River basin fragmentation, climate change and perception of surface water sustainability in the Central Great Plains of the United States
Date
2017
Authors
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Recent historical records for Kansas show dramatic declines in native fish
population distribution in the last 60 years, in spite of having various morphological
and behavioral adaptations to natural cyclical droughts. This is likely due to
widespread dam construction during this same period, which disrupts the linear nature
of the stream ecological habitat, that is particularly sensitive to habitat alteration that
severs connectivity and isolate population. Dam fragmentation effects on fish
biodiversity are magnified in semi-arid basins where drought is common, as
fragmented network segments dry completely, eliminating fish populations upstream
of fragmentation points, creating flow homogenization, excess carbon deposition and
sedimentation. When re-wetted, these segments remain biodiversity dead zone as fish
cannot negotiate barriers to recolonize. The cumulative effect is dramatic reduction of
available habitat and isolation of sub populations leading to first localized and then
basin-wide extirpation. Threats from environmental degradation as a result of the
combined risks related to anthropogenic climate change, agriculture and cattle grazing
are going to make this region more vulnerable, both ecologically and economically. ☐ This project will examine the extent of small dams in semi-arid streams, which
underplays a major role as a mode of silent or hidden fragmentation on the fragile
landscape of the central Great Plains of Kansas and will link fragmentation to climate
model outputs to compare stream discharge for future projections. A perception
analysis of individual understanding of damming is further integrated to know more
about surface water sustainability in the basin.