Abstract:
River networks are critically important ecosystems. This interdisciplinary book
provides an integrated ecohydrological framework blending laboratory, field,
and theoretical evidence that changes our understanding of river networks as
ecological corridors. It describes how the physical structure of the river
environment impacts biodiversity, species invasions, population dynamics, and
the spread of waterborne disease. State-of-the-art research on the ecological
roles of the structure of river networks is summarized, including important
studies on the spread and control of waterborne diseases, biodiversity loss due
to water resource management, and invasions by non-native species. Practical
implications of this research are illustrated with numerous examples
throughout. This is an invaluable go-to reference for graduate students and
researchers interested in river ecology and hydrology, and the links between
the two. Describing new related research on spatially-explicit modeling of the
spread of waterborne disease, River
Networks as Ecological Corridors will also be of great interest to epidemiologists
and public health managers.