Journal
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
Volume 192, Issue -, Pages 130-134Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2015.09.009
Keywords
American dipper; Cinclus mexicanus; Elwha River; Salmon; Stable isotopes; Oncorhynchus spp.
Funding
- USFWS Tribal Wildlife Research grant [WA U-26-NA-1]
- Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe
- NOAA's Open Rivers Initiative
- U.S. Geological Survey
- Smithsonian Stable Isotope Research Fellowship
- Didden Conservation Biology Fellowship
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Dam removal is increasingly being recognized as a viable river restoration action. Although the main beneficiaries of restored connectivity are often migratory fish populations, little is known regarding recovery of other parts of the freshwater food web, particularly terrestrial components. We measured stable isotopes in key components to the freshwater food web: salmon, freshwater macroinvertebrates and a river specialist bird, American dipper (Cinclus mexicanus), before and after removal of the Elwha Dam, WA, USA. Less than a year after dam removal, salmon returned to the system and released marine-derived nutrients (MDN). In that same year we documented an increase in stable-nitrogen and carbon isotope ratios in American dippers. These results indicate that MDN from anadromous fish, an important nutrient subsidy that crosses the aquatic-terrestrial boundary, can return rapidly to food webs after dams are removed which is an important component of ecosystem recovery. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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