Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols Used xiii 1. The Importance of Islands 3 2. Area and Number of Speicies 8 3. Further Explanations of the Area-Diversity Pattern 19 4. The Strategy of Colonization 68 5. Invasibility and the Variable Niche 94 6. Stepping Stones and Biotic Exchange 123 7. Evolutionary Changes Following Colonization 145 8. Prospect 181 Glossary 185 References 193 Index 201

The Theory of Island Biogeography

Freshwater biodiversity is the over-riding conservation priority during the International Decade for Action - 'Water for Life' - 2005 to 2015. Fresh water makes up only 0.01% of the World's water and approximately 0.8% of the Earth's surface, yet this tiny fraction of global water supports at least 100000 species out of approximately 1.8 million - almost 6% of all described species. Inland waters and freshwater biodiversity constitute a valuable natural resource, in economic, cultural, aesthetic, scientific and educational terms. Their conservation and management are critical to the interests of all humans, nations and governments. Yet this precious heritage is in crisis. Fresh waters are experiencing declines in biodiversity far greater than those in the most affected terrestrial ecosystems, and if trends in human demands for water remain unaltered and species losses continue at current rates, the opportunity to conserve much of the remaining biodiversity in fresh water will vanish before the 'Water for Life' decade ends in 2015. Why is this so, and what is being done about it? This article explores the special features of freshwater habitats and the biodiversity they support that makes them especially vulnerable to human activities. We document threats to global freshwater biodiversity under five headings: overexploitation; water pollution; flow modification; destruction or degradation of habitat; and invasion by exotic species. Their combined and interacting influences have resulted in population declines and range reduction of freshwater biodiversity worldwide. Conservation of biodiversity is complicated by the landscape position of rivers and wetlands as 'receivers' of land-use effluents, and the problems posed by endemism and thus non-substitutability. In addition, in many parts of the world, fresh water is subject to severe competition among multiple human stakeholders. Protection of freshwater biodiversity is perhaps the ultimate conservation challenge because it is influenced by the upstream drainage network, the surrounding land, the riparian zone, and - in the case of migrating aquatic fauna - downstream reaches. Such prerequisites are hardly ever met. Immediate action is needed where opportunities exist to set aside intact lake and river ecosystems within large protected areas. For most of the global land surface, trade-offs between conservation of freshwater biodiversity and human use of ecosystem goods and services are necessary. We advocate continuing attempts to check species loss but, in many situations, urge adoption of a compromise position of management for biodiversity conservation, ecosystem functioning and resilience, and human livelihoods in order to provide a viable long-term basis for freshwater conservation. Recognition of this need will require adoption of a new paradigm for biodiversity protection and freshwater ecosystem management - one that has been appropriately termed 'reconciliation ecology'.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/96AA265E3D88C95FB802E7A73CCB4332/S1464793105006950a.pdf/div-class-title-freshwater-biodiversity-importance-threats-status-and-conservation-challenges-div.pdf

Freshwater biodiversity: importance, threats, status and conservation challenges

H umans have long been fascinated by the dynamism of free-flowing waters. Yet we have expended great effort to tame rivers for transportation, water supply, flood control, agriculture, and power generation. It is now recognized that harnessing of streams and rivers comes at great cost: Many rivers no longer support socially valued native species or sustain healthy ecosystems that provide important goods and services (Naiman et al. 1995, NRC 1992).

/pdf/the-natural-flow-regime-3j2upj9j41.pdf

The Natural Flow Regime

▪ Abstract Local habitat and biological diversity of streams and rivers are strongly influenced by landform and land use within the surrounding valley at multiple scales. However, empirical associations between land use and stream response only varyingly succeed in implicating pathways of influence. This is the case for a number of reasons, including (a) covariation of anthropogenic and natural gradients in the landscape; (b) the existence of multiple, scale-dependent mechanisms; (c) nonlinear responses; and (d) the difficulties of separating present-day from historical influences. Further research is needed that examines responses to land use under different management strategies and that employs response variables that have greater diagnostic value than many of the aggregated measures in current use. In every respect, the valley rules the stream.      H.B.N. Hynes (1975)

http://deq.idaho.gov/media/525804-Landscapes_Riverscapes_Influence_landuse_stream_ecosystems_Allan_2004.pdf

Landscapes and Riverscapes: The Influence of Land Use on Stream Ecosystems

The flow regime is regarded by many aquatic ecologists to be the key driver of river and floodplain wet- land ecosystems. We have focused this literature review around four key principles to highlight the important mech- anisms that link hydrology and aquatic biodiversity and to illustrate the consequent impacts of altered flow regimes: Firstly, flow is a major determinant of physical habitat in streams, which in turn is a major determinant of biotic com- position; Secondly, aquatic species have evolved life history strategies primarily in direct response to the natural flow regimes; Thirdly, maintenance of natural patterns of longitu- dinal and lateral connectivity is essential to the viability of populations of many riverine species; Finally, the invasion and success of exotic and introduced species in rivers is facilitated by the alteration of flow regimes. The impacts of flow change are manifest across broad taxonomic groups including riverine plants, invertebrates, and fish. Despite growing recognition of these relationships, ecologists still struggle to predict and quantify biotic responses to altered flow regimes. One obvious difficulty is the ability to distin- guish the direct effects of modified flow regimes from im- pacts associated with land-use change that often accom- panies water resource development. Currently, evidence about how rivers function in relation to flow regime and the flows that aquatic organisms need exists largely as a series of untested hypotheses. To overcome these problems, aquatic science needs to move quickly into a manipulative or experimental phase, preferably with the aims of restora- tion and measuring ecosystem response.

/pdf/basic-principles-and-ecological-consequences-of-altered-flow-4u5bupofua.pdf

Basic principles and ecological consequences of altered flow regimes for aquatic biodiversity.

Samples were collected year-round over a one-year period at sites 250m, 500m, 1000m, 2300m, 5200m, and 11000m downstream from a hypolimnetic-release reservoir on the Blue River, Colorado, to examine biotic and abiotic gradients induced by river regulation. The impoundment had only minimal effects on river chemistry and chemical variables failed to exhibit discernible downstream patterns. The temperature regime was markedly altered by regulation and exhibited a distinct downstream recovery gradient. The progressive downstream increase in zoobenthos species diversity is attributed, in part, to the thermal recovery. The average size of mineral substratum particles was greater at sites nearest the dam, although cobble and pebble predominated at all sites. A downstream decrease in bed stability was accompanied by decreased water clarity and increases in scour and ice action. These factors may have accounted for the higher standing crops of periphyton near the dam and a shift from filamentous chlorophytes to a predominance of diatoms with increasing distance downstream. The amount of leaf detritus in the substratum increased downstream. The abundance of shredders, zoobenthic species that feed on leaf detritus, tracked the downstream increase in coarse sedimentary detritus. Spatial patterns of organic seston within the study reach, influenced partly by sloughing of periphyton, are thought to account for the downstream species replacement patterns exhibited within the filter-feeder guild.

Biotic and abiotic gradients in a regulated high elevation Rocky mountain river

SUMMARY 1. Resource utilization was quantified for six mayfly (Ephemeroptera) and one caddis (Trichoptera) species comprising a lotic scraper/collector-gatherer guild across three niche dimensions (temporal, trophic and spatial). Based on trophic differences and inferred microspatial utilization, the members of this guild separated into two groups: (1) cryptic detritivores and (2) exposed algivores.

2. Each species demonstrated a slow seasonal univoltine life cycle except for Epeorus longimanus (Eaton) and Baetis iricaudatus (Dodds) which were fast seasonal univoltine and multivoltine, respectively.

3. Temporal sequencing of periods of peak resource utilization were not demonstrated by the members of this guild. A null analysis indicated that periods of peak resource utilization were aggregated.

Resource utilization, overlap and temporal dynamics in a guild of mountain stream insects.

15 – Groundwater Fauna of the South Platte River System, Colorado

Longitudinal changes in benthic organic matter (BOM), physicochemical variables and macroinvertebrate community structure and functional organization were examined at six sites in the plains section of the Cache la Poudre River, north central Colorado, U.S.A., along a gradient affected by urbanization and agricultural activities. A corer (314 cm{2}) was used to collect BOM and macroinvertebrates and a defined area (11.4 cm{2}) of epilithon from cobble-sized rocks was removed to measure chlorophyll a and periphytic biomass monthly from September, 1993 to August, 1994. BOM dynamics in the stream reach was a consequence of the hydrological flow regime, water chemistry and the growth patterns of macrophytes. The total BOM standing stocks attained maxima at sites 3 and 4 which were primarily impacted by agricultural activities. The concentrations of periphyton chlorophyll a at downstream reaches were two to six times higher that at the upstream reference site. The results from redundancy analysis (RDA) indicated that macroinvertebrate assemblages exhibited the strongest relationship with the distribution and abundance of aquatic vascular plants. The aquatic vascular plants supported a significantly higher diversity of macroinvertebrates. The major roles of aquatic vascular plants were to trap fine particulate organic matter and serve as spatial habitat structure for benthic macroinvertebrates. The spatial variations in the functional organization of macroinvertebrate communities reflected the alterations of physicochemical characteristics and food resource availability in the stream ecosystem. Collector-gatherers formed the dominant group at site 2 which were impacted by the effluents from wastewater treatment facilities. Conversely, the densities of scrapers and shredders were much reduced at the sampling site.

Longitudinal changes in benthic organic matter and macroinvertebrates in a polluted Colorado plains stream

The nymphs of 29 species of Ephemeroptera representing six families were collected from rubble riffles in a Colorado stream system, from alpine tundra to the plains. Density ranged from 44 nymphs/m2 at the headwater site to 2,031 nymphs/m2 in the Foothills Limnological Zone. Heptageniidae comprised the majority of the mayflies at upstream sites and were numerically important at all but the plains location. Baetidae attained maximum diversity and relative abundance (62% of total mayflies) in the plains stream. Seven species of Ephemerella exhibited overlapping distribution patterns from 3109 m a.s.l to the plains.

James V. Ward

Papers

Biotic and abiotic gradients in a regulated high elevation Rocky mountain river

Resource utilization, overlap and temporal dynamics in a guild of mountain stream insects.

15 – Groundwater Fauna of the South Platte River System, Colorado

Longitudinal changes in benthic organic matter and macroinvertebrates in a polluted Colorado plains stream

Abundance and Altitudinal Distribution of Ephemeroptera in a Rocky Mountain Stream