River Connectivity—Environment and Ecosystem Functions

Dear Colleagues,

River networks are affected by a multitude of pressures, but few compare to river fragmentation caused by artificial instream structures. The presence of artificial barriers can hinder or block fish and other aquatic species from reaching essential breading and rearing habitats, leading to contracted ranges, reduced abundance, species extirpation, altered genetic flow, and disruption of metapopulation and metacommunity dynamics. Further, the alteration of flow regimes and sediment transportation affects ecosystem functioning, often drastically magnifying the impact of local stressors, while conversion of lotic into lentic environments often favors the success and proliferation of non-native species. Even small barriers, although sometimes disregarded, usually vastly outnumber large dams, thus making their cumulative impact much greater. The increasing recognition of barrier impacts on river ecosystems and the fact that most existing barriers cannot be removed, due to the ecosystems services they provide, highlights the need to apply a systematic approach to enhancing river connectivity. The aim of this Special Issue is to take a holistic approach to river connectivity enhancement that bridges the gap between all facets of river network connectivity research, from barrier impact identification and measurement to barrier mapping, mitigation measures (e.g., removal and construction of fishways), barrier prioritization, fish behavior and physiological studies, ecohydraulics, and interactions with co-occurring pressures. We are interested in fundamental and applied research on river connectivity based both on experimental or empirical studies performed at single or multiple scales. Studies, including reviews, that operate at the interface of research fields to tackle river connectivity problems affecting ecosystem functions are especially welcome.

Dr. Paulo Branco
Prof. Dr. Paul Kemp
Prof. Dr. Jesse O'Hanley
Guest Editors

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• Riverscapes
• River network fragmentation
• Instream barriers
• Connectivity enhancement
• Freshwater conservation
• Fish passage
• Ecohydraulics
• Fishways
• Barrier prioritization