The Effects of Dam Removal on River Ecosystems: A Study of Succession in the Maple River

Abstract

Poicy and environmental decisions rely on a thorough understanding of the impacts of human action on the natural world. Such action, in the form of river reconnection movements, has highlighted an area of environmentalmanipulation in need of further research. As part of a larger before-and-after study of the limnological conditions and species abundances in the Maple River (Boehm, 2015), this study investigated the effects of dam removal on the macroinvertebrate Functional Feeding Group (FFG) richness and distribution, discharge, and concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus in the Maple River. This study found notable differences between the state of the Maple River prior to dam removal and its current state, post dam removal. These differences primarily pertain to discharge, water chemistry, and P/R ratios, and are most prominent at sites downstream nearest to the former dam site, in accordance with the river continuum concept.