Status Updates From For the Love of Rivers: A S...

Ch.9 he closes with what the future holds for rivers, and strategies for getting people to care while also explaining the complexity of conservation. All and all there has been so much already lost at the hands of humans, however we must not walk away and there is hope as long as we keep learning and teaching the ways of the river and it’s importance.

Ch.8 - perhaps his best chapter, a perfect way to round out this book. He grapples with why we should care to conserve rivers beyond the science, beyond the music, a deep almost psychological evaluation of how we have come to love rivers and what that means to us. Also interesting - e.o wilson and the connection between children/adhd getting to explore nature and the outdoors - go figure right?

Ch 7. Protecting native trout IS important. In part because of the way they interact with the environment. They feed on insects differently than the non-native brook trout, which in turn means that there is more food for migrating birds that rely on 1/3 of those insects for food and energy. These connections “weave the fabric of ecosystems” not to mention the million dollar industry native fishes drive.

Ch 6 - research on plains fishes led to understanding that they are highly adaptable to surviving in nearly empty pools of water, however, groundwater is crucial to maintain even the miniscule lunt of water needed to keep them alive. with the Oglala being drained continuously - with hardly an end in site it is likely these fishes will reach extinction. agriculture and farming further complicate the issue.

Ch 5 - field work commences, but not without the wherewithal of an incredible field crew that makes miracles happen… also the creation of the film RiverWebs - basically explains the cascading effects of habitat alteration and trout invasion (i.e. less spiders from less benthic insects due to native fishes being outcompeted by rainbows and forced to feed on the benthic dwellers/ or just less native fishes present)

Ch. 4 - the fatal accident of Nakano’s passing in the Sea of Cortez touched many people and inspired those connected with the Tomakomai Experimental Forest to remain involved and continue doing renown research, one such being Kishi’s experiment on temperature changes disrupting food webs in streams cited by Mary Power!

Ch.3 - logs are important fish habitat (pools melt faster), invertebrates (half the diet), terrestrial habitat = insects falling in. trout also move way more than previous early studies show - some found to traverse upwards of 50 miles?! there was logging in the railroad days which devastated the “riverscapes” and explains the lack of fallen logs, forest regrown takes a while not to mention trees falling in.

Ch. 2 yoshi, a dedicated student begins to study under nakano who takes over for dr. Ishigaki, whitespotted charr outcompete Dolly Varden at warmer temps. The little stretch where they do overlap averages summer temps at their tipping point and they have nearly equal survival due to dolly varden shifting its feeding behavior.

Ch 1 - describes his unforeseen journey of a masters study in Japan coming to his same conclusions on the way trout interact throughout the stream which puts him on a serendipitous path of a connection to Japan, NSF finding, etc