2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference

March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH

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6/08/2017 | 2:45 PM - 3:00 PM | UNDERSTANDING VARIATION IN STREAM TEMPERATURE AND DISSOLVED OXYGEN RESPONSES TO SMALL DAMS | 305B

UNDERSTANDING VARIATION IN STREAM TEMPERATURE AND DISSOLVED OXYGEN RESPONSES TO SMALL DAMS

Many of the estimated 2 million dams in the U.S. are small structures with highly variable impacts to water quality. Some studies have reported increased temperature and decreased dissolved oxygen (DO) downstream of dams, whereas other studies have shown no impact. Given this observed variability, we examined the role of landscape context (e.g., percent forest, drainage size), dam characteristics (e.g., reservoir volume, dam height), and flow in explaining spatial and temporal variation in stream temperature and DO responses to dams. Downstream temperatures were warmer (0.2–5.3C) at 14 of 18 sites, with greater thermal impacts in forested vs. urban watersheds. Temperatures decreased with increasing distance downstream of the dam at 26 of 31 sites, with shorter dams and sites with higher forest cover showing faster recovery. DO was lower in the impoundment compared to upstream reaches at nine of the 12 sites, but that only translated to lower downstream DO at 6 sites. These results can help to identify which unmanaged dams might provide the greatest water quality benefits from dam removal.

C16 Restoration Ecology
C12 Conservation Ecology
C19 Causal Assessment & C22 Disturbance

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Presenters/Authors

Peter Zaidel (), Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Massachusetts Amherst, pzaidel@umass.edu;