Ecological Flows

There is a growing and urgent need to develop and implement innovative strategies to research, monitor, and manage freshwater resources as societal demands escalate simultaneously with climate-driven changes in water availability.

Eastern Ecological Science Center research ecologists are working with state and local partners to develop multiple biological assessments of non-tidal stream and river conditions in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Ecosystem management and assessment of rivers requires detailed data on bathymetry before estimates of aquatic habitats can be determined. However, mapping bathymetry in shallow rivers is challenging due to river depth limitations for watercraft.

Stream flow is a fundamental driver of ecological structure and function, but its influence on bioassessment measures is poorly understood. Although extreme flow conditions (e.g., floods and droughts) have long been known to play a central role in structuring stream communities, a mechanistic understanding of the linkages between flow variables, landscape and local physical characteristics, and...

Small streams in forests are likely to see dramatic shifts as global climate change influences air temperature and rain patterns. We have already seen warmer stream temperatures as air temperatures increase in summer in the Northeastern US. The intensity and duration of floods and droughts are also expected to magnify as future rain patterns shift. This project will evaluate how stream temperature...