Connecting Science and Management on the Rio Chama: Macroinvertebrate Response to Changing Flow Regimes and other Critical Constraints to Adaptive Management
Start Date
8-11-2017 1:30 PM
End Date
8-11-2017 5:30 PM
Abstract
The construction of El Vado dam on the Rio Chama in 1935 dramatically changed the natural flow of the river, reducing spring runoff and summer scouring floods in favor of providing a constant water supply to downriver consumers. This unnatural fluctuation in discharge can also lead to unusually high-flow conditions in customarily low-flow periods. In recent years, and in response to several unusually large releases of water from the dam, there has been an increasing interest in adaptively managing the flow out of El Vado to maximize river and riparian health while still meeting current user needs. However, there are still significant gaps in understanding how the geomorphology of the river and secondary producer community responds to artificial flood pulses. Seasonal variation in runoff is an important driver of available physical habitat and nutrients for macroinvertebrate communities. The abnormal flow patterns on the already dynamic river may result in implications for the diversity index and abundance of benthic macroinvertebrates. Connected to the many scientific uncertainties is uncertainty in the socio-political components and constraints that would need to adjust to effectively plan, monitor and learn from implementing a new flow regime, including regulatory requirements, stakeholder cooperation, effective monitoring frameworks etc. Identifying these constraints by running through an established adaptive management cycle can help direct future work on the river, and move toward a formal management plan. Sampling the benthic macroinvertebrate population before and after specific pulse events could further our understanding of how rivers respond to experimental flows and resolve one of the critical scientific constraints identified in the adaptive framework analysis process. The construction of El Vado dam on the Rio Chama in 1935 dramatically changed the natural flow of the river, reducing spring runoff and summer scouring floods in favor of providing a constant water supply to downriver consumers. This unnatural fluctuation in discharge can also lead to unusually high-flow conditions in customarily low-flow periods. In recent years, and in response to several unusually large releases of water from the dam, there has been an increasing interest in adaptively managing the flow out of El Vado to maximize river and riparian health while still meeting current user needs. However, there are still significant gaps in understanding how the geomorphology of the river and secondary producer community responds to artificial flood pulses. Seasonal variation in runoff is an important driver of available physical habitat and nutrients for macroinvertebrate communities. The abnormal flow patterns on the already dynamic river may result in implications for the diversity index and abundance of benthic macroinvertebrates. Connected to the many scientific uncertainties is uncertainty in the socio-political components and constraints that would need to adjust to effectively plan, monitor and learn from implementing a new flow regime, including regulatory requirements, stakeholder cooperation, effective monitoring frameworks etc. Identifying these constraints by running through an established adaptive management cycle can help direct future work on the river, and move toward a formal management plan. Sampling the benthic macroinvertebrate population before and after specific pulse events could further our understanding of how rivers respond to experimental flows and resolve one of the critical scientific constraints identified in the adaptive framework analysis process. The construction of El Vado dam on the Rio Chama in 1935 dramatically changed the natural flow of the river, reducing spring runoff and summer scouring floods in favor of providing a constant water supply to downriver consumers. This unnatural fluctuation in discharge can also lead to unusually high-flow conditions in customarily low-flow periods. In recent years, and in response to several unusually large releases of water from the dam, there has been an increasing interest in adaptively managing the flow out of El Vado to maximize river and riparian health while still meeting current user needs. However, there are still significant gaps in understanding how the geomorphology of the river and secondary producer community responds to artificial flood pulses. Seasonal variation in runoff is an important driver of available physical habitat and nutrients for macroinvertebrate communities. The abnormal flow patterns on the already dynamic river may result in implications for the diversity index and abundance of benthic macroinvertebrates. Connected to the many scientific uncertainties is uncertainty in the socio-political components and constraints that would need to adjust to effectively plan, monitor and learn from implementing a new flow regime, including regulatory requirements, stakeholder cooperation, effective monitoring frameworks etc. Identifying these constraints by running through an established adaptive management cycle can help direct future work on the river, and move toward a formal management plan. Sampling the benthic macroinvertebrate population before and after specific pulse events could further our understanding of how rivers respond to experimental flows and resolve one of the critical scientific constraints identified in the adaptive framework analysis process. The construction of El Vado dam on the Rio Chama in 1935 dramatically changed the natural flow of the river, reducing spring runoff and summer scouring floods in favor of providing a constant water supply to downriver consumers. This unnatural fluctuation in discharge can also lead to unusually high-flow conditions in customarily low-flow periods. In recent years, and in response to several unusually large releases of water from the dam, there has been an increasing interest in adaptively managing the flow out of El Vado to maximize river and riparian health while still meeting current user needs. However, there are still significant gaps in understanding how the geomorphology of the river and secondary producer community responds to artificial flood pulses. Seasonal variation in runoff is an important driver of available physical habitat and nutrients for macroinvertebrate communities. The abnormal flow patterns on the already dynamic river may result in implications for the diversity index and abundance of benthic macroinvertebrates. Connected to the many scientific uncertainties is uncertainty in the socio-political components and constraints that would need to adjust to effectively plan, monitor and learn from implementing a new flow regime, including regulatory requirements, stakeholder cooperation, effective monitoring frameworks etc. Identifying these constraints by running through an established adaptive management cycle can help direct future work on the river, and move toward a formal management plan. Sampling the benthic macroinvertebrate population before and after specific pulse events could further our understanding of how rivers respond to experimental flows and resolve one of the critical scientific constraints identified in the adaptive framework analysis process. The construction of El Vado dam on the Rio Chama in 1935 dramatically changed the natural flow of the river, reducing spring runoff and summer scouring floods in favor of providing a constant water supply to downriver consumers. This unnatural fluctuation in discharge can also lead to unusually high-flow conditions in customarily low-flow periods. In recent years, and in response to several unusually large releases of water from the dam, there has been an increasing interest in adaptively managing the flow out of El Vado to maximize river and riparian health while still meeting current user needs. However, there are still significant gaps in understanding how the geomorphology of the river and secondary producer community responds to artificial flood pulses. Seasonal variation in runoff is an important driver of available physical habitat and nutrients for macroinvertebrate communities. The abnormal flow patterns on the already dynamic river may result in implications for the diversity index and abundance of benthic macroinvertebrates. Connected to the many scientific uncertainties is uncertainty in the socio-political components and constraints that would need to adjust to effectively plan, monitor and learn from implementing a new flow regime, including regulatory requirements, stakeholder cooperation, effective monitoring frameworks etc. Identifying these constraints by running through an established adaptive management cycle can help direct future work on the river, and move toward a formal management plan. Sampling the benthic macroinvertebrate population before and after specific pulse events could further our understanding of how rivers respond to experimental flows and resolve one of the critical scientific constraints identified in the adaptive framework analysis process.
Connecting Science and Management on the Rio Chama: Macroinvertebrate Response to Changing Flow Regimes and other Critical Constraints to Adaptive Management
The construction of El Vado dam on the Rio Chama in 1935 dramatically changed the natural flow of the river, reducing spring runoff and summer scouring floods in favor of providing a constant water supply to downriver consumers. This unnatural fluctuation in discharge can also lead to unusually high-flow conditions in customarily low-flow periods. In recent years, and in response to several unusually large releases of water from the dam, there has been an increasing interest in adaptively managing the flow out of El Vado to maximize river and riparian health while still meeting current user needs. However, there are still significant gaps in understanding how the geomorphology of the river and secondary producer community responds to artificial flood pulses. Seasonal variation in runoff is an important driver of available physical habitat and nutrients for macroinvertebrate communities. The abnormal flow patterns on the already dynamic river may result in implications for the diversity index and abundance of benthic macroinvertebrates. Connected to the many scientific uncertainties is uncertainty in the socio-political components and constraints that would need to adjust to effectively plan, monitor and learn from implementing a new flow regime, including regulatory requirements, stakeholder cooperation, effective monitoring frameworks etc. Identifying these constraints by running through an established adaptive management cycle can help direct future work on the river, and move toward a formal management plan. Sampling the benthic macroinvertebrate population before and after specific pulse events could further our understanding of how rivers respond to experimental flows and resolve one of the critical scientific constraints identified in the adaptive framework analysis process. The construction of El Vado dam on the Rio Chama in 1935 dramatically changed the natural flow of the river, reducing spring runoff and summer scouring floods in favor of providing a constant water supply to downriver consumers. This unnatural fluctuation in discharge can also lead to unusually high-flow conditions in customarily low-flow periods. In recent years, and in response to several unusually large releases of water from the dam, there has been an increasing interest in adaptively managing the flow out of El Vado to maximize river and riparian health while still meeting current user needs. However, there are still significant gaps in understanding how the geomorphology of the river and secondary producer community responds to artificial flood pulses. Seasonal variation in runoff is an important driver of available physical habitat and nutrients for macroinvertebrate communities. The abnormal flow patterns on the already dynamic river may result in implications for the diversity index and abundance of benthic macroinvertebrates. Connected to the many scientific uncertainties is uncertainty in the socio-political components and constraints that would need to adjust to effectively plan, monitor and learn from implementing a new flow regime, including regulatory requirements, stakeholder cooperation, effective monitoring frameworks etc. Identifying these constraints by running through an established adaptive management cycle can help direct future work on the river, and move toward a formal management plan. Sampling the benthic macroinvertebrate population before and after specific pulse events could further our understanding of how rivers respond to experimental flows and resolve one of the critical scientific constraints identified in the adaptive framework analysis process. The construction of El Vado dam on the Rio Chama in 1935 dramatically changed the natural flow of the river, reducing spring runoff and summer scouring floods in favor of providing a constant water supply to downriver consumers. This unnatural fluctuation in discharge can also lead to unusually high-flow conditions in customarily low-flow periods. In recent years, and in response to several unusually large releases of water from the dam, there has been an increasing interest in adaptively managing the flow out of El Vado to maximize river and riparian health while still meeting current user needs. However, there are still significant gaps in understanding how the geomorphology of the river and secondary producer community responds to artificial flood pulses. Seasonal variation in runoff is an important driver of available physical habitat and nutrients for macroinvertebrate communities. The abnormal flow patterns on the already dynamic river may result in implications for the diversity index and abundance of benthic macroinvertebrates. Connected to the many scientific uncertainties is uncertainty in the socio-political components and constraints that would need to adjust to effectively plan, monitor and learn from implementing a new flow regime, including regulatory requirements, stakeholder cooperation, effective monitoring frameworks etc. Identifying these constraints by running through an established adaptive management cycle can help direct future work on the river, and move toward a formal management plan. Sampling the benthic macroinvertebrate population before and after specific pulse events could further our understanding of how rivers respond to experimental flows and resolve one of the critical scientific constraints identified in the adaptive framework analysis process. The construction of El Vado dam on the Rio Chama in 1935 dramatically changed the natural flow of the river, reducing spring runoff and summer scouring floods in favor of providing a constant water supply to downriver consumers. This unnatural fluctuation in discharge can also lead to unusually high-flow conditions in customarily low-flow periods. In recent years, and in response to several unusually large releases of water from the dam, there has been an increasing interest in adaptively managing the flow out of El Vado to maximize river and riparian health while still meeting current user needs. However, there are still significant gaps in understanding how the geomorphology of the river and secondary producer community responds to artificial flood pulses. Seasonal variation in runoff is an important driver of available physical habitat and nutrients for macroinvertebrate communities. The abnormal flow patterns on the already dynamic river may result in implications for the diversity index and abundance of benthic macroinvertebrates. Connected to the many scientific uncertainties is uncertainty in the socio-political components and constraints that would need to adjust to effectively plan, monitor and learn from implementing a new flow regime, including regulatory requirements, stakeholder cooperation, effective monitoring frameworks etc. Identifying these constraints by running through an established adaptive management cycle can help direct future work on the river, and move toward a formal management plan. Sampling the benthic macroinvertebrate population before and after specific pulse events could further our understanding of how rivers respond to experimental flows and resolve one of the critical scientific constraints identified in the adaptive framework analysis process. The construction of El Vado dam on the Rio Chama in 1935 dramatically changed the natural flow of the river, reducing spring runoff and summer scouring floods in favor of providing a constant water supply to downriver consumers. This unnatural fluctuation in discharge can also lead to unusually high-flow conditions in customarily low-flow periods. In recent years, and in response to several unusually large releases of water from the dam, there has been an increasing interest in adaptively managing the flow out of El Vado to maximize river and riparian health while still meeting current user needs. However, there are still significant gaps in understanding how the geomorphology of the river and secondary producer community responds to artificial flood pulses. Seasonal variation in runoff is an important driver of available physical habitat and nutrients for macroinvertebrate communities. The abnormal flow patterns on the already dynamic river may result in implications for the diversity index and abundance of benthic macroinvertebrates. Connected to the many scientific uncertainties is uncertainty in the socio-political components and constraints that would need to adjust to effectively plan, monitor and learn from implementing a new flow regime, including regulatory requirements, stakeholder cooperation, effective monitoring frameworks etc. Identifying these constraints by running through an established adaptive management cycle can help direct future work on the river, and move toward a formal management plan. Sampling the benthic macroinvertebrate population before and after specific pulse events could further our understanding of how rivers respond to experimental flows and resolve one of the critical scientific constraints identified in the adaptive framework analysis process.
