Gravel-bed river floodplains are the ecological nexus of glaciated mountain landscapes

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dc.contributor.authorHauer, F. Richard
dc.contributor.authorLocke, Harvey
dc.contributor.authorDreitz, Victoria J.
dc.contributor.authorHebblewhite, Mark
dc.contributor.authorLowe, Winsor H.
dc.contributor.authorMuhfield, Clint C.
dc.contributor.authorNelson, Cara R.
dc.contributor.authorProctor, Michael F.
dc.contributor.authorRood, Stewart B.
dc.date.accessioned2017-04-27T20:39:40Z
dc.date.available2017-04-27T20:39:40Z
dc.date.issued2016
dc.descriptionSherpa Romeo green journal: open accessen_US
dc.description.abstractGravel-bed river floodplains in mountain landscapes disproportionately concentrate diverse habitats, nutrient cycling, productivity of biota, and species interactions. Although stream ecologists know that river channel and floodplain habitats used by aquatic organisms are maintained by hydrologic regimes that mobilize gravel-bed sediments, terrestrial ecologists have largely been unaware of the importance of floodplain structures and processes to the life requirements of a wide variety of species. We provide insight into gravel-bed rivers as the ecological nexus of glaciated mountain landscapes. We show why gravel-bed river floodplains are the primary arena where interactions take place among aquatic, avian, and terrestrial species from microbes to grizzly bears and provide essential connectivity as corridors for movement for both aquatic and terrestrial species. Paradoxically, gravel-bed river floodplains are also disproportionately unprotected where human developments are concentrated. Structural modifications to floodplains such as roads, railways, and housing and hydrologicaltering hydroelectric or water storage dams have severe impacts to floodplain habitat diversity and productivity, restrict local and regional connectivity, and reduce the resilience of both aquatic and terrestrial species, including adaptation to climate change. To be effective, conservation efforts in glaciated mountain landscapes intended to benefit the widest variety of organisms need a paradigm shift that has gravel-bed rivers and their floodplains as the central focus and that prioritizes the maintenance or restoration of the intact structure and processes of these critically important systems throughout their length and breadth.en_US
dc.description.peer-reviewYesen_US
dc.identifier.citationHauer, F. R., Locke, H., Dreitz, V. J., Hebblewhite, M., Lowe, W. H., Muhfield, C. C. ... Rood, S. B. (2016). Gravel-bed river floodplains are the ecological nexus of glacited mountain landscapes. Science Advances, 2. doi:10.1126/sciadv.1600026en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10133/4833
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherAmerican Association for the Advancement of Scienceen_US
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Biological Sciencesen_US
dc.publisher.facultyArts and Scienceen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Montanaen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Lethbridgeen_US
dc.subjectGravel-bed riversen_US
dc.subjectGravel-bed floodplainsen_US
dc.subjectGlaciated mountain landscapesen_US
dc.subjectFloodplain habitaten_US
dc.subjectBiodiversityen_US
dc.subjectEcosystemen_US
dc.subjectConservationen_US
dc.subject.lcshFloodplains
dc.titleGravel-bed river floodplains are the ecological nexus of glaciated mountain landscapesen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
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