Mapping hydrologic alteration and ecological consequences in stream reaches of the conterminous United States

Environmental flows are critical for balancing societal water needs with that of riverine ecosystems; however, data limitations often hinder the development of predictive relationships between anthropogenic modifications to streamflow regimes and ecological responses - these relationships are the basis for setting regional water policy standards for rivers. Herein, we present and describe a comprehensive dataset of modeled hydrologic alteration and consequences for native fish biodiversity, both mapped at the stream-reach resolution for the conterminous U.S. Using empirical observations of reference conditions and anthropogenically altered streamflow at over 7000 stream gauges, we developed a predictive model of hydrologic alteration, which was extended to >2.6 million stream reaches. We then used a previous nationwide assessment of ecological responses to hydrologic alteration to predict fish biodiversity loss in stream reaches resulting from streamflow modification. Validation efforts suggested hydrologic alteration models had satisfactory performance, whereas modeled ecological responses were susceptible to compounded errors. The dataset could ameliorate regional data deficits for setting environmental flow standards while providing tools for prioritizing streamflow protection or restoration.

Automated summary

This study presents a comprehensive dataset of hydrologic alteration and its consequences for native fish biodiversity in the conterminous U.S. The dataset, developed using empirical observations and predictive models, can help predict fish biodiversity loss resulting from streamflow modification and inform regional water policy standards and streamflow protection or restoration prioritization.