Texas Groundwater Invertebrate Forum
SAVE THE DATE - NOVEMBER 7, 2025
The 2025 TGIF will be held in San Antonio at the beautiful campus of Texas A&M University San Antonio.
Registration for the meeting coming soon!
$30 - Non Student
$20 - Student
More details to follow.
Presenters and Posters Wanted!
We are looking for potential presenters and posters for the 2025 Texas Groundwater Invertebrate Forum being hosted by Texas A&M University San Antonio on November 7th. If you would like to present a talk or poster please fill out the following: Presenters and Posters Signup.
| Amelia Hunter - USFWS - Southwest Regional Office |
| Randy Gibson - USFWS– San Marcos Aquatic Resources Center |
| Kathryn Perez - University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley |
| Elizabeth Borda - Texas A&M University - San Antonio |
| Fernando Calderon-Gutierrez - Texas A&M - San Antonio |
| Benjamin Hutchins - Edwards Aquifer Research & Data Center |
| Victor Castillo III - Edwards Aquifer Research & Data Center |
2024 TEXAS GROUNDWATER INVERTEBRATE FORUM
The 2024 TGIF Planning Committee would like to thank everyone that attended and presented.
We look forward to TGIF 2025!
2024 Texas Groundwater Invertebrate Forum Presentations and Posters
- Okan Külköylüoğlu. Determining non/homoplasious characters of living non-marine ostracods from groundwater and related aquatic habitats in Texas (USA) (mp4 video)
- Gabrielle Vaughn. Insights into subterranean connectivity within the aquifer of the Yucatán Peninsula: Population genetics and distribution of Typhlatya species (pdf)
- Julia Stanford. Learning from and working with groundwater conservation districts (pdf)
- Astrid Schwalb. Groundwater influence on freshwater bivalves in Central Texas streams as a drought refuge (pdf)
- Gary Pandolfi. An overview of the USFWS 3-part recovery planning framework and national recovery planning team (mp4)
- Pete Diaz. Distribution and abundance of federally listed aquatic invertebrates at Diamond Y (pdf)
- Braden West. Extensive culture practices of groundwater invertebrates of the Edwards Aquifer - A 2024 update (pdf)
- Zoey Chanin, K. E. Perez, B. Hutchins, B. Schwartz. Drivers of biodiversity in springs of the Lower Canyons of the Rio Grande (pdf)
- Dean Hendrickson. A quick overview of knowledge relevant to conservation of the North American blind catfishes of the Edwards Aquifer (pdf)
- Andrew Cannizarro.Species boundaries and biogeography of Hyalella spp. (Amphipoda: Hyalellidae) , using ultraconserved elements and traditional genetic markers (pdf)
- Ben Schwartz. Comparison of groundwater fauna across Texas, Australia and Slovenia (pdf)
Posters
- Yamileth Guerrero & Kathryn Perez. Is there a more accurate name for Phreatodrobia coronae (Mollusca:Caenogastropoda)? (pdf)
- Evan Guerrero, Pete Diaz, Kathryn Perez. Synonomy and reassignment of Tryonia diaboli (Mollusca:Caenogastropoda (pdf)
- Vanessa Saenz & Kathryn Perez. Description of new species of hyporheic snails from West Texas (pdf)
- Steve Fend. A new Haplotaxis-like oligochaete from Texas (pdf)
- Sarah Horvath. Husbandry and Growth of Cave Crayfish Cambarus tartarus in the First Year (pdf)
- Sarah McKillop. What lies beneath? Hyporheic invertebrate community structure in southwestern Ohio streams (pdf)
- Fernando Calderon Gutierrez. Using genomic tools to enhance biodiversity assessments in groundwater ecosystems (pdf)
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.