1. Connectivity of River Flow Marisa Hendron Limnology 475/575 Presented November 25, 2009 Prof. Mark Sytsma

2. Flow Characteristics Figure from Alley et al., 2002, Science Vertical Nutrient Cycling Longitudinal Navigation Lateral Floodplain Interaction

3. The Hyporheos Defined by saturated sediments experiencing flow surrounding riverbed - Nitrification - High Phosphate Concentration - Oxidation of Methane, Sulfides - Respiration, turnover of OC - Contains dissolved O from surface water -Denitrification, Ammoniafication - Reduction of sulfate - Methanogenesis - Low Dissolved Oxygen - High Silica Concentration

4. Flow & River Health Natural flow develops heterogeneous patches and supports biodiversity Upwelling aerates fish eggs in sediment Groundwater is loaded with bio-available solutes Longitudinal flow regulates transport of sediment and organic matter http://www.treehugger.com/salmo n-snake-river-photo.jpg

5. Flow, Hyporheic Ecology & Lake Nutrients Function of hyporheos influences amount and type of nutrients that reach lakes http://waterontheweb.org/under/lak eecology/06_watershed.html Chemical processes in rivers differ greatly between low and high flow periods

6. Disturbances in Flow Richter, et al. Restoring Environmental Flow by Modifying Dam Operations, Figures 1 & 3 Above: Green River, Kentucky Right: San Joaquin River, California

7. Consequences of Flow Disturbance Reduction of natural flood cycles reduces biodiversity long-term Natural geomorphological processes are diminished Nutrient cycles are disrupted

8. Restoration Efforts Case Study: Merced River, CA Initial restoration did not account for three dimensional flow dynamics Flow variation across time is important for shaping river morphology and species composition http://merced.stillwatersci.com/pdf/6/vol 1/Figures.pdf

9. Conclusions Maintenance of all dimensions of flow in lotic systems is important for proper nutrient cycling and biological function. Riverine ecology will affect the quality of water and nutrients received by lentic systems within the watershed. Connectivity is a key dimension of river flow and should be emphasized in the development of restoration plans.

10. Bibliography Hendricks, Susan. Microbial ecology of the hyporheic zone: a perspective integrating hydrology and biology. The North American Benthological Society, Vol 12, No. 1 (Mar., 1993), pp. 70-78. Howard, K. W. F. et al. Ground-Surface Water Interactions and the Role of the Hyporheic Zone in Groundwater and Ecosystems. Ed. Alper Baba et al. Nato Science Series, Vol. 70, 2005. Kondolf, Mathias G. et al. Process-Based Ecological River Restoration: Visualizing Three-Dimensional Connectivity and Dynamic Vectors to Recover Lost Linkages. 2006. Ecology and Society Vol. 11, No. 2. Nilsson, Christer and Birgitta Malm Renofalt. Linking Flow Regime and Water Quality in Rivers: A Challenge to Adaptive Catchmetn Management. 2008. Ecology and Society, Vol 13, No. 2, pp. 18-38. Richter, Brian D. and Gregory A. Thomas. Restoring Environmental Flows by Modifying Dam Operations. 2007. Ecology and Society Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 12. Stanford, Jack and J. V. Ward. An Ecosystem Perspective of Alluvial Rivers: Connectivity and the Hyporheic Corridor. The North American Benthological Society, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Mar., 1993), pp. 48-60. Thomaz, Sidinei et al. Floods increase similarity among aquatic habitats in river- floodplain systems. Hyperbiologia (2007) 579: 1-13. Thorp, James H. et al. The Riverine Ecosystem Synthesis. Elsevier Inc, 2008.