Assessing placement bias of the global river gauge network.

Knowing where and when rivers flow is paramount to managing freshwater ecosystems. Yet stream gauging stations are distributed sparsely across rivers globally and may not capture the diversity of fluvial network properties and anthropogenic influences. Here we evaluate the placement bias of a global stream gauge dataset on its representation of socioecological, hydrologic, climatic and physiographic diversity of rivers.

Simple statistical models can be sufficient for testing hypotheses with population time-series data.

Time-series data offer wide-ranging opportunities to test hypotheses about the physical and biological factors that influence species abundances. Although sophisticated models have been developed and applied to analyze abundance time series, they require information about species detectability that is often unavailable. We propose that in many cases, simpler models are adequate for testing hypotheses.

River ecosystem conceptual models and non-perennial rivers: A critical review.

Conceptual models underpin river ecosystem research. However, current models focus on continuously flowing rivers and few explicitly address characteristics such as flow cessation and drying. The applicability of existing conceptual models to nonperennial rivers that cease to flow (intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams, IRES) has not been evaluated.

Anuran Traits of the United States (ATraiU): a database for anuran traits-based conservation, management, and research.

The United States is home to many anuran species, each with traits that set them apart from one another. Understanding trait variation within and between anurans is key to many successful conservation, management, and research efforts. However, compiling trait data is intensive and time consuming.

Zero or not? Causes and consequences of zero-flow stream gage readings.

Streamflow observations can be used to understand, predict, and contextualize hydrologic, ecological, and biogeochemical processes and conditions in streams. Stream gages are point measurements along rivers where streamflow is measured, and are often used to infer upstream watershed-scale processes. When stream gages read zero, this may indicate that the stream has fully dried; however, zero-flow readings can also be caused by a wide range of other factors.

Correction: Long-term fish assemblages of the Ohio River: Altered trophic and life history strategies with hydrologic alterations and land use modifications.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Long-term fish assemblages of the Ohio River: Altered trophic and life history strategies with hydrologic alterations and land use modifications.

Long-term monitoring of species assemblages provides a unique opportunity to test hypotheses regarding environmentally induced directional trajectories of freshwater species assemblages. We used 57 years of lockchamber fish rotenone and boat electrofishing survey data (1957-2014) collected by the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) to test for directional trajectories in taxonomy, trophic classifications, and life history strategies of freshwater fish assemblages in the Ohio River Basin. We found significant changes in taxonomic and trophic composition of freshwater fishes in the Ohio River Basin.

Genetic Differentiation, Isolation-by-Distance, and Metapopulation Dynamics of the Arizona Treefrog (Hyla wrightorum) in an Isolated Portion of Its Range.

Population attributes such as diversity, connectivity, and structure are important components of understanding species persistence and vulnerability to extinction. Hyla wrightorum, the Arizona treefrog, is native to the southwestern United States and Mexico, and an isolated group of populations exists in the Huachuca Mountains and Canelo Hills (HMCH) of southeastern Arizona, USA. Due to concerns about declining observations of the species within the isolated HMCH portion of its range, the HMCH group is currently a candidate for federal protection under the U.

Ecological strategies predict associations between aquatic and genetic connectivity for dryland amphibians.

The study of how population genetic structure is shaped by attributes of the environment is a central scientific pursuit in ecology and conservation. But limited resources may prohibit landscape genetics studies for many threatened species, particularly given the pace of current environmental change. Understanding the extent to which species' ecological strategies--their life histories, biology, and behavior-predict patterns and drivers of population connectivity is a critical step in evaluating the potential of multi-taxa inference in landscape genetics.

Dispersal ability and habitat requirements determine landscape-level genetic patterns in desert aquatic insects.

Species occupying the same geographic range can exhibit remarkably different population structures across the landscape, ranging from highly diversified to panmictic. Given limitations on collecting population-level data for large numbers of species, ecologists seek to identify proximate organismal traits-such as dispersal ability, habitat preference and life history-that are strong predictors of realized population structure. We examined how dispersal ability and habitat structure affect the regional balance of gene flow and genetic drift within three aquatic insects that represent the range of dispersal abilities and habitat requirements observed in desert stream insect communities.

Practical science communication strategies for graduate students.

Development of skills in science communication is a well-acknowledged gap in graduate training, but the constraints that accompany research (limited time, resources, and knowledge of opportunities) make it challenging to acquire these proficiencies. Furthermore, advisors and institutions may find it difficult to support graduate students adequately in these efforts. The result is fewer career and societal benefits because students have not learned to communicate research effectively beyond their scientific peers.

Life history theory predicts fish assemblage response to hydrologic regimes.

The hydrologic regime is regarded as the primary driver of freshwater ecosystems, structuring the physical habitat template, providing connectivity, framing biotic interactions, and ultimately selecting for specific life histories of aquatic organisms. In the present study, we tested ecological theory predicting directional relationships between major dimensions of the flow regime and life history composition of fish assemblages in perennial free-flowing rivers throughout the continental United States. Using long-term discharge records and fish trait and survey data for 109 stream locations, we found that 11 out of 18 relationships (61%) tested between the three life history strategies (opportunistic, periodic, and equilibrium) and six hydrologic metrics (two each describing flow variability, predictability, and seasonality) were statistically significant (P < or = 0.

Geography disentangles introgression from ancestral polymorphism in Lake Malawi cichlids.

Phenotypically diverse Lake Malawi cichlids exhibit similar genomes. The extensive sharing of genetic polymorphism among forms has both intrigued and frustrated biologists trying to understand the nature of diversity in this and other rapidly evolving systems. Shared polymorphism might result from hybridization and/or the retention of ancestrally polymorphic alleles.

Comparative analysis reveals signatures of differentiation amid genomic polymorphism in Lake Malawi cichlids.

Background: Cichlid fish from East Africa are remarkable for phenotypic and behavioral diversity on a backdrop of genomic similarity. In 2006, the Joint Genome Institute completed low coverage survey sequencing of the genomes of five phenotypically and ecologically diverse Lake Malawi species. We report a computational and comparative analysis of these data that provides insight into the mechanisms that make closely related species different from one another.