The lake sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens, was once abundant throughout Canada and the United States, however, high commercial harvests and habitat alterations have dramatically reduced most populations. The species was extirpated from many rivers that it once inhabited, and has been designated as threatened or endangered throughout its range. Currently, few healthy lake sturgeon populations remain and the species is receiving considerable attention with respect to its protection and recovery. Although considerable effort is underway to conserve the species, several factors, including over-harvest and habitat alteration, pollution and a general lack of understanding about lake sturgeon ecology and behavior continue to hamper recovery efforts. This thesis examined the ecology and behavior of juvenile lake sturgeon within a 41 km long impounded section of the Winnipeg River, a large river in the Canadian Shield, over a three-year period (2006 – 2008). Habitat preferences, species associations, diet, and movement were described on a seasonal basis. Biological characteristics were also described for juvenile lake sturgeon within the study area. Studies presented in this thesis are among the first conducted for juveniles of this species in the Hudson Bay drainage basin, and from large riverine environments in general. Results are important, not only for improving our understanding of lake sturgeon at the juvenile life history stage, but for facilitating further research. In particular, future research studies identified in the final chapter have the potential to enhance our understanding of factors influencing mortality during the early life history stages of the lake sturgeon, and therefore, greatly enhance recovery efforts.

The lake sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens, was once abundant throughout Canada and the United States, however, high commercial harvests and habitat alterations have dramatically reduced most populations. The species was extirpated from many rivers that it once inhabited, and has been designated as threatened or endangered throughout its range. Currently, few healthy lake sturgeon populations remain and the species is receiving considerable attention with respect to its protection and recovery. Although considerable effort is underway to conserve the species, several factors, including over-harvest and habitat alteration, pollution and a general lack of understanding about lake sturgeon ecology and behavior continue to hamper recovery efforts. This thesis examined the ecology and behavior of juvenile lake sturgeon within a 41 km long impounded section of the Winnipeg River, a large river in the Canadian Shield, over a three-year period (2006 – 2008). Habitat preferences, species associations, diet, and movement were described on a seasonal basis. Biological characteristics were also described for juvenile lake sturgeon within the study area. Studies presented in this thesis are among the first conducted for juveniles of this species in the Hudson Bay drainage basin, and from large riverine environments in general. Results are important, not only for improving our understanding of lake sturgeon at the juvenile life history stage, but for facilitating further research. In particular, future research studies identified in the final chapter have the potential to enhance our understanding of factors influencing mortality during the early life history stages of the lake sturgeon, and therefore, greatly enhance recovery efforts.

In this study, I examined the influence of hydrological seasonality on spatiotemporal variation of algal biomass and shrimp abundance on sandbanks of the Cinaruco River in southwestern Venezuela. Seasonal variations of abiotic and biotic variables in the Cinaruco were driven by the hydrological regime. During the highwater periods, river sites in the main channel and lagoon sites were similar in water physicochemical variables and algal biomass. In contrast, physicochemical variables and algal biomass differed between river and lagoon sites during the low-water period. The absence of flow in lagoons and consistently low algal biomass on river sandbanks were the most important features of the spatial variability between main-channel and lagoon sandbanks during low-water phases. Benthic algal biomass was highly uniform at small spatial scales and significantly heterogeneous at large spatial scales. In the second major part of this dissertation, I found a relatively species-rich shrimp assemblage with seven species inhabiting the sandbanks of the Cinaruco. I also observed clear patterns of temporal and spatial variation in shrimp abundance on the Cinaruco sandbanks. Abundance of shrimp on the sandbanks presented remarkable diel variation, showing almost exclusive use of this habitat at nights. Seasonally, shrimp were more abundant during rising- and falling-water periods, when rapid changes of environmental conditions occur. Shrimp abundance was high on those sandbanks with absence of troughs and presence of submerged vegetation. These environmental features presumably promote colonization/establishment and survival/persistence of shrimp in the sandbanks. In a patch-dynamic view of communities, a mobility control model seems to apply to shrimp of the sandbanks in the Cinaruco during the period of rapid changes in hydrology and habitat structure. During low-water periods, when habitat structure of sandbanks is relatively constant, low shrimp abundance appears to be heavily controlled by high fish predation. The annual flood regime of the Cinaruco, which drives the concentrations of dissolved materials, affects material interchanges between aquatic and terrestrial systems, and modifies aquatic habitat structural complexity, is responsible for creating strong patterns of seasonal and spatial variation in benthic algal crops and shrimp abundance on the sandbanks of this large floodplain river.

White Bass Morone chrysops is a native, migratory sportfish that is found throughout the central United States in large rivers and riverine impoundments. White Bass migrate into tributaries and riverine portions of reservoirs to spawn during spring. These spawning migrations concentrate fish and may make them more susceptible to angling pressure. White Bass have been well studied in reservoirs throughout the central United States since the early 2000’s when fisheries management practices shifted from population management to fish assemblage management. However, despite the increase in White Bass research in reservoirs, large river populations remain understudied. My thesis research used otolith microchemistry to assess the role of tributaries in supporting White Bass populations in the Ohio, Wabash, Middle Mississippi, Upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers and to compare population demographics (recruitment, growth, and mortality) among rivers. Water samples were collected from each of the five rivers and their tributaries and analyzed for strontium, barium, and calcium concentrations to calculate molar elemental ratios (Sr:Ca, Ba:Ca) and determine if differences in water Sr:Ca and Ba:Ca observed in prior studies persisted among large rivers and their tributaries. Otoliths from White Bass collected from locations where their movement was constrained (e.g., impoundments where dam passage is not possible) were analyzed to characterize relationships between water chemistry (Sr:Ca and Ba:Ca) and White Bass otolith chemistry. I then applied these regression relationships in conjunction with water chemistry data from each of the five large rivers and tributaries in the study area to estimate ranges of otolith Sr:Ca and Ba:Ca for White Bass in each of the rivers and tributaries. Otolith core Sr:Ca and Ba:Ca from White Bass collected from the Ohio, Wabash, Middle Mississippi, Upper Mississippi, and Illinois rivers were compared with predicted river-specific ranges of otolith Sr:Ca and Ba:Ca to identify natal river for each fish. All fish utilized for microchemistry were aged and used to create an age-at-length key from which vital rate parameters were calculated. Microchemistry results indicated that White Bass origin proportions differed among rivers. In rivers with more prominent differences in water Sr:Ca compared to their tributaries and upstream river segments, natal river assignments were more definitive and indicated that large river White Bass stocks are being strongly supplemented by tributaries and other upriver locations. In areas with small differences in water chemistry among potential natal rivers, origin designations were less definitive due to partially overlapping ranges of Sr:Ca and Ba:Ca among locations. A study using genetics to assess natal river fidelity in spawning White Bass should be conducted to better assess stocks and population structure in the large rivers. White Bass populations were dominated by age 0 fish (young of the year). Vital rate parameters were consistent with those of reservoir populations in the central United States, with riverine White Bass exhibiting fast growth, high mortality, and variable recruitment. My results indicated that a holistic approach to large river management should be considered when managing White Bass. Management regulations should reflect those in well studied reservoir populations based upon my findings, but future projects should expand upon our data and focus on population modeling of White Bass in these systems to better understand fishing and natural mortality, especially in areas of concentrated fish during the spawning season.

The cycling of nutrients is a fundamental process in streams and rivers, and scientists are increasingly recognizing the importance of animal communities to nutrient dynamics in these ecosystems. Despite growing evidence that animal excretion (i.e. urine) can supply limiting nutrients to primary producers in small streams, the importance of excretion is uncertain in large rivers. Accordingly, I used three estimation approaches based on past and new excretion rate data to determine nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) excretion inputs from insect communities in four large rivers (discharge > 10 cubic meters per second) in North America, and I compared these rates to both the total demand for nutrients by primary producers and background nutrient levels. Additionally, I compared the ratio of excreted nutrients (N:P) to water nutrient limitation (N-limitation or P-limitation) to understand whether excretion by insects could serve as a potential source of limited nutrients to free-floating primary producers in large river ecosystems. Across all three estimation approaches, total insect community N excretion rates ranged from 18.9 to 1070.1 μg N m-2 hr-1, while community P excretion rates ranged from 16.3 to 378.7 μg P m-2 hr-1. Across all rivers and estimation approaches, community N and P excretion was equal to 0.7 to 32.4% and 0.1 to 6.0% of total N and P demand, respectively. Additionally, excreted N and P was equivalent to 0.5 to 62.3% and 0.2 to 5.5% of background N and P levels, respectively. Excreted N:P ratios suggested that excretion may serve as an important pathway in the alleviation of nutrient limitation for some primary producers in large rivers, although additional research will be required. Compared to smaller stream ecosystems, in which animal excretion can supply >50% of total N demand, and also match > 100% of background N levels, insect excretion appears to play a smaller role in nutrient dynamics of large rivers, although excretion may contribute significantly in rivers with high animal biomass and low background nutrient levels, as for N in the North Platte River in this study.

L'altération chimique de la croûte terrestre fournit à l'ensemble des cycles bio-géochimiques de la surface les éléments essentiels à leur fonctionnement. L'érosion de grands orogènes, comme la chaîne Himalayenne s'accompagne de flux d'érosion et d'altération significatifs, susceptibles d'avoir un impact à l'échelle globale. L'objectif de cette thèse est de comprendre comment les processus physiques et chimiques façonnent le signal sédimentaire afin de quantifier l'érosion et l'altération actuelle ainsi que leur variations passées. L'étude détaillée de la dynamique du transport sédimentaire et des caractéristiques physiques et géochimiques des sédiments dans le bassin du Gange montre qu'actuellement environ 10 % du flux sédimentaire érodé en Himalaya est séquestré dans la plaine alluviale du Gange. L'utilisation des isotopes cosmogéniques (10Be) dans les sédiments de rivières montrent des taux d'érosions stables entre 1.3 et 1.4 mm par an pour l'ensemble de la chaîne drainée par le Gange. De plus, le transfert de sédiments dans la plaine s'accompagne d'un appauvrissement en éléments mobiles marquant l'altération chimique de ceux-ci. Cette altération a été quantifié et suggère que la plaine du Gange joue un role dominant dans l'altération des sédiments Himalayens. Les échanges cationiques lors du passage des sédiments au domaine marin restent limités dans le cas du système Himalayen et ne permettent d'augmenter le bilan de stockage de carbone à long terme que de 20 % environ. Enfin, l'enregistrement de la Baie du Bengale, qui couvre les produits issus de l'érosion Himalayenne sur les derniers 20 000 ans, montre que les sédiments exportés au Dernier Maximum Glaciaire (DMG) étaient significativement moins altérés qu'à l'actuel. Le système Himalayen n'est donc pas tamponné vis-à-vis des forages climatiques à haute fréquence du Quaternaire et les taux d'altération actuels ne peuvent très extrapolés dans le passé. / Chemical weathering of the earth crust supplies the essential elements for numerous biogeochemical cycles. Physical erosion of large orogens, such as the Himalayan range, is accompanied by significant weathering fluxes possibly affecting the global environment. The objective of this PhD is to understand how surface processes affect river sediment properties in order to asses current erosion and weathering rates but also to decipher their past variations. To answer this question we studied the transport dynamics, the physical and the geochemical characteristics of the sediments in the Ganga basin. This study suggests that about 10 % of the flux eroded in the Himalayas is currently stored in the Ganga floodplain. Cosmogenic isotopes (10Be) measured in river sediments show stable erosion rates between 1.3 and 1.4 mm/yr for the entire Himalayan range drained by the Ganga. Furthermore, we show that River sediments are progressively depleted in the most mobile elements, as weathering proceeds during transfer in the floodplain. By comparing this flux to the weathering flux of the Himalayan range, we show that floodplain weathering is predominant in weathering Himalayan sediments. Cation exchange occurring when Ganga and Brahmaputra (G&B) sediments enter the marine environment are limited and enhances the long term carbon storage, linked to silicate weathering by only ca. 20 %. Finally, the Bay of Bengal sedimentary record, which documents the last 20 000 years of Himalayan erosion shows that the sediments exported during the last glacial maximum (LGM) were significantly less weathered compared to the sediments currently exported. The Himalayan system is thus not buffered towards the high frequency climate forcing changes of the Quaternary and modern weathering rates cannot easily be extrapolated over the past.

Freshwater ecosystems are some of the most threatened on the planet. Efforts to conserve, restore, or otherwise manage large rivers and the services they provide are hindered by limited understanding of the functional dynamics of these systems. This shortcoming is especially evident with regard to trophic structure and energy flow. In this study I use natural abundances of carbon and nitrogen isotopes to examine patterns of energy flow and food-chain length of large-river food webs characterized by different landscape-scale hydrologic features. Ten locations along an approximately 500 km stretch of the Upper Paraná River Basin, Brazil, provided the setting for this work. Carbon derived from C3 plants and phytoplankton were the dominant energy sources across all webs, but relative contributions differed among landscape types (low-gradient river, high-gradient river, river stretches downstream of reservoirs, and reservoirs). Increases in food chain length corresponded with higher relative importance of phytoplankton derived carbon, likely due to size-structured effects of the phytoplankton-zooplankton-secondary consumer trophic link. River impoundment corresponded with decreased ecological and economic efficiency of fisheries production, an important ecosystem service provided by many tropical rivers.

Freshwater ecosystems are some of the most threatened on the planet. Efforts to conserve, restore, or otherwise manage large rivers and the services they provide are hindered by limited understanding of the functional dynamics of these systems. This shortcoming is especially evident with regard to trophic structure and energy flow. In this study I use natural abundances of carbon and nitrogen isotopes to examine patterns of energy flow and food-chain length of large-river food webs characterized by different landscape-scale hydrologic features. Ten locations along an approximately 500 km stretch of the Upper Paraná River Basin, Brazil, provided the setting for this work. Carbon derived from C3 plants and phytoplankton were the dominant energy sources across all webs, but relative contributions differed among landscape types (low-gradient river, high-gradient river, river stretches downstream of reservoirs, and reservoirs). Increases in food chain length corresponded with higher relative importance of phytoplankton derived carbon, likely due to size-structured effects of the phytoplankton-zooplankton-secondary consumer trophic link. River impoundment corresponded with decreased ecological and economic efficiency of fisheries production, an important ecosystem service provided by many tropical rivers.

Denitrification removes large amounts of reactive nitrogen (N) from ecosystems via reduction of nitrate to dinitrogen gas. In aquatic ecosystems, the influences of terrestrial and aquatic sources of organic matter (OM) on denitrification are potentially complex. Terrestrially-derived OM is often less labile than autochthonous OM; it may inhibit denitrification directly via biochemical mechanisms; and it may indirectly inhibit denitrification by reducing light availability to—and thus OM exudation by—aquatic primary producers. Using a natural dissolved OM gradient among rivers of northern Florida, I investigated these mechanisms using laboratory denitrification assays subjected to factorial amendments of NO3- and dextrose, humic acid dosing, and cross-incubations of sediments and water. Results indicated that C-limitation increased with DOC concentrations, consistent with the indirect inhibition hypothesis. Blackwater neither depressed nor stimulated denitrification rates, indicating that this DOC neither directly inhibits nor acts as a usable OM source for denitrifiers.

Le Rhin a subi d’importantes modifications qui ont altéré la biodiversité de l’ensemble de la plaine alluviale. Des actions de restauration ont été initiées pour lui redonner une part de son fonctionnement hydromorphologique naturel. Le travail de thèse a consisté à évaluer les effets de ces restaurations et à mettre en évidence les processus mis en jeu dans les changements de la biocénose des milieux restaurés. Les résultats ont démontré que les communautés biologiques sont non seulement gouvernées par les modifications physiques post-restauration mais aussi par l’influence discrète de déterminants externes à la restauration tels que les invasions biologiques ou la dynamique interne du fleuve. L’aspect transitoire des bénéfices obtenus a été souligné comme la principale limite de l’injection sédimentaire alors que les épis transversaux artificiels mis en place dans le cadre d’un essai d’érosion maitrisée se sont révélés être les facteurs de durabilité des effets écologiques. / The Rhine River has undergone major engineering works that led to severe alterations which helped to alter the biodiversity of the entire floodplain. Restoration actions have been initiated to give it back a part of its natural hydro morphological functioning. The thesis consisted in evaluating the effects of these restorations and in highlighting the mechanisms and processes involved in biocoenosis changes of the restored environments. The results also showed that the post-restoration biological community is not only defined by post-restoration physical changes but also by the discrete influence of external determinants of restoration such as biological invasions or the internal dynamics of the river. The transitional aspect of the benefits incurred has been identified as the main limit of the gravel augmentation, while the implementation of transverse artificial groynes in the controlled bank erosion has proved to be factors of sustainability of the ecological effects.