Impacts of Discharge Reductions on Physical and Thermal Habitat Characteristics in a Desert Spring, Death Valley National Park, California, USA

Desert springs are biodiversity hotspots that are sensitive to anthropogenic activities. Despite their importance, the effects of human disturbance on desert springs are not well known, and scarce information exists describing the biotic or environmental effects of incrementally increasing disturbance. The objective of this research was to quantify the influence of incremental reductions in discharge on the physical and thermal characteristics of a desert springbrook. This objective was accomplished through a combination of field experiments at Travertine Spring in Death Valley National Park, USA, and hydraulic/temperature modeling in order to: (1) quantify changes in physical characteristics of the springbrook channel and aquatic environment; (2) investigate the effects of reduced spring discharge on seasonal spatial temperature patterns; (3) delineate tipping points that exhibit a non-linear response to decreased flow. The study results supported our predictions that decreased discharge would modify physical habitat characteristics of the springbrook, reduce aquatic habitat volume, increase variability in water temperatures along the springbrook, and reduce springbrook suitability for invertebrates that require stable environments. Field observations revealed a significant relationship between water depth and flow velocity with reduced spring discharge. The rate of change of mean water depths, velocities, and habitat volumes were greatest with only a 10% reduction in spring flow. In addition, a non-linear temperature response to flow reductions was present under all modeled conditions. Generally, water temperature gradients increased as flows were decreased, and the sensitivity of reduced discharge increased with distance from the spring source. The degree of sensitivity was a function of season, which reflects the influence of ambient air temperature and wind in the cooling of the springbrook. These results suggest that habitat for species using stable thermal environments will decrease, and habitat for species adapted to variable environments will increase.