Flow variability plays an important role in structuring lotic communities, yet comparatively little is known about processes governing assemblage dynamics in stream ecosystems with stable environmental conditions, such as spring-fed rivers. Volcanic spring-fed rivers (hereafter spring-fed rivers) occur in geologically active landscapes of the weste...
In an effort to restore predictable ecologically relevant spring snowmelt recession flow patterns in rivers regulated by dams, this study defined a methodology by which spring flow regimes can be modeled in regulated systems from the quantifiable characteristics of spring snowmelt recessions in unregulated rivers. An analysis of eight unregulated r...
Flood protection from levees is a mixed blessing, excluding water from the floodplain but creating higher flood levels (“surcharges”) and promoting “residual risk” of flood damages. This study completed 2D hydrodynamic modeling and flood-damage analyses for the 459 km2 Sny Island levee system on the Upper Mississippi River. These levees provide lar...
Population growth and increasing water-use pressures threaten Californias freshwater ecosystems and have led many native fishes to the brink of extinction. To guide fish conservation efforts, we provide the first systematic prioritization of river catchments and identify those that disproportionately contribute to fish taxonomic diversity. Using hi...
The invasive aquatic plant Egeria densa (Brazilian waterweed) is a submersed aquatic plant that has expanded its distribution in both its native and introduced range. Because the plant grows so densely, it can become a problem for management of waterways and habitat restoration projects. It is difficult to remove once established and mechanical and...
Oncorhynchus mykiss exhibits a vast array of life histories, which increases its likelihood of persistence by spreading risk of extirpation among different pathways. The Klamath River basin (California–Oregon) provides a particularly interesting backdrop for the study of life history diversity in O. mykiss, in part because the river is slated for a...
Natural reproduction of adfluvial Chinook Salmon Oncorhyn-chustshawytscha has been documented in their native and introduced range but not in California, the southern end of their native range. A combination of anecdotal evidence and survey data suggests that successful spawning by Chinook Salmon reared in California reservoirs could be common. The...
New regulations are emerging in response to historic groundwater depletion and widespread groundwater quality degradation in California. They aim at long-term preservation of groundwater resources for use in agriculture, in urban areas and for the support of ecosystems in streams dependent on groundwater. The regulations are driving a historic shif...
Using stable isotopes of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) and mixing models, we investigated the trophic levels and carbon sources of invertebrates and fishes of a large tidal marsh in the San Francisco Estuary. Our goal was to better understand an estuarine food web comprised of native and alien species. We found the following: (1) the food web w...