title: Assessment of dam effects on streams and fish assemblages of the conterminous USA.
abstract: Despite the prevalence of damming as a global disturbance to river habitats, detailed reach-based assessments of the ecological effects of dams are lacking, particularly across large spatial extents. Using data from nearly 50,000 large dams, we assessed stream network fragmentation and flow alteration by large dams for streams of the conterminous USA. We developed 21 dam metrics characterizing a diversity of dam influences operating at both localized (e.g., distances-to-dams) and landscape scales (e.g., cumulative reservoir storage throughout stream networks) for every stream reach in the study region. We further evaluated how dams have affected stream fish assemblages within large ecoregions using more than 37,000 stream fish samples. Streams have been severely fragmented by large dams, with the number of stream segments increasing by 801% compared to free-flowing streams in the absence of dams and a staggering 79% of stream length is disconnected from their outlet (i.e., oceans and Great Lakes). Flow alteration metrics demonstrate a landscape-scale disturbance of dams, resulting in total upstream reservoir storage volumes exceeding estimated annual discharge volumes of many of the nation's largest rivers. Further, we show large-scale changes in fish assemblages with dams. Species adapted to lentic habitats increase with dams across the conterminous USA, while rheophils, lithophils, and intolerant fishes decrease with dams. Overall, fragmentation and flow alteration by dams have affected fish assemblages as much or more than other anthropogenic stressors, with dam effects generally increasing with stream size. Dam-induced stream fragmentation and flow alteration are critical natural resource issues. This study emphasizes the importance of considering dams as a landscape-scale disturbance to river habitats along with the need to assess differential effects that dams may have on river habitats and the fishes they support. Together, these insights are essential for more effective conservation of stream resources and biotic communities globally.
authors.affiliation: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 480 Wilson Rd., Room 13 Natural Resources Building, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. Electronic address: coopera6@msu.edu.
authors.forename: Arthur R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.affiliation: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 480 Wilson Rd., Room 13 Natural Resources Building, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
authors.forename: Dana M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Infante
authors.affiliation: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 480 Wilson Rd., Room 13 Natural Resources Building, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
authors.forename: Wesley M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Daniel
authors.affiliation: Institute for Fisheries Research, Michigan Department of Natural Resources and University of Michigan, 400 North Ingalls Building, Room G250, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Wehrly
authors.affiliation: International Joint Commission, Great Lakes Regional Office, 100 Ouellette Ave., 8th Floor, Windsor, ON N9A 6T3, Canada.
authors.forename: Lizhu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 480 Wilson Rd., Room 13 Natural Resources Building, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
authors.forename: Travis O
authors.initials: TO
authors.lastname: Brenden
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004463:Ecology; D017753:Ecosystem; D005399:Fishes; D045483:Rivers; D014481:United States; D014872:Water Movements
keywords: Anthropogenic stressors; Connectivity; Flow alteration; Fragmentation; Reservoirs; Rivers