Major flood disturbance alters river ecosystem evolution
Floods, major formative drivers of channel and floodplain structure and associated riparian and in-stream communities(1,2), are increasing in intensity and magnitude with climate change in many regions of the world(3,4). However, predicting how floods will affect stream channels and their communitie...
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ftroehamptonuncr:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/9c4d4888-63c1-4be4-94b4-d9b338c2e0e4 2023-05-15T17:59:39+02:00 Major flood disturbance alters river ecosystem evolution Milner, Alexander M. Robertson, Anne McDermott, Michael J. Klaar, Megan J. Brown, Lee E. 2013 https://pure.roehampton.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/9c4d4888-63c1-4be4-94b4-d9b338c2e0e4 https://doi.org/10.1038/NCLIMATE1665 eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess Milner , A M , Robertson , A , McDermott , M J , Klaar , M J & Brown , L E 2013 , ' Major flood disturbance alters river ecosystem evolution ' , NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE , vol. 3 , no. 2 , pp. 137-141 . https://doi.org/10.1038/NCLIMATE1665 article 2013 ftroehamptonuncr https://doi.org/10.1038/NCLIMATE1665 2022-02-16T17:53:04Z Floods, major formative drivers of channel and floodplain structure and associated riparian and in-stream communities(1,2), are increasing in intensity and magnitude with climate change in many regions of the world(3,4). However, predicting how floods will affect stream channels and their communities as climate changes is limited by a lack of long-term pre-flood baseline data sets across different organismal groups. Here we show salmon, macroinvertebrate and meiofauna communities, monitored for 30 years in a system evolving owing to glacier retreat, were modified significantly by a major rainfall event that caused substantial geomorphic change to the stream channel. Pink salmon, reduced to one-tenth of pre-flood spawner densities, recovered within two generations. Macroinvertebrate community structure was significantly different after the flood as some pioneer taxa, which had become locally extinct, recolonized whereas some later colonizers were eliminated. The trajectory of the macroinvertebrate succession was reset towards the community structure of 15 years earlier. Meiofaunal abundance recovered rapidly and richness increased post-flood with some previously unrecorded taxa colonizing. Biotic recovery was independent of geomorphological recovery. Markedly different responses according to the organismal group suggest caution is required when applying general aquatic ecosystem theories and concepts to predict flood events. Article in Journal/Newspaper Pink salmon University of Roehampton Research Explorer Nature Climate Change 3 2 137 141 |
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University of Roehampton Research Explorer |
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ftroehamptonuncr |
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English |
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Floods, major formative drivers of channel and floodplain structure and associated riparian and in-stream communities(1,2), are increasing in intensity and magnitude with climate change in many regions of the world(3,4). However, predicting how floods will affect stream channels and their communities as climate changes is limited by a lack of long-term pre-flood baseline data sets across different organismal groups. Here we show salmon, macroinvertebrate and meiofauna communities, monitored for 30 years in a system evolving owing to glacier retreat, were modified significantly by a major rainfall event that caused substantial geomorphic change to the stream channel. Pink salmon, reduced to one-tenth of pre-flood spawner densities, recovered within two generations. Macroinvertebrate community structure was significantly different after the flood as some pioneer taxa, which had become locally extinct, recolonized whereas some later colonizers were eliminated. The trajectory of the macroinvertebrate succession was reset towards the community structure of 15 years earlier. Meiofaunal abundance recovered rapidly and richness increased post-flood with some previously unrecorded taxa colonizing. Biotic recovery was independent of geomorphological recovery. Markedly different responses according to the organismal group suggest caution is required when applying general aquatic ecosystem theories and concepts to predict flood events. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Milner, Alexander M. Robertson, Anne McDermott, Michael J. Klaar, Megan J. Brown, Lee E. |
spellingShingle |
Milner, Alexander M. Robertson, Anne McDermott, Michael J. Klaar, Megan J. Brown, Lee E. Major flood disturbance alters river ecosystem evolution |
author_facet |
Milner, Alexander M. Robertson, Anne McDermott, Michael J. Klaar, Megan J. Brown, Lee E. |
author_sort |
Milner, Alexander M. |
title |
Major flood disturbance alters river ecosystem evolution |
title_short |
Major flood disturbance alters river ecosystem evolution |
title_full |
Major flood disturbance alters river ecosystem evolution |
title_fullStr |
Major flood disturbance alters river ecosystem evolution |
title_full_unstemmed |
Major flood disturbance alters river ecosystem evolution |
title_sort |
major flood disturbance alters river ecosystem evolution |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://pure.roehampton.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/9c4d4888-63c1-4be4-94b4-d9b338c2e0e4 https://doi.org/10.1038/NCLIMATE1665 |
genre |
Pink salmon |
genre_facet |
Pink salmon |
op_source |
Milner , A M , Robertson , A , McDermott , M J , Klaar , M J & Brown , L E 2013 , ' Major flood disturbance alters river ecosystem evolution ' , NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE , vol. 3 , no. 2 , pp. 137-141 . https://doi.org/10.1038/NCLIMATE1665 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/NCLIMATE1665 |
container_title |
Nature Climate Change |
container_volume |
3 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
137 |
op_container_end_page |
141 |
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1766168510515380224 |