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Upper Flint River Basin Hydrology and Stream Ecology

Advancing the science of linking hydrology and stream ecology

More than 200 methods for deriving "environmental" flow requirements have been developed to meet the needs of water managers (Tharme, 2003). Many of these methods focus on the minimum flows needed to support survival of aquatic organ- isms. Because flow conditions that drive ecosystem functions are complex, current emphasis in flow management is to identify hydrologic regimes necessary to protect and maintain differing levels of ecological integrity (Arthington and Pusey, 2003; King and others, 2003; Postel and Richter, 2003; Annear and others, 2004). Current limitations on quantifying the linkages between flow regimes and ecosys- tem processes underlie much of the uncertainty in predicting ecological effects of flow-regime alteration (Castleberry and others, 1996; Irwin and Freeman, 2002; Tharme, 2003). The USGS and its partners can advance the science underlying environmental flow specifications by applying multidisciplinary expertise and data from other studies of riverine processes to build and evaluate alternative hypoth- eses regarding flow-regime effects on geomorphic and ecological processes -- in this case, for a Piedmont river system. Through this process, the USGS anticipates addressing questions such as:

• What are the appropriate spatial scales for identifying geomorphic variation in hydrologic-ecologic linkages?
• What are the relative roles of changes in sediment transport, water quality, and habitat conditions in altering ecological communities?
• How does altering the flow regime (magnitude, duration, frequency of occurrence, seasonality, rate of change) influence persistence of native aquatic species and communities?
• How are direct effects of flow regulation and water diversion on physical and biological processes altered by different land uses within the watershed?

Results of this effort will contribute to the global effort to improve the under- standing of the effects of hydrologic alteration on the ecological integrity of flowing-water ecosystems, as well as supporting the development of a model- based framework for adaptively applying current scientific understanding to address stream-management issues.