The salmonid and the subsurface: Hillslope storage capacity determines the quality and distribution of fish habitat
Abstract Water in rivers is delivered via the critical zone (CZ)—the living skin of the Earth, extending from the top of the vegetation canopy through the soil and down to fresh bedrock and the bottom of significantly active groundwater. Consequently, the success of stream‐rearing salmonids depends...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2023-02-01
|
| Series: | Ecosphere |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4436 |
| _version_ | 1797894423545118720 |
|---|---|
| author | D. N. Dralle G. Rossi P. Georgakakos W. J. Hahm D. M. Rempe M. Blanchard M. E. Power W. E. Dietrich S. M. Carlson |
| author_facet | D. N. Dralle G. Rossi P. Georgakakos W. J. Hahm D. M. Rempe M. Blanchard M. E. Power W. E. Dietrich S. M. Carlson |
| author_sort | D. N. Dralle |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Water in rivers is delivered via the critical zone (CZ)—the living skin of the Earth, extending from the top of the vegetation canopy through the soil and down to fresh bedrock and the bottom of significantly active groundwater. Consequently, the success of stream‐rearing salmonids depends on the structure and resulting water storage and release processes of this zone. Physical processes below the land surface (the subsurface component of the CZ) ultimately determine how landscapes “filter” climate to manifest ecologically significant streamflow and temperature regimes. Subsurface water storage capacity of the CZ has emerged as a key hydrologic variable that integrates many of these subsurface processes, helping to explain flow regimes and terrestrial plant community composition. Here, we investigate how subsurface storage controls flow, temperature, and energetic regimes that matter for salmonids. We illustrate the explanatory power of broadly applicable, storage‐based frameworks across a lithological gradient that spans the Eel River watershed of California. Study sites are climatically similar but differ in their geologies and consequent subsurface CZ structure that dictates water storage dynamics, leading to dramatically different hydrographs, temperature, and riparian regimes—with consequences for every aspect of salmonid life history. Lithological controls on the development of key subsurface CZ properties like storage capacity suggest a heretofore unexplored link between salmonids and geology, adding to a rich literature that highlights various fluvial and geomorphic influences on salmonid diversity and distribution. Rapidly advancing methods for estimating and observing subsurface water storage dynamics at large scales present new opportunities for more clearly identifying landscape features that constrain the distributions and abundances of organisms, including salmonids, at watershed scales. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T07:09:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d34ae74da94e497aab722ea541e7d698 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2150-8925 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T07:09:51Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-d34ae74da94e497aab722ea541e7d6982023-02-27T00:40:39ZengWileyEcosphere2150-89252023-02-01142n/an/a10.1002/ecs2.4436The salmonid and the subsurface: Hillslope storage capacity determines the quality and distribution of fish habitatD. N. Dralle0G. Rossi1P. Georgakakos2W. J. Hahm3D. M. Rempe4M. Blanchard5M. E. Power6W. E. Dietrich7S. M. Carlson8United States Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station Davis California USAEnvironmental Science, Policy, and Management University of California Berkeley California USAEnvironmental Science, Policy, and Management University of California Berkeley California USADepartment of Geography Simon Fraser University Burnaby British Columbia CanadaDepartment of Geological Sciences University of Texas‐Austin Austin Texas USAU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Portland Oregon USADepartment of Integrative Biology University of California Berkeley Berkeley California USADepartment of Earth and Planetary Science University of California Berkeley Berkeley California USAEnvironmental Science, Policy, and Management University of California Berkeley California USAAbstract Water in rivers is delivered via the critical zone (CZ)—the living skin of the Earth, extending from the top of the vegetation canopy through the soil and down to fresh bedrock and the bottom of significantly active groundwater. Consequently, the success of stream‐rearing salmonids depends on the structure and resulting water storage and release processes of this zone. Physical processes below the land surface (the subsurface component of the CZ) ultimately determine how landscapes “filter” climate to manifest ecologically significant streamflow and temperature regimes. Subsurface water storage capacity of the CZ has emerged as a key hydrologic variable that integrates many of these subsurface processes, helping to explain flow regimes and terrestrial plant community composition. Here, we investigate how subsurface storage controls flow, temperature, and energetic regimes that matter for salmonids. We illustrate the explanatory power of broadly applicable, storage‐based frameworks across a lithological gradient that spans the Eel River watershed of California. Study sites are climatically similar but differ in their geologies and consequent subsurface CZ structure that dictates water storage dynamics, leading to dramatically different hydrographs, temperature, and riparian regimes—with consequences for every aspect of salmonid life history. Lithological controls on the development of key subsurface CZ properties like storage capacity suggest a heretofore unexplored link between salmonids and geology, adding to a rich literature that highlights various fluvial and geomorphic influences on salmonid diversity and distribution. Rapidly advancing methods for estimating and observing subsurface water storage dynamics at large scales present new opportunities for more clearly identifying landscape features that constrain the distributions and abundances of organisms, including salmonids, at watershed scales.https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4436flow regimehillslope hydrologyriverssalmonidstorage capacitystream temperature |
| spellingShingle | D. N. Dralle G. Rossi P. Georgakakos W. J. Hahm D. M. Rempe M. Blanchard M. E. Power W. E. Dietrich S. M. Carlson The salmonid and the subsurface: Hillslope storage capacity determines the quality and distribution of fish habitat Ecosphere flow regime hillslope hydrology rivers salmonid storage capacity stream temperature |
| title | The salmonid and the subsurface: Hillslope storage capacity determines the quality and distribution of fish habitat |
| title_full | The salmonid and the subsurface: Hillslope storage capacity determines the quality and distribution of fish habitat |
| title_fullStr | The salmonid and the subsurface: Hillslope storage capacity determines the quality and distribution of fish habitat |
| title_full_unstemmed | The salmonid and the subsurface: Hillslope storage capacity determines the quality and distribution of fish habitat |
| title_short | The salmonid and the subsurface: Hillslope storage capacity determines the quality and distribution of fish habitat |
| title_sort | salmonid and the subsurface hillslope storage capacity determines the quality and distribution of fish habitat |
| topic | flow regime hillslope hydrology rivers salmonid storage capacity stream temperature |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4436 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT dndralle thesalmonidandthesubsurfacehillslopestoragecapacitydeterminesthequalityanddistributionoffishhabitat AT grossi thesalmonidandthesubsurfacehillslopestoragecapacitydeterminesthequalityanddistributionoffishhabitat AT pgeorgakakos thesalmonidandthesubsurfacehillslopestoragecapacitydeterminesthequalityanddistributionoffishhabitat AT wjhahm thesalmonidandthesubsurfacehillslopestoragecapacitydeterminesthequalityanddistributionoffishhabitat AT dmrempe thesalmonidandthesubsurfacehillslopestoragecapacitydeterminesthequalityanddistributionoffishhabitat AT mblanchard thesalmonidandthesubsurfacehillslopestoragecapacitydeterminesthequalityanddistributionoffishhabitat AT mepower thesalmonidandthesubsurfacehillslopestoragecapacitydeterminesthequalityanddistributionoffishhabitat AT wedietrich thesalmonidandthesubsurfacehillslopestoragecapacitydeterminesthequalityanddistributionoffishhabitat AT smcarlson thesalmonidandthesubsurfacehillslopestoragecapacitydeterminesthequalityanddistributionoffishhabitat AT dndralle salmonidandthesubsurfacehillslopestoragecapacitydeterminesthequalityanddistributionoffishhabitat AT grossi salmonidandthesubsurfacehillslopestoragecapacitydeterminesthequalityanddistributionoffishhabitat AT pgeorgakakos salmonidandthesubsurfacehillslopestoragecapacitydeterminesthequalityanddistributionoffishhabitat AT wjhahm salmonidandthesubsurfacehillslopestoragecapacitydeterminesthequalityanddistributionoffishhabitat AT dmrempe salmonidandthesubsurfacehillslopestoragecapacitydeterminesthequalityanddistributionoffishhabitat AT mblanchard salmonidandthesubsurfacehillslopestoragecapacitydeterminesthequalityanddistributionoffishhabitat AT mepower salmonidandthesubsurfacehillslopestoragecapacitydeterminesthequalityanddistributionoffishhabitat AT wedietrich salmonidandthesubsurfacehillslopestoragecapacitydeterminesthequalityanddistributionoffishhabitat AT smcarlson salmonidandthesubsurfacehillslopestoragecapacitydeterminesthequalityanddistributionoffishhabitat |