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Fritz KM, Nadeau TL, Kelso JE, Beck WS, Mazor RD, Harrington RA, Topping BJ. Classifying Streamflow Duration: The Scientific Basis and an Operational Framework for Method Development. WATER 2020; 12:1-2545. [PMID: 33133647 PMCID: PMC7592706 DOI: 10.3390/w12092545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Streamflow duration is used to differentiate reaches into discrete classes (e.g., perennial, intermittent, and ephemeral) for water resource management. Because the depiction of the extent and flow duration of streams via existing maps, remote sensing, and gauging is constrained, field-based tools are needed for use by practitioners and to validate hydrography and modeling advances. Streamflow Duration Assessment Methods (SDAMs) are rapid, reach-scale indices or models that use physical and biological indicators to predict flow duration class. We review the scientific basis for indicators and present conceptual and operational frameworks for SDAM development. Indicators can be responses to or controls of flow duration. Aquatic and terrestrial responses can be integrated into SDAMs, reflecting concurrent increases and decreases along the flow duration gradient. The conceptual framework for data-driven SDAM development shows interrelationships among the key components: study reaches, hydrologic data, and indicators. We present a generalized operational framework for SDAM development that integrates the data-driven components through five process steps: preparation, data collection, data analysis, evaluation, and implementation. We highlight priorities for the advancement of SDAMs, including expansion of gauging of nonperennial reaches, use of citizen science data, adjusting for stressor gradients, and statistical and monitoring advances to improve indicator effectiveness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ken M. Fritz
- Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling, Office of Research and Development, US Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA
| | - Tracie-Lynn Nadeau
- Region 10, US Environmental Protection Agency, Portland, OR 97205, USA
- Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds, US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC 20460, USA
| | - Julia E. Kelso
- Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds, US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC 20460, USA
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Fellow, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - Whitney S. Beck
- Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds, US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC 20460, USA
| | - Raphael D. Mazor
- Southern California Coastal Water Research Project, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, USA
| | - Rachel A. Harrington
- Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds, US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC 20460, USA
| | - Brian J. Topping
- Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds, US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC 20460, USA
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Crozier LG, McClure MM, Beechie T, Bograd SJ, Boughton DA, Carr M, Cooney TD, Dunham JB, Greene CM, Haltuch MA, Hazen EL, Holzer DM, Huff DD, Johnson RC, Jordan CE, Kaplan IC, Lindley ST, Mantua NJ, Moyle PB, Myers JM, Nelson MW, Spence BC, Weitkamp LA, Williams TH, Willis-Norton E. Climate vulnerability assessment for Pacific salmon and steelhead in the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0217711. [PMID: 31339895 PMCID: PMC6655584 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0217711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2019] [Accepted: 05/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Major ecological realignments are already occurring in response to climate change. To be successful, conservation strategies now need to account for geographical patterns in traits sensitive to climate change, as well as climate threats to species-level diversity. As part of an effort to provide such information, we conducted a climate vulnerability assessment that included all anadromous Pacific salmon and steelhead (Oncorhynchus spp.) population units listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Using an expert-based scoring system, we ranked 20 attributes for the 28 listed units and 5 additional units. Attributes captured biological sensitivity, or the strength of linkages between each listing unit and the present climate; climate exposure, or the magnitude of projected change in local environmental conditions; and adaptive capacity, or the ability to modify phenotypes to cope with new climatic conditions. Each listing unit was then assigned one of four vulnerability categories. Units ranked most vulnerable overall were Chinook (O. tshawytscha) in the California Central Valley, coho (O. kisutch) in California and southern Oregon, sockeye (O. nerka) in the Snake River Basin, and spring-run Chinook in the interior Columbia and Willamette River Basins. We identified units with similar vulnerability profiles using a hierarchical cluster analysis. Life history characteristics, especially freshwater and estuary residence times, interplayed with gradations in exposure from south to north and from coastal to interior regions to generate landscape-level patterns within each species. Nearly all listing units faced high exposures to projected increases in stream temperature, sea surface temperature, and ocean acidification, but other aspects of exposure peaked in particular regions. Anthropogenic factors, especially migration barriers, habitat degradation, and hatchery influence, have reduced the adaptive capacity of most steelhead and salmon populations. Enhancing adaptive capacity is essential to mitigate for the increasing threat of climate change. Collectively, these results provide a framework to support recovery planning that considers climate impacts on the majority of West Coast anadromous salmonids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa G. Crozier
- Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Michelle M. McClure
- Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Tim Beechie
- Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Steven J. Bograd
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Monterey, California, United States of America
| | - David A. Boughton
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Santa Cruz, California, United States of America
| | - Mark Carr
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, United States of America
| | - Thomas D. Cooney
- Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Jason B. Dunham
- Forest & Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Corvallis, Oregon, United States of America
| | - Correigh M. Greene
- Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Melissa A. Haltuch
- Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Elliott L. Hazen
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Monterey, California, United States of America
| | - Damon M. Holzer
- Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - David D. Huff
- Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Rachel C. Johnson
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Santa Cruz, California, United States of America
- Center for Watershed Sciences, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
| | - Chris E. Jordan
- Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Isaac C. Kaplan
- Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Steven T. Lindley
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Santa Cruz, California, United States of America
| | - Nathan J. Mantua
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Santa Cruz, California, United States of America
| | - Peter B. Moyle
- Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
| | - James M. Myers
- Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Mark W. Nelson
- ECS Federal, Inc. Under Contract to Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Brian C. Spence
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Santa Cruz, California, United States of America
| | - Laurie A. Weitkamp
- Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Thomas H. Williams
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Santa Cruz, California, United States of America
| | - Ellen Willis-Norton
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, United States of America
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