EARLY HEARING DETECTION AND INTERVENTION VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
MARCH 2-5, 2021

(Virtually the same conference, without elevators, airplane tickets, or hotel room keys)

<< BACK TO AGENDA

5/21/2019  |   9:45 AM - 10:00 AM   |  HOW DO BEAVERS INTERACT WITH FLOW HOMOGENIZATION TO CHANGE AQUATIC INVERTEBRATE COMMUNITIES?   |  250 DE

HOW DO BEAVERS INTERACT WITH FLOW HOMOGENIZATION TO CHANGE AQUATIC INVERTEBRATE COMMUNITIES?

In free-flowing, temperate rivers, beavers and their structures can enhance river ecosystems by increasing the diversity and abundance of fish, aquatic invertebrates, and riparian plants. However, natural desert rivers have stochastic flood and drought events which can limit beaver structures and populations. Additionally, the majority of rivers worldwide have homogenized flows through the reduction of flood and drought magnitude and frequency for flood control, hydropower, and other human needs. Utilizing a long-term dataset (2006 to 2018) from the Bill Williams River, Arizona, one of the most flow-homogenized rivers in the Western U.S., our research quantifies how beaver activity and flow homogenization interact to change the structure and function of aquatic invertebrate communities. We sampled aquatic invertebrates and collected physio-chemical data from one free-flowing reference site above Alamo Dam and two impacted sites below Alamo Dam. Our findings show that when combined with flow homogenization, beaver activity can become “too much of a good thing” by converting river corridors to a monoculture of pool habitats which reduces the diversity of species traits that could ultimately lead to more degraded ecosystems than flow homogenization alone.

  • Dams
  • Invertebrate
  • Functional Feeding Groups

Presentation:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.

Handouts:
Handout is not Available

Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference


Presenters/Authors

David DuBose (), Oregon State University, dubosed@oregonstate.edu;


ASHA DISCLOSURE:

Financial -

Nonfinancial -

Laura McMullen (), Oregon State University, laurabethmcm@gmail.com;


ASHA DISCLOSURE:

Financial -

Nonfinancial -

Jonathan Tonkin (), University of Canterbury, jonathan.tonkin@canterbury.ac.nz;


ASHA DISCLOSURE:

Financial -

Nonfinancial -

Dave Lytle (), Oregon State University, lytleda@oregonstate.edu;


ASHA DISCLOSURE:

Financial -

Nonfinancial -