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The need to understand and manage ecosystems at larger “macrosystem” levels is becoming increasingly crucial with climate change and global challenges facing our freshwater ecosystems. Macrosystem management requires an understanding of how different levels of spatial complexity (reach to valley scale) and biotic organization (populations to ecosystems) affect the functioning of ecological systems. In such a context, the MACRO project examines rivers of the two largest temperate steppe biomes of the world: the North American Great Plains and the Euro-Asian Steppes (Mongolian steppes). Scientists from the USA and Mongolia are examining the structure and functioning of these rivers in a variety of hydrogeomorphic areas, such as constricted, meandering, and braided channel sections. Despite their similarity in biomes, the river macrosystems of the Great Plains and the Mongolian steppes vary substantially in fauna, flora, and community through ecosystem functioning. For example, most rivers in the USA contain dams and many exotic fauna have been introduced, while the vast majority of Mongolian rivers contain no dams and their aquatic fauna is almost exclusively native.

During this seminar, I will 1) give a brief review of the main tenets of macrosystem ecology, 2) discuss the MACRO rivers project, it’s objectives, and the different research activities developed within this project, and 3) present the first results on stream macroinvertebrate communities.

For more information please follow this link here: http://www.macrorivers.org/