Establishing spatial trends in water chemistry and stable isotopes (isotope15N and isotope13C) in the Elwha River prior to dam removal and salmon recolonization
Duda JJ, Coe HJ, Morley SA, Kloehn KK. 2010. Establishing spatial trends in water chemistry and stable isotopes (isotope15N and isotope13C) in the Elwha River prior to dam removal and salmon recolonization. River Research and Applications. 2010
This project supplies baseline data on stable isotopes before dam removal. Two high-head dams on the Elwha River in Washington State (USA) have changed the migratory patterns of resident and anadromous fish, limiting Pacific salmon to the lower 7.9 km of a river that historically supported large Pacific salmon runs. To document the effects of the dams prior to their removal, we measured carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of primary producers, benthic macroinvertebrates, and fish, and water chemistry above, between and below the dams. ... The removal of these dams, among the largest of such projects ever attempted, is expected to facilitate the return of salmon and their marine-derived nutrients (MDN) throughout the watershed, possibly altering the food web structure, nutrient levels and stable isotope values that we documented.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Duda, J.; Coe, H.; Morley, S.; Kloehn, K.
- Units
- OLYM
- Keywords
- Dam Removal, Elwha River Restoration, Elwha River Watershed, marine-derived nutrients, Salmon, Stable Isotopes