5/22/2016  |   15:30 - 15:45   |  309-310

TROPICAL STREAMS UNDER GLOBAL CHANGE: A CALL FOR MULTIPLE STRESSOR RESEARCH IN TROPICAL STREAMS Despite the importance of small tropical streams for maintaining freshwater biodiversity and providing essential ecosystem services to humans, relatively few studies have investigated multiple-stressor effects of climate and land-use change on these ecosystems, and how these effects may interact. To illustrate these knowledge gaps, we reviewed the current state of knowledge regarding the ecological impacts of climate change and catchment land use on small tropical streams. We consider effects of predicted changes in streamflow dynamics and water temperatures on water chemistry, habitat structure, aquatic biota and ecosystem processes. We highlight the pervasive individual effects of climate and land-use change on algal, macroinvertebrate and fish communities, and in-stream metabolism and decomposition processes. We also discuss expected responses of tropical streams in a multiple-stressor scenario, considering the predictions of higher temperatures and shifts in hydrological dynamics. Finally, we identify six key knowledge gaps in the ecology of low-order tropical streams and indicate future research directions that may improve catchment management in the tropics to help alleviate climate change effects and biodiversity losses.

Ricardo Taniwaki (Primary Presenter/Author), University of São Paulo, USP/ESALQ, Dept of Forest Sciences, Brazil, rht.bio@gmail.com;


Jeremy Piggott ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Otago, Dept of Zoology, New Zealand , jeremy.piggott@otago.ac.nz;


Silvio Frosini de Barros Ferraz ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of São Paulo, USP/ESALQ, Dept of Forest Sciences, Brazil, silvio.ferraz@usp.br;


Christoph Matthaei ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Otago, Dept of Zoology, New Zealand, christoph.matthaei@otago.ac.nz;


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5/22/2016  |   15:45 - 16:00   |  309-310

DON’T BE FOOLED BY SIZE ALONE: GLOBAL TRENDS AND ECOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF SMALL HYDROPOWER PLANTS Hydroelectric power is widely reported as a largely environmentally benign approach to supplying renewable energy and promoting growth in developing countries. Past and future trends in large hydropower continue to garner much attention by ecologists, yet the recent explosion of small hydropower plants (SHPs; 1-30 MW capacity) has gone almost unnoticed. For example, less than 4% of published papers in the ecological literature discussing hydropower examined the potential impacts of SHPs. Here, we provide the first global review of the status, trends and future of SHP, and explore evidence for ecological impacts. Using Brazil as a case study we describe the cumulative number and geography of small and large dams over the 20th Century and forecast future trends for plants in operation, under construction, planned and proposed. We found that since the implementation of government incentives in 2004, the rates of SHPs construction quintupled from approximately 4 to 20 dams/year; large hydropower plants demonstrate a constant rate of 2-3 dams/year. SHPs may represent 86% of all plants operating in the coming decades. The ecological study of SHPs requires immediate attention.

Thiago Couto (Primary Presenter/Author), Florida International University, tbelisar@fiu.edu;


Julian Olden ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Washington, olden@uw.edu;


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5/22/2016  |   16:00 - 16:15   |  309-310

DO WE HAVE THE $ AND SENSE, ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY AND ETHICS TO PROTECT OUR NATURAL RESOURCE CAPITAL??? PROBABLY NOT! Water and natural resources are critical issues for present and future generations. An ecologically literate public is needed to make informed decisions as resources become limited. Yet, more than 90% of Americans live in urban areas, and generations of children will have increasingly little contact with nature. The disease, Nature Deficit Disorder (NDD) is spreading rapidly among teachers, policy makers, children, and the public, and no cure is in sight. What can be saved, and what can we do? Here, I discuss NDD mitigation programs at the Llano River Field Station: 1) Watershed Planning and Education, 2) partnerships with the National Park Service RTCA Program, 3) a role with USGS South Central Climate Science Center, 4) range, riparian and watershed demonstration projects, 5) human diversity initiatives through the Ecological Society of America and community colleges, 6) evaluating ecosystem services and community economic impact of research and 7) implementing Texas Natural Resource/Environmental Literacy Plan through LRFS’s Outdoor School using standards based, transdisciplinary multiple best learning practices and GLOBE protocols instruction for at-risk students linking innovative curriculum with nature and the outdoors.

Tom Arsuffi (POC,Primary Presenter), Texas Tech Llano River Field Station, tom.arsuffi@ttu.edu;


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5/22/2016  |   16:15 - 16:30   |  309-310

SAVING FRESHWATER FROM SALTS Many human activities like agriculture and resource extraction are increasing the total concentration of dissolved inorganic salts (i.e. salinity) in freshwaters all around the globe. Increasing salinization is especially worrying because water supply is decreasing due to overuse and surface water flows are predicted to decline in some regions with climate change. Although salinization has important ecological, economic, public health and social consequences, freshwater management has largely ignored or only superficially addressed this issue. Regulation has mainly focused on drinking water and human health, whereas environmental quality standards for aquatic life are largely absent throughout the world. Here I will present an international collaboration intended to fill this serious knowledge gap and raise awareness of the impending threats by featuring the collective insights from a multi-disciplinary group of researchers from all around the world on both ecological and economic costs and risks of freshwater salinization. I will identify barriers to setting proper salinity standards, and recommend management guidelines to reduce freshwater salinization that can be useful globally.

Miguel Cañedo-Argüelles (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Barcelona, mcanedo.fem@gmail.com;


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5/22/2016  |   16:30 - 16:45   |  309-310

CONSERVATION STATUS AND VULNERABILITY OF AQUATIC INSECTS Aquatic insects are known to be sensitive indicators of freshwater ecosystem health, but species generally lack conservation status assessment. Review studies of biodiversity in California have found that only 6% of known freshwater species are formally protected by the state or federal government. However, half of all freshwater species in California are considered to be vulnerable to extinction, and extinction rates in freshwater ecosystems are 4-5 times higher than those of terrestrial systems. This presentation provides a review of conservation status of aquatic insects in the United States and an example of species vulnerability assessment using historical specimen data in California.

Joan Damerow (Primary Presenter/Author), WRA Environmental Consultants and UC Berkeley, joandamerow@gmail.com;


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5/22/2016  |   16:45 - 17:00   |  309-310

APOCALYPSE NOW? THE PROSPECTS FOR FRESHWATER BIODIVERSITY IN ANTHROPOCENE ASIA. East Asia is one of the most densely populated areas of the planet, and its biodiverse ecosystems are being – or have been – profoundly altered by humans. Fresh waters are especially at risk, and widespread challenges to human water security are accompanied by declines in aquatic animals and faunal impoverishment. Planned and on-going water-engineering schemes, intended to boost economic development and decarbonize industrial output, will further degrade freshwater ecosystems. While giving rise to undeniable benefits for some human stakeholders, these schemes will also put livelihoods at risk in parts of Asia where people are heavily dependent on provision of services from freshwater ecosystems. In this presentation, I discuss whether the contribution of biodiversity to ecosystem functioning and service provision provides a sufficient basis to support arguments for nature conservation. Using examples from the Yangtze and Mekong Rivers, I ask also whether the benefits accruing from intact ecosystems are likely be enough to ensure their preservation. If the answer to either or both these questions is ‘no’, then what are the prospects for freshwater biodiversity in Anthropocene Asia?

David Dudgeon (Primary Presenter/Author), School of Biological Sciences, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, ddudgeon@hku.hk;


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