The Daily Bulletin Archive

Please join the Biology Department and the Great Lakes Center for the seminar “Stream Fish Assemblage Responses to Long-Term Shifts in Hydrology and Climate,” presented by Corey Krabbenhoft, assistant professor of biological sciences at the University at Buffalo, on Monday, November 13, at 3:00 p.m. in Science and Mathematics Complex 151. Attendees are welcome to arrive at 2:30 p.m. to enjoy coffee and cookies before the seminar.

Abstract
Shifting climate regimes are projected to increase drought and drying events in river networks across the globe. Given these projected changes, understanding the factors contributing to species persistence under increasing aridity will inform long-term conservation of fish biodiversity. To investigate fish assemblage responses over large spatial and temporal scales, Krabbenhoft's team compiled data on 194 fish species found in 1,379 arid land stream sites in the United States and Australia to explore how changing flow regimes are related to changes in fish richness and assemblage composition over 50 years. They additionally investigated trait data for fish species in this dataset to identify characteristics common to species in these systems and those eliciting the strongest responses to environmental change. The data show declines in precipitation, increased low or no-flow hydrological events, and increasing temperatures over the last several decades. In these same systems, an overall decline in fish species richness was observed. General declines in richness were observed in both the United States and Australia, though the longest datasets available were all from the United States, underscoring the need for accessible, long-term datasets on occurrence in other regions of the world. This work highlights a critical conservation need for fishes that are especially vulnerable and aquatic communities that are likely to experience more severe drying events in the future.