Major Flood Disturbance Alters River Ecosystem Evolution
Floods, major formative drivers of channel and floodplain structure and associated riparian and in-stream communities are increasing in intensity and magnitude with climate change in many regions of the world. However, predicting how floods will affect stream channels and their communities as climat...
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ftunivworcester:oai:wrap.eprints.org:2623 2023-05-15T17:59:39+02:00 Major Flood Disturbance Alters River Ecosystem Evolution Milner, A.M. Robertson, A.L. McDermott, M.J. Klaar, Megan Brown, L.E. 2013 http://eprints.worc.ac.uk/2623/ http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/v3/n2/fig_tab/nclimate1665_ft.html https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1665 unknown Nature Milner, A.M., Robertson, A.L., McDermott, M.J., Klaar, Megan and Brown, L.E. (2013) Major Flood Disturbance Alters River Ecosystem Evolution. Nature Climate Change, 3. pp. 137-141. ISSN 1758-678X doi:10.1038/nclimate1665 GB Physical geography Q Science (General) Article PeerReviewed 2013 ftunivworcester https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1665 2022-03-02T19:58:01Z Floods, major formative drivers of channel and floodplain structure and associated riparian and in-stream communities are increasing in intensity and magnitude with climate change in many regions of the world. 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 Worcester: Worcester Research and Publications Nature Climate Change 3 2 137 141 |
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University of Worcester: Worcester Research and Publications |
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GB Physical geography Q Science (General) |
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GB Physical geography Q Science (General) Milner, A.M. Robertson, A.L. McDermott, M.J. Klaar, Megan Brown, L.E. Major Flood Disturbance Alters River Ecosystem Evolution |
topic_facet |
GB Physical geography Q Science (General) |
description |
Floods, major formative drivers of channel and floodplain structure and associated riparian and in-stream communities are increasing in intensity and magnitude with climate change in many regions of the world. 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, A.M. Robertson, A.L. McDermott, M.J. Klaar, Megan Brown, L.E. |
author_facet |
Milner, A.M. Robertson, A.L. McDermott, M.J. Klaar, Megan Brown, L.E. |
author_sort |
Milner, A.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 |
publisher |
Nature |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
http://eprints.worc.ac.uk/2623/ http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/v3/n2/fig_tab/nclimate1665_ft.html https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1665 |
genre |
Pink salmon |
genre_facet |
Pink salmon |
op_relation |
Milner, A.M., Robertson, A.L., McDermott, M.J., Klaar, Megan and Brown, L.E. (2013) Major Flood Disturbance Alters River Ecosystem Evolution. Nature Climate Change, 3. pp. 137-141. ISSN 1758-678X doi:10.1038/nclimate1665 |
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 |
_version_ |
1766168511706562560 |