Riverine Dynamics Research Articles

Paraphyly and evolutionary independent lineages in Gymnotus pantherinus (Gymnotiformes: Gymnotidae) in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest Coastal Streams

In the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (AF), many terrestrial species with broad geographical distributions show high diversity and endemism of intraspecific lineages, as revealed by molecular genetic data. This pattern, however, is less explored in freshwater fishes. Gymnotus pantherinus is an electric fish endemic to the Brazilian coastal drainages that shows a wide distribution, ranging from the states of Bahia to Santa Catarina, an unusual pattern for AF fishes. It has been hypothesized that G. pantherinus is a species complex because distinct morphotypes were described for the species based on morphometric and meristic features. We used mitochondrial and nuclear data to test this hypothesis. Based on phylogenetic inference and multi-locus, multispecies coalescent methods, we identified six independent lineages, flagging them as candidate species. One such lineage is the recently described species G. refugio that is nested within G. pantherinus and renders it paraphyletic, showing it is a species complex. We named G. pantherinus stricto sensu the lineage that includes samples from the type locality (Santos, SP). Our results show that genetic lineages correspond only partially and far exceed the number of previously reported morphotypes. Genetic breaks in the group correspond to landscape features associated with the Serra do Mar mountain range and with riverine dynamics caused by sea level changes during the last glacial maximum. Moreover, we found evidence of river capture events affecting phylogeographic structure in the group. We uncovered an important dimension of diversity in the group and encourage further integration of genetic and phenotypic data. Such integration is a fruitful approach not only to reduce the gap between taxonomy and evolutionary history in Gymnotidae, but also to uncover the real AF biodiversity.

Changing climate requires shift from refugia to sanctuaries for floodplain forests

ContextRiparian areas are considered to undergo major alterations under changing climate, making floodplain habitats targets for conservation and landscape planning. Protected areas might provide sanctuaries especially for sessile riparian plant species, but these niches are not always persistent over time.ObjectivesWe investigate if plant species of floodplain forests are provided with suitable habitat within currently protected areas and if these refugia persist. A coupled-modelling approach is used to gain spatially explicit information on new areas for sanctuaries.MethodsWe use species distribution models to predict the niche of 12 Salicion albae and 7 Fraxinion floodplain forest species along rivers in Switzerland, under current, moderate and extreme climate change scenarios up to 80 years to the future (2100). The spread of plant species from current habitat to suitable future habitat is simulated using dispersal vectors and life history traits.ResultsSalicion albae species are more flexible under both climate change scenarios than Fraxinion species. The main limitation for the spread of species is their dispersal ability, as only a minority of the suitable cells is colonized during the simulation process. The predicted future presence within currently protected areas decreases under both climate change scenarios in the model.ConclusionsCurrent protected floodplains do not provide persistent refugia for the plants studied, but might still be of importance to other organisms. Planning of sanctuaries for riparian plant species and communities need to focus on connectivity along rivers to maintain viable source populations in dynamic riverine landscapes under changing climate.

National-scale assessment of decadal river migration at critical bridge infrastructure in the Philippines

River migration represents a geomorphic hazard at sites of critical bridge infrastructure, particularly in rivers where migration rates are high, as in the tropics. In the Philippines, where exposure to flooding and geomorphic risk are considerable, the recent expansion of infrastructural developments warrants quantification of river migration in the vicinity of bridge assets. We analysed publicly available bridge inventory data from the Philippines Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to complete multi-temporal geospatial analysis using three decades worth of Landsat satellite imagery in Google Earth Engine (GEE). For 74 large bridges, we calculated similarity coefficients and quantified changes in width for the active river channel (defined as the wetted channel and unvegetated alluvial deposits) over decadal and engineering (30-year) timescales. Monitoring revealed the diversity of river planform adjustment at bridges in the Philippines (including channel migration, contraction, expansion and avulsion). The mean Jaccard index over decadal (0.65) and engineering (0.50) timescales indicated considerable planform adjustment throughout the national-scale inventory. However, planform adjustment and morphological behaviour varied between bridges. For bridges with substantial planform adjustment, maximum active channel contraction and expansion was equal to 25% of the active channel width over decadal timescales. This magnitude of lateral adjustment is sufficient to imply the need for bridge design to accommodate channel dynamism. For other bridges, the planform remained stable and changes in channel width were limited. Fundamental differences in channel characteristics and morphological behaviours emerged between different valley confinement settings, and between rivers with different channel patterns, indicating the importance of the local geomorphic setting. We recommend satellite remote sensing as a low-cost approach to monitor river planform adjustment with large-scale planimetric changes detectable in Landsat products; these approaches can be applied to other critical infrastructure adjacent to rivers (e.g. road, rail, pipelines) and extended elsewhere to other dynamic riverine settings.

Lateral and longitudinal fish environmental DNA distribution in dynamic riverine habitats

AbstractAssessing the status and distribution of fish populations in rivers is essential for management and conservation efforts in these dynamic habitats. Currently, methods detecting environmental DNA (eDNA) are being established as an alternative and/or complementary approach to the traditional monitoring of fish species. In lotic systems, a sound understanding of hydrological conditions and their influence on the local target detection probability and DNA quantity is key for the interpretation of eDNA‐based results. However, the effect of seasonal and diurnal changes in discharge and the comparability of semi‐quantitative results between species remain hardly addressed. We conducted a cage experiment with four fish species (three salmonid and one cyprinid species) in a glacier‐fed, fish‐free river in Tyrol (Austria) during summer, fall, and winter discharge situations (i.e., 25‐fold increase from winter to summer). Each season, water samples were obtained on three consecutive days at 13 locations downstream of the cages including lateral sampling every 1–2 m across the wetted width. Fish eDNA was quantified by species‐specific endpoint PCR followed by capillary electrophoresis. Close to the cages, lateral eDNA distribution was heterogenous and mirrored cage placement within the stream. In addition to the diluting effect of increased discharge, longitudinal signal changes within the first 20 m were weakest at high discharge. For downstream locations with laterally homogenous eDNA distribution, the signals decreased significantly with increasing distance and discharge. Generally, the eDNA of the larger‐bodied salmonid species was less frequently detected, and signal strengths were lower compared to the cyprinid species. This study exemplifies the importance of hydrological conditions for the interpretation of eDNA‐based data across seasons. To control for heterogenous eDNA distribution and enable comparisons over time, sampling schemes in lotic habitats need to incorporate hydrological conditions and species traits.

INTRODUCCIÓN Y MANEJO DE PRIMATES EN ISLAS DE LA AMAZONÍA PERUANA - CONSIDERACIONES DE UN POTENCIAL PROBLEMA

En esta nota se discuten las potenciales consecuencias de una fusión de la Isla Muyuy con la tierra firme, debido a la dinámica fluvial del río Amazonas. La isla alberga una población introducida (alóctona) del pichico de pecho anaranjado, Saguinus labiatus (Callitrichidae). Se recomienda desarrollar un plan de acción, a fin de evitar consecuencias negativas para poblaciones autóctonas de otras especies de pichicos y del ecosistema, en caso que la Isla Muyuy se una con la tierra firme.

Lithological and Geochemical Characteristics of Morpholithogenesis in Buor-Khaya Bay

The paper presents the general lithological and geochemical characteristics of subsea permafrost and thawed bottom sediments from three cores drilled in Buor-Khaya Bay. The lithological, organic chemical, and microscopic data revealed spatial differences of Quaternary sedimentation and sedimentary evolution, which are determined by riverine dynamics, cryogenic processes, coastal abrasion, and ice activity in the studied part of the Laptev Sea. A variety of grain sizes and genetic types of deposits was revealed, most of which represented by alluvial sands. A large number of plant remains were found, which mainly contribute to the total organic carbon pool. The data indicate a pronounced polygenetic origin of the studied sediments, where the terrigenous supply of sedimentary material significantly dominates under alternating coastal Arctic morpholithogenesis conditions.

Mapping legal authority for terrestrial conservation corridors along streams.

Wildlife corridors aim to promote species’ persistence by connecting habitat patches across fragmented landscapes. Their implementation is limited by patterns of land ownership and complicated by differences in the jurisdictional and regulatory authorities under which lands are managed. Terrestrial corridor conservation requires coordination across jurisdictions and sectors subject to site‐specific overlapping sources of legal authority. Mapping spatial patterns of legal authority concurrent with habitat condition can illustrate opportunities to build or leverage capacity for connectivity conservation. Streamside areas provide pragmatic opportunities to leverage existing policy mechanisms for riverine and terrestrial habitat connectivity across boundaries. Conservation planners and practitioners can make use of these opportunities by harmonizing actions for multiple conservation outcomes. We formulated an integrative, data‐driven method for mapping multiple sources of legal authority weighted by capacity for coordinating terrestrial habitat conservation along streams. We generated a map of capacity to coordinate streamside corridor protections across a wildlife habitat gap to demonstrate this approach. We combined values representing coordination capacity and naturalness to generate an integrated legal‐ecological resistance map for connectivity modeling. We then computed least‐cost corridors across the integrated map, masking the terrestrial landscape to focus on streamside areas. Streamside least‐cost corridors in the integrated, local‐scale model diverged (∼25 km) from national‐scale least‐cost corridors based on naturalness. Spatial categories comparing legal‐ and naturalness‐based resistance values by stream reach highlighted potential locations for building or leveraging existing capacity through spatial coordination of policy mechanisms or restoration actions. Agencies or nongovernmental organizations intending to restore or maintain habitat connectivity across fragmented landscapes can use this approach to inform spatial prioritization and build coordination capacity. Article impact statement: Combined mapping of legal authority and habitat condition reveals capacity to coordinate actions along streams for clean water and wildlife.

Urban Landscape Design Adaption to Flood Risk: A Case Study in Can Tho City, Vietnam

Located in the centre of the Mekong Delta (MD), Can Tho City (CTC), with a development history of more than three centuries, has affirmed its strategic position as an interregional centre. The city on Hau river is blessed by nature with the identity of a delta landscape associated with riverine dynamics. First, this article presents the development history of CTC, and the correlation between its urbanization history and the existing characteristics of the urban landscape. Then, this study further analyses challenges in urban development, assessing existing water infrastructure and opportunities of current urban and rural landscapes. Finally, urban landscape design strategies have been discussed to suggest improved resilience of the city with flood management in the context of climate change.

Statistical Model and Estimation of Inland Riverine Turbidity with Landsat 8 OLI Images: A Case Study

Abstract The Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) was investigated for its performance in monitoring dynamic riverine surface water turbidity. China's Hanjiang River, the largest tributary of th...

Mesohabitat mosaic in lowland braided rivers: Short-term variability of macroinvertebrate metacommunities

Braided rivers are among the most variable and dynamic riverine systems. Changes in these environments are sudden and frequent, driven by the high hydrological variability. They host high levels of local heterogeneity, with many different habitats in close proximity establishing a mosaic of patches. This provides the conditions for high levels of biodiversity, with strong community variability in particular among the different habitats at the stream-reach level. Nevertheless, these systems are still poorly studied and their complexity is often not taken into account in biomonitoring protocols. We applied mixed effects modelling, spatial ordination techniques and beta-diversity partitioning (into nestedness and turnover components) with the aim of improving the knowledge of braided rivers, investigating: i) the organization of macroinvertebrate communities among the different habitats of a river reach, and ii) the temporal variability of this organization (both among seasons and during summer). We predicted a differentiation of macroinvertebrate communities between distinct habitats within rivers, with this differentiation increasing during the low-flow period. We carried out our study in four braided rivers and streams of the Po River basin (Northern Italy) sampling three different kinds of mesohabitats (main channel, secondary channel and pool) in eight stations during seven campaigns from June 2015 to April 2016. We found a high variability of taxa richness, abundance and community structure among mesohabitats, with marginal ones accounting for the greater part of macroinvertebrate diversity. Secondary channels resulted as being the habitat hosting greater taxa diversity, with 10 exclusive taxa. Surprisingly the mesohabitat communities differed greatly during the seasonal phase, whereas their dissimilarity decreased during summer. This could be explained considering the summer flow reduction as a homogenizing force, leading to a general loss of the most sensitive taxa. However, the summer taxa turnover value resulted higher than nestedness, suggesting a strong environmental control on community organization, with taxa well adapted to the different conditions of mesohabitats and able to manage the effects of flow reduction. Our work represents a remarkable issue for biomonitoring protocols, highlighting the importance of taking into account the whole complexity of braided rivers for a more realistic evaluation of macroinvertebrate communities.

Influence of the Mississippi River on Pseudo-nitzschia spp. Abundance and Toxicity in Louisiana Coastal Waters

The presence of domoic acid (DA) toxin from multiple species of Pseudo-nitzschia is a concern in the highly productive food webs of the northern Gulf of Mexico. We documented the Pseudo-nitzschia presence, abundance, blooms, and toxicity over three years along a transect ∼100 km west of the Mississippi River Delta on the continental shelf. Pseudo-nitzschia were present throughout the year and occurred in high abundances (>104 cells l−1) in the early spring months during high Mississippi River (MSR) flow (∼20,000 m3 s−1) but were most abundant (>106 cells l−1) when MSR discharge was relatively lower among the spring months. A high particulate toxin production (maximum reaching 13 μg DA l−1) was associated with the high cell abundances and exceeded, by an order of magnitude, prior reports of particulate DA concentrations in Louisiana coastal waters. Differences in Pseudo-nitzschia peak times and its toxicity were correlated mainly with the timing and magnitude of MSR discharge and changes in associated parameters such as nutrient stoichiometry and salinity. A negative relationship between high MSR discharge and Pseudo-nitzschia and particulate DA concentrations was documented. These riverine dynamics have the potential to influence DA contamination in pelagic and benthic food webs in the coastal waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Mapping riparian habitat using a combination ofremote-sensing techniques

ABSTRACTLight detection and ranging (lidar) and object-oriented classification (OOC) can be used to overcome the shortcomings of the traditional pixel-based classification (PBC) of coarse spatial resolution data, such as Landsat data, for habitat mapping in riparian zones. The purposes of this study were to investigate methods to classify multispectral data and lidar for riparian habitat mapping, and to identify major habitat components for two target species. The mapping of riparian habitat based on OOC and Decision Tree Classification (DTC) was carried out by merging vertical data from lidar and spectral data of high-resolution imagery. Our results showed an overall classification accuracy of 88.2%. In particular, small and continuous habitat types, such as short and tall grasses, rock outcrop and gravel, and riffles, improved the classification accuracy compared with the pixel-based methods. The habitat patches and paths for each target species were identified by incorporating the point data from the field survey and the outcomes of image classification. Our study demonstrated that the proposed methodology can be successfully used for the identification and restoration of fragmented riparian habitats, and can offer an opportunity to obtain high classification accuracies for microhabitat components in dynamic riverine areas.

Dynamic riverine landscapes: the role of ecosystem engineers

AbstractAn important and highly active research agenda has developed at the interface of fluvial geomorphology and ecology that addresses the capacity for vegetation and animals to act as ecosystem engineers within fluvial systems. This paper briefly introduces this research domain and describes the 15 papers that contribute to the special issue on 'Dynamic riverine landscapes: the role of ecosystem engineers'. The papers illustrate the breadth of research activity at this interface, investigating the influence of a range of ecosystem engineering organisms through a combination of field study, laboratory experiments, numerical simulation and analysis of remotely sensed data. Together, the papers address a series of key themes: conceptual frameworks for feedbacks between aquatic biota, hydraulics, sediment dynamics and nutrient dynamics and their quantification through experimental and field research; the potential contribution of ecosystem engineering species to assist river recovery and restoration; and the contribution of riparian vegetation to bank stability and morphodynamics across a range of spatio‐temporal scales. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The role of time-lapse bathymetric surveys in assessing morphological change at shipwreck sites

Data from time-lapse single-beam and multi-beam bathymetric surveys are used to assess the rate and scale of morphological change at shipwreck sites caused by anthropogenic forcing. The technique is illustrated by characterizing changes in wreck site morphology over two sites located on the east coast of Ireland – the Drogheda Boat site on the River Boyne and the Arklow Bank site in the Irish Sea. Results indicate that repeated bathymetric surveys accurately and rapidly capture morphological change, with time-lapse accretion–erosion models indicating possible erosion rates of up to 0.04 m per day and accretion rates of 0.36 m per day at dynamic riverine and marine sites in response to external triggers. These data are valuable in understanding site formation processes at fully submerged archaeological sites and in the derivation of high-resolution site formation models.

Off‐channel temporary pools contribute to native riparian plant species diversity in a regulated river floodplain

AbstractOff‐channel temporary pools on riverbanks have characteristic seasonal wet–dry cycles resulting from direct inflow of river water or hyporheic flow seepage. This study addressed two questions regarding the role of temporary pools in supporting diversity of riparian vegetation in a regulated river in Japan: (1) do temporary pools maintain high native riparian plant species diversity? And, (2) how do physical environmental factors affect the pattern of plant species distribution? The study was conducted on a 1‐km section of the Hayade River alluvial fan in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan. Two to five transect belts consisting of 20 contiguous plots (1 m × 1 m) were laid out in two off‐channel temporary pools and six other sites classified by physiognomy. Vascular plant presence, relative elevation, and substratum type were recorded in all plots. Species richness, Simpson's reciprocal index (1/D), and Shannon–Wiener function (H′) were calculated by life form to estimate plant species diversity. Two conclusions could be drawn from the results. First, the temporary pools maintained high native riparian plant species diversity in this regulated river floodplain. Second, several environmental factors (seasonal wet–dry cycle, low elevation, complex micro‐topography, and fine substrata) created spatial and seasonal heterogeneity of moisture conditions in the temporary pools, supporting plant species diversity. For sustainable maintenance of riparian plant species diversity, progressive river‐management should restore original riverine dynamics to generate a shifting mosaic of diverse geomorphology.

Integrating environmental conditions and functional life-history traits for riparian arthropod conservation planning

River banks are naturally disturbed habitats, in which local flood events and the landscape structure are expected to govern riparian species assemblages. Not solely effects of flooding per se, but also related changes in vegetation structure will affect species distribution. By elucidating the relationships between species occurrences and multivariate habitat conditions on a restricted spatial scale, insight into conservation strategies to preserve riparian species is gained. Ordination and grouping methods revealed important environmental and functional trait constraints on the composition of predatory riparian arthropods. Mainly flooding disturbance appeared to affect spider and carabid beetle assemblages. Habitat affinity and dispersal ability were retained as important traits explaining similarity between arthropod assemblages. River banks similar in species composition differed in absolute and functional group species richness. Furthermore, Poisson regressions demonstrated the importance of variation in discharge regime, sediment composition and vegetation structure for the preservation of rare riparian arthropods. Xerothermophilic specialists were disfavoured by increased flooding disturbance, whereas hygrophilic species benefited from increased vegetation cover. In contrast to flight-active riparian carabids, occurring throughout the river system, especially cursorial spiders are expected to go extinct under increased anthropogenic alterations of discharge regimes. In general, river restoration should generate the required heterogeneity in environmental conditions (e.g. dynamic processes) at the river bank level, thereby increasing the sustainability of dynamic riverine landscapes and the conservation of vulnerable riparian arthropods. Moreover, we argue that the understanding of functional responses towards environmental factors on a local scale results in general and widely applicable guiding concepts for species conservation and ecosystem management.

Managing for Variability to Sustain Freshwater Ecosystems

Water resources development for human needs has come at a significant cost to the natural functioning of aquatic and riparian ecosystems in the United States and around the world. The construction of hundreds of thousands of dams nationally and globally and the extensive human transformation of land cover have greatly modified the magnitude, timing, and duration of river flows that have historically sustained naturally dynamic riverine ecosystems Graf 1999; Nilsson et al. 2005; Poff et al. 2006 . This pervasive alteration is contributing to the global crisis of biodiversity loss in freshwater ecosystems and to the degradation of many of the natural goods and services that these ecosystems provide to human communities Postel and Richter 2003; Dudgeon et al. 2006; Poff et al. 2007 . The importance of sustaining healthy ecosystems to support human well-being in a world of shrinking water resource availability is now broadly recognized World Commission on Dams 2000; Gleick 2003; Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2003 . The many economic benefits provided to human society from maintaining healthy aquatic and riparian ecosystems, coupled with the high cost and difficulty of restoring degraded ecosystems Bernhardt et al. 2005 , have fueled the growing awareness that principles of ecosystem science need to be more fully integrated into water resources planning and management. The term “environmental flows” has emerged to capture the important idea that nature must be allocated a share of water in water resources management if such planning and development is truly to be integrated integrated water resources management or IWRM Naiman et al. 2002; Bernhardt et al. 2006 . Environmental flows are defined by the Brisbane Declaration http://www.river symposium.com/index.php? element 2007 BrisbaneDeclaration 241007 as the quantity, timing, and quality of water flows required to sustain freshwater and estuarine ecosystems and the human livelihoods and well-being that depend on these ecosystems. In recent years, guidelines for environmental flows have been developed and variously implemented in many places in the United States and around the world. Such developments are certainly encouraging; however, a key issue in actually achieving ecologically sustainable development revolves around just how these environmental flows are defined and implemented. All too often, there is a precarious balance between provision of even minimal environmental flows and real or perceived human demand, leading to social conflict and associated legal or regulatory challenges Poff et al. 2003 . Maintaining adequate environmental flows in heavily allocated basins is especially difficult and is becoming more commonplace—the Klamath River basin Oregon and California , the Appalachicola-ChatahoocheeFlint basin Georgia, Alabama, and Florida , and the recent drought conditions in the city of Atlanta are but a few contemporary examples of conflicts that threaten to undermine the political will necessary to sustain healthy riverine ecosystems. Such con-

Spatial Variation in Fish Species Richness of the Upper Mississippi River System

AbstractImportant natural environmental gradients, including the connectivity of off‐channel aquatic habitats to the main‐stem river, have been lost in many reaches of the upper Mississippi River system, and an understanding of the consequences of this isolation is lacking in regard to native fish communities. The objectives of this study were to describe patterns of fish species richness, evenness, and diversity among representative habitats and river reaches and to examine the relationship between fish species richness and habitat diversity. Each year (1994–1999) fish communities of main‐channel borders (MCB), side channel borders (SCB), and contiguous backwater shorelines (BWS) were sampled using boat‐mounted electrofishing, mini‐fyke‐nets, fyke nets, hoop nets, and seines at a standardized number of sites. A total of 0.65 million fish were collected, representing 106 species from upper Mississippi River Pools 4, 8, 13, and 26; the open (unimpounded) river reach; and the La Grange Reach of the Illinois River. Within pools, species richness based on rarefaction differed significantly among habitats and was highest in BWS and lowest in MCB (P < 0.0001). At the reach scale, Pools 4, 8, and 13 consistently had the highest species richness and Pool 26, the open‐river reach, and the La Grange Reach were significantly lower (P < 0.0001). Species evenness and diversity indices showed similar trends. The relationship between native fish species richness and habitat diversity was highly significant (r2 = 0.85; P = 0.0091). These results support efforts aimed at the conservation and enhancement of connected side channels and backwaters. Although constrained by dams, pools with high native species richness could serve as a relative reference. The remnants of natural riverine dynamics that remain in these reaches should be preserved and enhanced; conditions could be used to guide restoration activities in more degraded reaches.

Experimental floods in the River Sp�l, Swiss National Park: Framework, objectives and design

Between 2000 to 2002, 11 experimental floods were released from 2 reservoirs separating different regulated segments of the Spol River in the Swiss National Park. The riverbed of the Spol had been altered substantially by regulated flows since energy production started in 1970. This 3-year experiment aimed to test whether an annual flood regime could restore riverine dynamics to this regulated river and, if so, how the floods must be managed in respect to a minimal but regular flow disturbance required to maintain riverine dynamics in a near natural state. This article outlines the framework, objectives and design of the experimental flood program on the River Spol. The study involved a number of institutions controlling operational, economical, legal and ecological matters related to the floods, and was planned under the constraint that the floods would result in no increase in total water release during each year and no loss in total energy production. Concomitant cross-disciplinary environmental studies monitored the diverse impacts of each flood on the respective regulated segments. The various results, as shown in the accompanying reports, suggest that one or two annual high flows may be sufficient to enhance and sustain the ecological integrity of the Spol over the long term.

The fauna of dynamic riverine landscapes

1. Riverine landscapes are heterogeneous in space (complex mosaic of habitat types) and time (expansion and contraction cycles, landscape legacies). They are inhabited by a diverse and abundant fauna of aquatic, terrestrial and amphibious species.2. Faunal distribution patterns are determined by interactive processes that reflect the landscape mosaic and complex environmental gradients. The life cycles of many riverine species rely upon a shifting landscape mosaic and other species have become adapted to exploit the characteristically high turn‐over of habitats.3. The complex landscape structure provides a diversity of habitats that sustains various successional stages of faunal assemblages. A dynamic riverine landscape sustains biodiversity by providing a variety of refugia and through ecological feedbacks from the organisms themselves (ecosystem engineering).4. The migration of many species, aquatic and terrestrial, is tightly coupled with the temporal and spatial dynamics of the shifting landscape mosaic. Alternation of landscape use by terrestrial and aquatic fauna corresponds to the rise and fall of the flood. Complex ecological processes inherent to intact riverine landscapes are reflected in their biodiversity, with important implications for the restoration and management of river corridors.