How do natural changes in flow magnitude affect fish abundance and diversity in temperate regions? A systematic review protocol

作者：Kim Birnie‐Gauvin, Trina Rytwinski, Meagan Harper, Jessica J. Taylor, Adrienne Smith, Karen E. Smokorowski, Katrine Turgeon, Michael J. Bradford, Steven J. Cooke · 发表于：Ecological Solutions and Evidence · 年份：2021 · DOI：10.1002/2688-8319.12079 · 被引用次数：6 · 研究领域：Fish Ecology and Management Studies、Freshwater macroinvertebrate diversity and ecology、Fish biology, ecology, and behavior

Abstract Natural flow regimes play important roles in maintaining the ecological integrity and diversity of aquatic ecosystems. Wildlife has adapted over time to the natural dynamics of their environment, including changes in flow regimes. Changes in flow, including changes in magnitude, frequency, duration, timing and rate of change, may affect the physical characteristics of aquatic habitats, access to habitats, food availability, population dynamics and community composition. Given the importance of natural flow regimes for fish, it is necessary to understand the extent to which natural flow regimes alter fish abundance and diversity. Here we present a protocol for a systematic review that will estimate how fish abundance and diversity are affected by natural variation (resulting from climatic variability and broad‐scale drivers such as climate‐induced change) in flow. This systematic review will use evidence published before 2016 that was identified in a recent systematic mapping exercise on the broader topic of flow regime change impacts (both natural and anthropogenic) on direct outcomes of freshwater or estuarine fish productivity. An updated English language search will be performed using six bibliographic databases, Google Scholar and networking tools to include commercially published and grey literature that has been published after 2016. Eligibility screening will be conducted at two stages: title and abstract, and full‐text. We will include all studies that evalua...