Robert C. Wissmar

Bio: Robert C. Wissmar is an academic researcher from University of Washington. The author has contributed to research in topics: Riparian zone & Oncorhynchus. The author has an hindex of 23, co-authored 45 publications receiving 3476 citations.

The role of disturbance in stream ecology.

Abstract: We define disturbance in stream ecosystems to be: any relatively discrete event in time that is characterized by a frequency, intensity, and severity outside a predictable range, and that disrupts ecosystem, community, or population structure and changes resources or the physical environment. Of the three major hypotheses relating disturbance to lotic community structure, the dynamic equilibrium hypothesis appears to be generally applicable, although specific studies support the intermediate disturbance hypothesis and the equilibrium model. Differences in disturbance frequency between lentic and lotic systems may explain why biotic interactions are more apparent in lakes than in streams. Responses to both natural and anthropogenic disturbances vary regionally, as illustrated by examples from the mid-continent, Pacific northwest, and southeastern United States. Based on a generalized framework of climatic-biogeochemical characteristics, two features are considered to be most significant in choosing streams...

Development, maintenance and role of riparian vegetation in the river landscape

Abstract: Summary 1. Riparian structure and function were considered from a longitudinal perspective in order to identify multiscale couplings with adjacent ecosystems and to identify research needs. 2. We characterized functional zones (with respect to vegetation development in association with various biogeochemical processes) within geomorphological settings using a delineation based upon erosional, transitional and depositional properties. 3. Vegetation dynamics within the riparian corridor are clearly influenced substantially by hydrological disturbance regimes. In turn, we suggest that vegetation productivity and diversity may widely influence riverine biogeochemical processes, especially as related to the consequences of changing redox conditions occurring from upstream to downstream. 4. However, surface and groundwater linkages are the predominant controls of landscape connectivity within riparian systems. 5. The importance of riparian zones as sources and sinks of matter and energy was examined in context of structural and functional attributes, such as sequestering or cycling of nutrients in sediments, retention of water in vegetation, and retention, diffusion or dispersal of biota. 6. The consequences of interactions between different communities (e.g. animals and plants, micro-organisms and plants) on biogeochemical processes are notably in need of research, especially with respect to control of landscape features. Multiscale approaches, coupling regional and local factors in all three spatial dimensions, are needed in order to understand more synthetically and to model biogeochemical and community processes within the river-riparian-upland landscape of catchments.

Disturbance regimes, resilience, and recovery of animal communities and habitats in lotic ecosystems

Abstract: Disturbance regime is a critical organizing feature of stream communities and ecosystems. The position of a given reach in the river basin and the sediment type within that reach are two key determinants of the frequency and intensity of flow-induced disturbances. We distinguish between predictable and unpredictable events and suggest that predictable discharge events are not disturbances. We relate the dynamics of recovery from disturbance (i.e., resilience) to disturbance regime (i.e., the disturbance history of the site). The most frequently and predictably disturbed sites can be expected to demonstrate the highest resilience. Spatial scale is an important dimension of community structure, dynamics, and recovery from disturbance. We compare the effects on small patches (⩽1 m2) to the effects of large reaches at the river basin level. At small scales, sediment movements and scour are major factors affecting the distribution of populations of aquatic insects or algae. At larger scales, we must deal with channel formation, bank erosion, and interactions with the riparian zone that will affect all taxa and processes. Our understanding of stream ecosystem recovery rests on our grasp of the historical, spatial, and temporal background of contemporary disturbance events.

Organic Carbon: Oxidation and Transport in the Amazon River

Abstract: Spatial and temporal patterns in the organic carbon load (< 1 millimeter) ofthe Amazon River indicate that oxidation was constant throughout the river at any one time but was much greater at rising water than at high water, whereas transport was constant. The total effective efflux, as the sum ofoxidation plus transport in the river, was about 1014 grams of carbon per year. Estimates for other river systems suggest that global riverine carbon fluxes exceed 1015 grams per year. 1348 on Jauary 8, 2021 http://sce.sciencem agorg/ D ow nladed fom Manaus, Brazil, to Iquitos, Peru, in February to March 1977 (R.J.N. and J.T.B.) at the beginning of the rainy season when water levels were rising about 1 m per week. Transect 2 extended 3400 km, from Iquitos, Peru, to Belem, Brazil, in May to June 1977 (J.E.R., R.C.W., and R.F.S.) during peak flooding when the river inundates terrestrial habitats for several kilometers on each side of the normal channel in upstream reaches to 20 to 100 km in downstream reaches. Chemical measurements included particulate organic carbon < 1 mm (POC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), the organic matter content of seston, and the respiratory oxidation activity (4). The amount of organic matter present in the fine suspended load averaged about 10 percent during both transects (Table 1) (5). The concentration of POC during the rising-water period was 15 to 20 g m-3 upriver and decreased to 8.2 g m-3 downriver at Manaus, whereas at high water the POC concentration reached an upriver maximum of 3.7 g m-3 and exhibited downstream values of 1 to 2 g m-3. During both rising and high water, the DOC concentration was relatively uniform throughout the river, averaging 4.2 and 6.5 g m-3, respectively. The POC and DOC values appear comparable to those of other investigators at single stations with regard to both wetand dry-season values (6). Respiration Tributaries Tributaries

Relationship between Otolith Microstructure and the Growth of Juvenile Chum Salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) under Different Prey Rations

Abstract: Effects of different prey taxa and daily ration levels on fish growth and the relationship between fish growth rate and mean otolith increment width were investigated for juvenile chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) in saltwater aquaria. Growth was positively correlated with ration, and food conversion efficiency was much higher for fish fed the harpacticoid copepod, Tigriopus californicus, than either the calanoid copepod, Pseudocalanus minutas, or the gammarid amphipod, Paramoera mohri. Otolith increments were produced daily for at least the first 160 d after hatching and there was a direct relationship between mean daily otolith increment width and fish growth rate. These results illustrate the possibility that otolith microstructure recapitulates juvenile chum growth histories during estuarine residence.

The Theory of Island Biogeography

Abstract: 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 Natural Flow Regime

Abstract: 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).

Influence of Diet On the Distribtion of Nitrogen Isotopes in Animals

Abstract: The influence of diet on the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in animals was investigated by analyzing animals grown in the laboratory on diets of constant nitrogen isotopic composition. The isotopic composition of the nitrogen in an animal reflects the nitrogen isotopic composition of its diet. The δ^(15)N values of the whole bodies of animals are usually more positive than those of their diets. Different individuals of a species raised on the same diet can have significantly different δ^(15)N values. The variability of the relationship between the δ^(15)N values of animals and their diets is greater for different species raised on the same diet than for the same species raised on different diets. Different tissues of mice are also enriched in ^(15)N relative to the diet, with the difference between the δ^(15)N values of a tissue and the diet depending on both the kind of tissue and the diet involved. The δ^(15)N values of collagen and chitin, biochemical components that are often preserved in fossil animal remains, are also related to the δ^(15)N value of the diet. The dependence of the δ^(15)N values of whole animals and their tissues and biochemical components on the δ^(15)N value of diet indicates that the isotopic composition of animal nitrogen can be used to obtain information about an animal's diet if its potential food sources had different δ^(15)N values. The nitrogen isotopic method of dietary analysis probably can be used to estimate the relative use of legumes vs non-legumes or of aquatic vs terrestrial organisms as food sources for extant and fossil animals. However, the method probably will not be applicable in those modern ecosystems in which the use of chemical fertilizers has influenced the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in food sources. The isotopic method of dietary analysis was used to reconstruct changes in the diet of the human population that occupied the Tehuacan Valley of Mexico over a 7000 yr span. Variations in the δ^(15)C and δ^(15)N values of bone collagen suggest that C_4 and/or CAM plants (presumably mostly corn) and legumes (presumably mostly beans) were introduced into the diet much earlier than suggested by conventional archaeological analysis.

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

Abstract: ▪ 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)

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

Abstract: 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.