Assessing Freshwater Ecosystem Service Risk over Ecological, Socioeconomic, and Cultural Gradients: Sites, Methodology and Preliminary Results from a Pan-American Study

THOMAS C. HARMON; SANDRA R. VILLAMIZAR; DANIEL CONDE; JAMES RUSAK; BRIAN REID; ANNA ASTORGA; GERARDO M. E. PERILLO; M. CINTIA PICCOLO; FACUNDO SCORDO; MARIANA I. ZILIO; SILVIA LONDON; MARÍA I. VELEZ; NATALIA HOYOS; JAIME H. ESCOBAR; BEVERLEY WEMPLE

Orford

Workshop; GLEON 16 Orford Québec, Canada; 2014

Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network

The objective of this work is to identify and understand changes in aquatic ecosystems, and translate these changes into a risk of ecosystem service loss. A secondary objective is to communicate risk, and pose risk mitigation strategies, in a manner acceptable to a broad spectrum of stakeholders. Quantifying the nature and timing of the risk is difficult because (1) we often fail to understand the connection between anthropogenic pressures and the timing and extent of ecosystem changes; and (2) the concept of risk is inherently coupled to human perception, which generally differs with cultural and socio-economic conditions. In this study, we endeavor to assess aquatic ecosystem risks across an international array of six study sites. The challenge is to construct a methodology capable of capturing the marked biogeographical, socioeconomic, and cultural differences among the sites, which include: (1) Muskoka River watershed in humid continental Ontario, Canada; (2) Lower San Joaquin River, an impounded snow-fed river in semi-arid Central California; (3) Cienaga Grande de Santa Marta, a tropical coastal lagoon in Colombia; (4) Senguer River basin in a semi-arid region of Argentina; (5) Laguna de Rocha watershed in humid subtropical Uruguay; and (6) Palomas Lake complex in oceanic Chilean Patagonia. Preliminary results include a characterization of the experimental gradient over the six sites, an overview of the risk assessment methodology, and preliminary findings for several of the sites.