Knowing Rivers for Life: Crossing Boundaries to Explore the Hidden Mysteries of Streams

世界各地的溪流和河流，以及它们的溪边（河岸）生态系统都陷入了困境。这些相互关联的生态系统中的栖息地，以及它们赖以生存的生物，正在以惊人的速度减少。北美的许多本地淡水鱼、小龙虾和贻贝已经濒临灭绝。有代表性的案例研究表明，大平原西部的河流已经大量干涸，一些河流预计将在几十年内完全消失，因为农业抽水，所有水生物种都将灭绝。此外，为了开采阿巴拉契亚的煤炭，山顶被移走，到目前为止已经掩埋了1200英里的源头溪流。城市化和雨水径流的增加继续对美国各地的河流造成严重损害。公众在很大程度上没有意识到这些剧烈的变化，国家对保护河流生态系统的必要性的认识也很有限。这个项目的目标是写一本可读性很强的书，教育广大读者关于溪流和河流的重要性，它们的生物群，以及它们与河岸森林和草原的紧密联系。这项工作将综合美国国家科学基金会资助的日本和美国同事近20年的研究成果，并利用一部纪录片（RiverWebs），该纪录片已通过电视向30个州的7000万家庭播出。这种方法将是编写引人入胜的故事，激发读者的兴趣，同时教他们水生生态学家如何开展工作，以及科学发现的奇迹和意外。接下来的章节将探讨科学家们对河流的发现，并提出几个关于河流生物群急剧下降的案例研究。最后一章将询问河流和小溪的未来是什么，为人类为什么需要河流来维持健康的社会发展一种伦理和哲学，并为我们如何保持河流的功能制定一条路线。另一个目标是在传统的图书读者之外吸引两种新的受众：通过视频剪辑和播客使用网络和社交网站的移动一代；在290万有学习障碍的美国学生中，使用丰富的插图、有声读物和有针对性的学习资源，让他们参与科学，特别是野外生态学。

Streams and rivers worldwide, and their streamside (riparian) ecosystems, are in trouble. The habitats in these linked ecosystems, and the organisms they support, are declining at an alarming rate. Many native species of freshwater fish, crayfishes, and mussels in North America are already imperiled or extinct. Representative case studies show that rivers on the western Great Plains have already dried substantially and some are projected to be lost completely within a few decades due to pumping for agriculture, extirpating all aquatic species. In addition, mountaintop removal to mine coal in Appalachia has buried 1200 miles of headwater streams so far. Urbanization and increased storm water runoff continues to cause serious impairment to streams throughout the United States. The public is largely unaware of these drastic changes, and there is limited national recognition of the need for conservation of stream ecosystems.The goal of this project is to write a highly readable book that eduates a wide audience about the importance of streams and rivers, their biota, and their strong interconnections with riparian forests and grasslands. This work will synthesize nearly 20 years of NSF-funded research with Japanese and American colleagues, and capitalize on a documentary film (RiverWebs) that has been broadcast by television to 70 million homes in 30 states. The approach will be to develop engaging stories which pique the reader's interest, while teaching them how aquatic ecologists conduct their work and about the wonder and serendipity of scientific discoveries. Subsequent chapters will explore what scientists have discovered about streams, and present several case studies on the drastic decline in their biota. The final chapter will ask what the future is for rivers and streams, develop an ethic and philosophy for why humans need rivers to sustain healthy societies, and chart a course for how we can maintain functioning streams. An additional goal is to reach two new audiences beyond traditional book readers: the mobile generation that uses the web and social networking sites, via video clips and podcasts; and some of the 2.9 million U.S. students with learning disabilities, using rich illustrations, an audio book, and targeted learning resources, to engage them in science, especially field ecology.