Riverine macrosystems ecology: sensitivity, resistance, and resilience of whole river basins with human alterations

摘要: Riverine macrosystems are described here as watershed-scale networks of connected and interacting riverine upland habitat patches. Such systems driven by variable responses nutrients organisms to a suite global regional factors (eg climate, human social systems) with finer-scale variations in geology, topography, modifications. We hypothesize that spatial heterogeneity, connectivity, asynchrony among these patches regulate ecological dynamics whole networks, altering system sensitivity, resistance, resilience. Long-distance connections between may be particularly important macrosystems, shaping fundamental properties. Furthermore, the type, extent, intensity, configuration activities land-use change, dam construction) influence watershed-wide properties through effects on heterogeneity connectivity at multiple scales. Thus, coupled social–ecological sy...