Ecologically Functional Floodplains: Connectivity,Flow Regime,and Scale1

Opperman, Jeffrey J., Ryan Luster, Bruce A. McKenney, Michael Roberts, and Amanda Wrona Meadows, 2010. Ecologically Functional Floodplains: Connectivity, Flow Regime, and Scale. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(2):211-226. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00426.x Abstract: This paper proposes a conceptual model that captures key attributes of ecologically functional floodplains, encompassing three basic elements: (1) hydrologic connectivity between the river and the floodplain, (2) a variable hydrograph that reflects seasonal precipitation patterns and retains a range of both high and low flow events, and (3) sufficient spatial scale to encompass dynamic processes and for floodplain benefits to accrue to a meaningful level. Although floodplains support high levels of biodiversity and some of the most productive ecosystems on Earth, they are also among the most converted and threatened ecosystems and therefore have recently become the focus of conservation and restoration programs across the United States and globally. These efforts seek to conserve or restore complex, highly variable ecosystems and often must simultaneously address both land and water management. Thus, such efforts must overcome considerable scientific, technical, and socioeconomic challenges. In addition to proposing a scientific conceptual model, this paper also includes three case studies that illustrate methods for addressing these technical and socioeconomic challenges within projects that seek to promote ecologically functional floodplains through river-floodplain reconnection and/or restoration of key components of hydrological variability.     

Effects of climate change and UV radiation on fisheries for arctic freshwater and anadromous species

Fisheries for arctic freshwater and diadromous fish species contribute significantly to northern economies. Climate change, and to a lesser extent increased ultraviolet radiation, effects in freshwaters will have profound effects on fisheries from three perspectives: quantity of fish available, quality of fish available, and success of the fishers. Accordingly, substantive adaptation will very likely be required to conduct fisheries sustainably in the future as these effects take hold. A shift to flexible and rapidly responsive 'adaptive management' of commercial fisheries will be necessary; local land- and resource-use patterns for subsistence fisheries will change; and, the nature, management and place for many recreational fisheries will change. Overall, given the complexity and uncertainty associated with climate change and related effects on arctic freshwaters and their biota, a much more conservative approach to all aspects of fishery management will be required to ensure ecosystems and key fished species retain sufficient resiliency and capacity to meet future changes.     

Effects of ultraviolet radiation and contaminant-related stressors on arctic freshwater ecosystems

Climate change is likely to act as a multiple stressor, leading to cumulative and/or synergistic impacts on aquatic systems. Projected increases in temperature and corresponding alterations in precipitation regimes will enhance contaminant influxes to aquatic systems, and independently increase the susceptibility of aquatic organisms to contaminant exposure and effects. The consequences for the biota will in most cases be additive (cumulative) and multiplicative (synergistic). The overall result will be higher contaminant loads and biomagnification in aquatic ecosystems. Changes in stratospheric ozone and corresponding ultraviolet radiation regimes are also expected to produce cumulative and/or synergistic effects on aquatic ecosystem structure and function. Reduced ice cover is likely to have a much greater effect on underwater UV radiation exposure than the projected levels of stratospheric ozone depletion. A major increase in UV radiation levels will cause enhanced damage to organisms (biomolecular, cellular, and physiological damage, and alterations in species composition). Allocations of energy and resources by aquatic biota to UV radiation protection will increase, probably decreasing trophic-level productivity. Elemental fluxes will increase via photochemical pathways.     

General features of the arctic relevant to climate change in freshwater ecosystems

Large variations exist in the size, abundance and biota of the two principal categories of freshwater ecosystems, lotic (flowing water; e.g., rivers, streams, deltas and estuaries) and lentic (standing water; lakes, ponds and wetlands) found across the circumpolar Arctic. Arctic climate, many components of which exhibit strong variations along latitudinal gradients, directly affects a range of physical, chemical and biological processes in these aquatic systems. Furthermore, arctic climate creates additional indirect ecological effects through the control of terrestrial hydrologic systems and processes, particularly those associated with cryospheric components such as permafrost, freshwater ice and snow accumulation/ablation. The ecological structure and function of arctic freshwater systems are also controlled by external processes and conditions, particularly those in the headwaters of the major arctic rivers and in the adjacent marine environment. The movement of physical, chemical and biotic components through the interlinked lentic and lotic freshwater systems are major determinants of arctic freshwater ecology.     

Historical changes in arctic freshwater ecosystems

Various types of ecosystem-based climate proxies have been used to assess past arctic change. Although lotic records are relatively poor because of the constant reworking of riverine material, high-quality lentic data have been assembled back to the end of the Pleistocene and deglaciation of the circumpolar Arctic. In general, climatic variations in the Holocene, partly due to changes in the shrinking effect of glacier coverage, produced significant temporal and spatial variations in arctic hydrology and freshwater ecosystems. Of particular note were the vast expansions of northern peatlands during major protracted periods of wetting. More recent lake biota and sedimentiological data reflect the general warming trend that has occurred over the last one to two centuries and indicate major changes to freshwater characteristics such as ice-cover duration and thermal stratification. Such data provide an excellent baseline against which future effects of climate change can be both projected and measured.     

Surface metal adsorption on zooplankton carapaces: implications for exposure and effects in consumer organisms

The current study aimed to determine the potential of two important aquatic invertebrate crustacean species, Daphnia magna and Ceriodaphnia dubia, to adsorb cadmium on to their carapaces from aqueous solution. Using the Langmuir equation to model data outputs, it was shown that cadmium readily became associated with the carapace surfaces of both species, with uptake being dependent on exposure time and concentration. Maximum carapace-adsorption potential was found to be directly related to surface area, so that at predicted carapace saturation, D. magna neonates bound approximately five times more cadmium than the smaller C. dubia neonates. However, adsorption per unit surface area was found to be similar under the same exposure conditions. Results of surface metal adsorption studies in C. dubia suggested that short term exposures to high concentrations of aqueous cadmium would lead to similar levels of adsorption as obtained with long-term exposures to low concentrations. The study illustrates that contaminants adsorbed to prey surfaces may be an important mechanism of exposure to predators, and highlights some potential problems of feeding organisms during long-term toxicity tests.     

The use of state workers' compensation administrative data to identify injury scenarios and quantify costs of work-related traumatic brain injuries

PROBLEM: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a public health problem but little is known about the nature of that problem in the working population. METHOD: The author used a national definition to identify cases in Washington State from workers' compensation (WC) hospital billing data, quantified the cost of WC insurance benefits using actuarial cost estimates, and identified high risk industries using ANSI Z16.2 typology. RESULTS: There were 928 cases of TBI with a lifetime claim cost of $159 million from the Washington State Fund (1994-2001). Sixty percent of injuries resulted in death or disability. The highest risks of TBI are concentrated in 16 industrial insurance risk classes and the highest costs in 19 North American Industry Classification codes. Injury scenarios were identified for nine industrial insurance risk classes. CONCLUSIONS: TBI is a disabling and costly workplace injury in the state of Washington, affecting even teenagers and seniors who are not generally considered to be part of the workforce. Injury typology codes provide useful information for improving workplace safety. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: This research provides industry with quantitative information regarding the cost of work-related traumatic brain injury and the usefulness of using workers' compensation claims data to reduce the burden of workplace injury.     

Climate change effects on hydroecology of arctic freshwater ecosystems

In general, the arctic freshwater-terrestrial system will warm more rapidly than the global average, particularly during the autumn and winter season. The decline or loss of many cryospheric components and a shift from a nival to an increasingly pluvial system will produce numerous physical effects on freshwater ecosystems. Of particular note will be reductions in the dominance of the spring freshet and changes in the intensity of river-ice breakup. Increased evaporation/evapotranspiration due to longer ice-free seasons, higher air/water temperatures and greater transpiring vegetation along with increase infiltration because of permafrost thaw will decrease surface water levels and coverage. Loss of ice and permafrost, increased water temperatures and vegetation shifts will alter water chemistry, the general result being an increase in lotic and lentic productivity. Changes in ice and water flow/levels will lead to regime-specific increases and decreases in habitat availability/quality across the circumpolar Arctic.     

Northern Rivers Ecosystem Initiative: Context and Prevailing Legacy

The Northern River Ecosystem Initiative (NREI), 1997–2004, has provided new scientific knowledge in response to specific recommendations from its predecessor, the Northern River Basins Study (NRBS), 1990–1996. The two initiatives together provide a remarkable body of science which is, and will continue to be, used by resource managers responsible for economic and environmental sustainability in the northern watersheds of Alberta. The NREI focused its investigative efforts on improving our understanding related to ecological considerations of changes in river flow, effect of climate change on flow, ecological responses to pollution and cumulative effects, vulnerability of drinking water quality, and to a lesser degree, wildlife (birds) response to large scale changes within the watersheds. Key findings are briefly presented in this paper and discussed in greater detail in the other NREI papers included in this. Commensurate with the undertakings of NREI, provincial and territorial governments, First Nation and Métis communities, and other administrative organizations such as the Mackenzie River Basin Board, undertook policy, regulatory, and watershed initiatives towards achieving sustainability and providing reliable drinking water quality.