edwards Aquifer Research & Data Center      
    Ashley Cottrell Edwards Aquifer Research & Data Center      
    Rachael Lindsey Hill Country Conservancy        
    Roni Maddox University of Texas at San Antonio student      
2023 tgif planning committee logo

2022 Meeting Overview

GOAL

To bring together people who are working on subterranean biology so that knowledge and information can be shared and transferred and future efforts to increase knowledge of groundwater ecosystems can be coordinated.

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the organizers of TGIF is to encourage collaboration and exchange of ideas and information, and to more efficiently and clearly convey and transfer information to those who need and/or use it.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

A number of people are currently working on Texas groundwater organisms, however, there is infrequent research coordination and information exchange about the diverse projects and ongoing efforts that can cause barriers for those who want to fully understand groundwater biodiversity, promote efficient dissemination, and effectively use the data for research and management purposes.