Journal article
Size‐dependent effects of dams on river ecosystems and implications for dam removal outcomes
Ecological applications, v 34(6), e3016
13 Aug 2024
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Abstract Understanding the relationship between a dam's size and its ecological effects is important for prioritization of river restoration efforts based on dam removal. Although much is known about the effects of large storage dams, this information may not be applicable to small dams, which represent the vast majority of dams being considered for removal. To better understand how dam effects vary with size, we conducted a multidisciplinary study of the downstream effect of dams on a range of ecological characteristics including geomorphology, water chemistry, periphyton, riparian vegetation, benthic macroinvertebrates, and fish. We related dam size variables to the downstream–upstream fractional difference in measured ecological characteristics for 16 dams in the mid‐Atlantic region ranging from 0.9 to 57 m high, with hydraulic residence times (HRTs) ranging from 30 min to 1.5 years. For a range of physical attributes, larger dams had larger effects. For example, the water surface width below dams was greater below large dams. By contrast, there was no effect of dam size on sediment grain size, though the fraction of fine‐grained bed material was lower below dams independently of dam size. Larger dams tended to reduce water quality more, with decreased downstream dissolved oxygen and increased temperature. Larger dams decreased inorganic nutrients (N, P, Si), but increased particulate nutrients (N, P) in downstream reaches. Aquatic organisms tended to have greater dissimilarity in species composition below larger dams (for fish and periphyton), lower taxonomic diversity (for macroinvertebrates), and greater pollution tolerance (for periphyton and macroinvertebrates). Plants responded differently below large and small dams, with fewer invasive species below large dams, but more below small dams. Overall, these results demonstrate that larger dams have much greater impact on the ecosystem components we measured, and hence their removal has the greatest potential for restoring river ecosystems.
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Details
- Title
- Size‐dependent effects of dams on river ecosystems and implications for dam removal outcomes
- Creators
- Rebecca L. Brown - Eastern Washington UniversityDon Charles - Drexel UniversityRichard J. Horwitz - Drexel UniversityJames E. Pizzuto - University of DelawareKatherine Skalak - United States Geological SurveyDavid J. Velinsky - Drexel UniversityDavid D. Hart - University of Maine
- Publication Details
- Ecological applications, v 34(6), e3016
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Number of pages
- 27
- Grant note
- National Science Foundation (Future of Dams Project): NSF-1539071 Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (Growing Greener Grant): ME-351413
National Science Foundation (Future of Dams Project), Grant/Award Number: NSF-1539071; Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (Growing Greener Grant), Grant/Award Number:ME-351413
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science (BEES); Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001289848600001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85201093625
- Other Identifier
- 991021897245704721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Ecology
- Environmental Sciences