Effective Aquatic Conservation Requires Fisheries Research for the “Scape”

Many state, federal, and nongovernmental agencies provide information on whether proposed land and water use activities will have an adverse impact on aquatic ecosystems.  Streams and rivers are especially important to protect because the prevalence of human settlements adjacent to lotic systems sets the stage for human influences that can degrade instream habitat and aquatic biotic.  All agencies seek to base their environmental recommendations on science.  Streams and rivers represent a special challenge for science-based conservation because of the strong lateral and longitudinal connectivity that is fundamental to these systems.  As a result of this natural connectivity, what happens in one part of the stream system has the potential to impact other locations.  Although researchers have generated much useful information on site-specific habitat-fish-flow relationships, the nature of lotic ecosystems demands that our science-based conservation be expanded beyond the individual site to the riverscape. Based on experience with both state and federal nongame management in the Great Plains, here we build a case that environmental agencies managing streams and rivers need an integrated riverscape-scale decision tool that synthesizes individual pieces of data throughout a watershed.  The challenges identified here can direct future research needs and enhance conservation effectiveness.