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Riverine macrosystems ecology: sensitivity, resistance, and resilience of whole river basins with human alterations
Author(s) -
McCluney Kevin E,
Poff N LeRoy,
Palmer Margaret A,
Thorp James H,
Poole Geoffrey C,
Williams Bradley S,
Williams Michael R,
Baron Jill S
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
frontiers in ecology and the environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.918
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1540-9309
pISSN - 1540-9295
DOI - 10.1890/120367
Subject(s) - ecology , watershed , habitat , resistance (ecology) , resilience (materials science) , ecosystem , environmental science , climate change , geography , spatial heterogeneity , psychological resilience , spatial ecology , drainage basin , environmental resource management , biology , computer science , cartography , psychology , physics , machine learning , psychotherapist , thermodynamics
Riverine macrosystems are described here as watershed‐scale networks of connected and interacting riverine and upland habitat patches. Such systems are driven by variable responses of nutrients and organisms to a suite of global and regional factors (eg climate, human social systems) interacting with finer‐scale variations in geology, topography, and human modifications. We hypothesize that spatial heterogeneity, connectivity, and asynchrony among these patches regulate ecological dynamics of whole networks, altering system sensitivity, resistance, and resilience. Long‐distance connections between patches may be particularly important in riverine macrosystems, shaping fundamental system properties. Furthermore, the type, extent, intensity, and spatial configuration of human activities (eg land‐use change, dam construction) influence watershed‐wide ecological properties through effects on habitat heterogeneity and connectivity at multiple scales. Thus, riverine macrosystems are coupled social–ecological systems with feedbacks that influence system responses to environmental change and the sustainable delivery of ecosystem services.