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Episode 14: Hydroelectric Dams Kill Insects, Wreak Havoc with Food Webs

Episode 14: Hydroelectric Dams Kill Insects, Wreak Havoc with Food Webs

FromBioScience Talks


Episode 14: Hydroelectric Dams Kill Insects, Wreak Havoc with Food Webs

FromBioScience Talks

ratings:
Length:
30 minutes
Released:
Jul 13, 2016
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

Hydropower dams generate more energy than all other renewable sources combined. However, they can also produce dire environmental consequences, including the devastation of aquatic insect populations and the food webs that those insects underpin. A practice called "hydropeaking" is evidently to blame. By altering river flows to meet power-generation needs, hydropeaking generates artificial tides that extirpate insect species. In this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by Dr. Ted Kennedy, a research ecologist with the US Geological Survey's Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center. In this month's BioScience, he and his colleagues describe the underlying phenomenon and the citizen science project that brought it to light. In our discussion, Dr. Kennedy explains his findings and offers possible solutions to the hydropeaking conundrum. Read the article describing the research. Subscribe on iTunes. Subscribe on Stitcher.  
Released:
Jul 13, 2016
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

We hope you enjoy these in-depth discussions of recently published BioScience articles and other science stories. Each episode of our interview series delves into the research behind a highlighted story, giving listeners unique insight into scientists' work.