This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the structure and functioning of stream ecosystems, with the aim of equipping students with the theoretical background needed for independent ecological research in running waters. Streams are presented as dynamic systems shaped by interacting hydrological, geomorphological, chemical, and biological processes operating across multiple spatial and temporal scales. The course covers fundamental hydrological and abiotic controls, including streamflow generation, material transport, water chemistry, temperature, and light regimes. Key biogeochemical processes such as nutrient cycling, nutrient spiraling, organic matter dynamics, and stream metabolism are examined alongside the ecology of primary producers, invertebrates, and fishes. Special attention is given to species interactions, community organization, and ecosystem-level processes, including food webs and disturbance-driven dynamics. Human impacts on stream ecosystems are addressed within the context of the Anthropocene, together with principles of stream management, restoration, and ecological monitoring. Throughout the course, theoretical concepts are linked to classic and contemporary studies in stream ecology and to real-world environmental applications.
Last update: Kohler Tyler Joe, Ph.D. (18.01.2026)
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the structure and functioning of stream ecosystems, with the aim of equipping students with the theoretical background needed for independent ecological research in running waters. Streams are presented as dynamic systems shaped by interacting hydrological, geomorphological, chemical, and biological processes operating across multiple spatial and temporal scales. The course covers fundamental hydrological and abiotic controls, including streamflow generation, material transport, water chemistry, temperature, and light regimes. Key biogeochemical processes such as nutrient cycling, nutrient spiraling, organic matter dynamics, and stream metabolism are examined alongside the ecology of primary producers, invertebrates, and fishes. Special attention is given to species interactions, community organization, and ecosystem-level processes, including food webs and disturbance-driven dynamics. Human impacts on stream ecosystems are addressed within the context of the Anthropocene, together with principles of stream management, restoration, and ecological monitoring. Throughout the course, theoretical concepts are linked to classic and contemporary studies in stream ecology and to real-world environmental applications.
Last update: Kohler Tyler Joe, Ph.D. (18.01.2026)
Literature -
Textbooks: Stream Ecology: Structure and Function of Running Waters, by Allan, Castillo, and Capps
Freshwater Ecology, by Dodds and Whiles
Required reading: Vannote, R.L., Minshall, G.W., Cummins, K.W., Sedell, J.R. and Cushing, C.E., 1980. The river continuum concept. Canadian journal of fisheries and aquatic sciences, 37(1), pp.130-137.
Last update: Kohler Tyler Joe, Ph.D. (07.10.2025)
Textbooks: Stream Ecology: Structure and Function of Running Waters, by Allan, Castillo, and Capps
Freshwater Ecology, by Dodds and Whiles
Required reading: Vannote, R.L., Minshall, G.W., Cummins, K.W., Sedell, J.R. and Cushing, C.E., 1980. The river continuum concept. Canadian journal of fisheries and aquatic sciences, 37(1), pp.130-137.
Last update: Kohler Tyler Joe, Ph.D. (07.10.2025)
Requirements to the exam -
Grading will be based upon an in-class exercise and a final oral examination.
Last update: Kohler Tyler Joe, Ph.D. (07.10.2025)
Grading will be based upon an in-class exercise and a final oral examination.
Last update: Kohler Tyler Joe, Ph.D. (07.10.2025)
Syllabus -
1: INTRO TO STREAM ECOSYSTEMS - why study streams? - fluvial geomorphology - spatial scales of investigation
2: HYDROLOGY - the hydrologic cycle - streamflow generation - interpreting hydrographs - measuring discharge - suspended material transport
3: THE ABIOTIC ENVIRONMENT - special properties of water - temperature - light - pH - dissolved gasses and solids
4: NUTRIENTS - minor nutrients - sources and cycles of Si, P, N - introduction to carbon - nutrient spiraling
5: PRIMARY PRODUCTION - photosynthesis - algal diversity and growth forms - macrophytes - environmental controls
6: ORGANIC MATTER - organic matter fractions - stages of breakdown - controls on decomposition - stream metabolism
7: HYPORHEIC AND RIPARIAN ZONES - physical and chemical characteristics - methods for observation - ecological relevance - flora and fauna
8: STREAM CONSUMERS - macroinvertebrate diversity and life history - functional feeding groups - drift - fish guilds and ecomorphology - ecological roles and longitudinal patterns
9: SPECIES INTERACTIONS - classic studies of competition, herbivory, predation, facilitation, and parasitism in streams
10: STREAM COMMUNITIES - types and drivers of diversity - disturbance and succession - trophic cascades and foodwebs - ecosystem engineers and keystone species
11: STREAMS OF THE ANTHROPOCENE - physical alterations - invasive and non-native species - contaminants - overexploitation - climate change
12: MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING - ecosystem services - common management and restoration practices - techniques for monitoring
Last update: Kohler Tyler Joe, Ph.D. (07.10.2025)
1: INTRO TO STREAM ECOSYSTEMS - why study streams? - fluvial geomorphology - spatial scales of investigation
2: HYDROLOGY - the hydrologic cycle - streamflow generation - interpreting hydrographs - measuring discharge - suspended material transport
3: THE ABIOTIC ENVIRONMENT - special properties of water - temperature - light - pH - dissolved gasses and solids
4: NUTRIENTS - minor nutrients - sources and cycles of Si, P, N - introduction to carbon - nutrient spiraling
5: PRIMARY PRODUCTION - photosynthesis - algal diversity and growth forms - macrophytes - environmental controls
6: ORGANIC MATTER - organic matter fractions - stages of breakdown - controls on decomposition - stream metabolism
7: HYPORHEIC AND RIPARIAN ZONES - physical and chemical characteristics - methods for observation - ecological relevance - flora and fauna
8: STREAM CONSUMERS - macroinvertebrate diversity and life history - functional feeding groups - drift - fish guilds and ecomorphology - ecological roles and longitudinal patterns
9: SPECIES INTERACTIONS - classic studies of competition, herbivory, predation, facilitation, and parasitism in streams
10: STREAM COMMUNITIES - types and drivers of diversity - disturbance and succession - trophic cascades and foodwebs - ecosystem engineers and keystone species
11: STREAMS OF THE ANTHROPOCENE - physical alterations - invasive and non-native species - contaminants - overexploitation - climate change
12: MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING - ecosystem services - common management and restoration practices - techniques for monitoring
Last update: Kohler Tyler Joe, Ph.D. (07.10.2025)
Learning outcomes
Upon completing this course, students will be able to:
Explain the foundational concepts of stream ecosystems, including historical development, stream classification, catchment dynamics, spatial/temporal scales, and the River Continuum Concept.
Analyze hydrological and geomorphological controls on streams, including flow regimes, hydrographs, natural flow variability, disturbance ecology, and interactions with riparian zones and watersheds.
Describe key aspects of stream water chemistry, redox processes, diel patterns, nutrient cycles (C, N, P, Si), hyporheic zone dynamics, and microbial influences on elemental cycling.
Evaluate sources and dynamics of organic carbon in streams, distinguishing autochthonous (primary producers, biofilms, periphyton) and allochthonous (detritus, litter breakdown) pathways, and interpret longitudinal patterns in metabolism (P/R ratios).
Characterize the ecology of stream invertebrates and fishes, including taxonomic and functional diversity, life histories, longitudinal zonation, terrestrial subsidies, drift, predation, nutrient transport, and key case studies.
Analyze species interactions and food-web dynamics in streams, including competition, herbivory, predation, trophic cascades, top-down vs. bottom-up control, keystone species, ecosystem engineers, and the use of isotope tracers.
Apply the concept of nutrient spiraling, including factors controlling spiral length, coupled biogeochemical cycles, ecological stoichiometry, and the consequences of eutrophication and altered nutrient regimes.
Assess major human impacts on stream ecosystems in the Anthropocene (climate change, pollution, dams, land use, invasives, endangered species), and evaluate principles and practices of stream restoration, conservation, water quality monitoring, and ecosystem management.
