Does Stream Size Really Explain Biodiversity Patterns in Lotic Systems? A Call for Mechanistic Explanations

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dc.contributor.authorVander Vorste, Rossen
dc.contributor.authorMcElmurray, Philipen
dc.contributor.authorBell, Spenceren
dc.contributor.authorEliason, Kevin M.en
dc.contributor.authorBrown, Bryan L.en
dc.contributor.departmentBiological Sciencesen
dc.contributor.departmentFish and Wildlife Conservationen
dc.date.accessioned2017-09-20T18:33:12Zen
dc.date.available2017-09-20T18:33:12Zen
dc.date.issued2017-07-08en
dc.date.updated2017-09-20T18:33:12Zen
dc.description.abstractUnderstanding drivers of biodiversity is a long-standing goal of basic and applied ecological research. In riverine systems, there remains a critical need to identify these drivers as efforts to manage and protect rivers grow increasingly desperate in the face of global change. We explored one commonly cited potential driver of riverine biodiversity, stream size (e.g., stream order, watershed area, width), using a systematic literature review paired with an analysis of broad-scale macroinvertebrate and fish communities. Of the 165 papers reviewed, we found mostly positive, but no universal, relationship between biodiversity and stream size despite inconsistent use of over 30 measures of stream size. One-third of studies failed to report explanatory mechanisms driving biodiversity–stream size relationships. Across over 4000 macroinvertebrate and fish samples from 1st–8th order streams in the contiguous USA, our analysis showed biodiversity (Shannon diversity, functional diversity, beta diversity) generally increased with measures of stream size. However, because of inconsistent and generally weak relationships between biodiversity and stream size across organismal groups, we emphasize the need to look beyond simple physical stream size measures to understand and predict riverine biodiversity, and strongly suggest that studies search for more mechanistic explanations of biodiversity patterns in lotic systems.en
dc.description.versionPublished versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationVander Vorste, R.; McElmurray, P.; Bell, S.; Eliason, K.M.; Brown, B.L. Does Stream Size Really Explain Biodiversity Patterns in Lotic Systems? A Call for Mechanistic Explanations. Diversity 2017, 9, 26.en
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.3390/d9030026en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/79333en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherMDPIen
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en
dc.subjectriversen
dc.subjecttaxonomic richnessen
dc.subjectfunctional diversityen
dc.subjectbeta diversityen
dc.subjectfish communitiesen
dc.subjectmacroinvertebrate communitiesen
dc.subjecthabitat sizeen
dc.subjectwatershed areaen
dc.subjectstream widthen
dc.titleDoes Stream Size Really Explain Biodiversity Patterns in Lotic Systems? A Call for Mechanistic Explanationsen
dc.title.serialDiversityen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten

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