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Advances in freshwater conservation planning
Session Organizer: Nathaniel P. Hitt
Description: Freshwater ecosystems provide vital ecosystem services for humans and critical habitats for biodiversity, yet strategies for freshwater conservation are in their nascent stages. Here, I propose a 4-hour (16 presentations) symposium to address "advances in freshwater conservation planning" on behalf of the SCB Freshwater Working Group (FWWG). Our symposium would bring conservation scientists and practitioners together to address several key challenges and opportunities for freshwater conservation across the globe. Contributors to this session represent academic institutions, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations, including perspectives of Europe (1 presentation), North America (11 presentations), Central America (1 presentation), Africa (2 presentations), and Australia (1 presentation).
The major theme of this symposium involves the application of landscape ecology concepts for freshwater conservation. Recent research demonstrates that freshwater populations and communities are influenced not only by local environmental factors but also by regional processes of dispersal and patch dynamics. As such, strategies for freshwater conservation must consider the spatial context of localized conservation targets and threats. The presentations in the proposed symposium would address this overarching theme for assessing freshwater conservation priorities and designing effective freshwater conservation areas.
Several presenters address the role of stream networks for freshwater conservation. Bax, Burnett, May, and Smith explore the implications of stream networks for habitat-forming processes and conservation of critical life-stages for stream fishes and amphibians. Hitt evaluates how fish dispersal provides a spatial framework for freshwater conservation within stream networks. Viers uses climate change projections to evaluate the importance of stream connectivity and habitat quality for freshwater conservation in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Frissell provides a synthesis of the ecosystem-level considerations for designing and managing freshwater conservation areas.
Speakers also address specific challenges and opportunities for freshwater conservation given the spatial context of freshwater ecosystems. Lee and Thieme discuss strategies for conserving freshwater conservation targets while maximizing integrated goals of marine and terrestrial conservation in Africa. Linke provides a general framework to prioritize freshwater conservation using investment-based criteria. Esselman, Filipe, and Wegner provide analyses of current and proposed freshwater conservation areas based on landscape and local factors. Higgins and Sowa address the effectiveness of current strategies for freshwater conservation and provide recommendations for improving the efficacy of freshwater conservation planning.
By addressing freshwater conservation strategies from a "landscape" perspective, the proposed symposium would contribute to the theme of the conference "from the mountains to the sea."
