THE ROLE OF AQUATIC SCIENCE IN FRESH-WATER CONSERVATION - COOPERATIONBETWEEN THE NORTH-AMERICAN-BENTHOLOGICAL-SOCIETY AND ORGANIZATIONS FOR CONSERVATION AND RESOURCE-MANAGEMENT

The accelerated impact of humankind on freshwater ecosystems over the last few decades is unprecedented and the need for effective cooperati on between scientists and organizations for conservation and resource management has never been greater. The river conservation community ha s expanded its focus from recreational stream segments to promotion of ecosystem-based conservation policies at national and state levels. S cientists are moving beyond documentation of the deterioration of fres hwater ecosystems towards application of their knowledge to management and restoration solutions. However, in spite of research, symposia an d workshops, and new applied professional journals, much remains to be done. Here we review some of the challenges and opportunities for eff ective application of ecological information to solutions to environme ntal problems in aquatic systems. We focus on avenues for enhanced com munication and cooperation between the scientific community and organi zations for conservation and resource management. Specific recommendat ions include: (1) maintenance of regular communication between respect ive organizations through formal liaisons; (2) development of 'State o f the Science' papers focusing on key and timely conservation issues ( e.g., hydropower, wetlands loss); (3) participation of scientists in s election of alternative management solutions to specific environmental problems, definition of biological criteria in evaluating solutions, and predictions of how the biological system will respond to alternati ve solutions; (4) review of the scientific content of documents develo ped by conservation and resource management groups; (5) development of a database that will serve as a clearinghouse of aquatic scientists w ho have expertise in specific areas; and (6) development of research p riorities for specific sites or projects that will directly aid non-go vernmental organizations in the pursuit of conservation objectives and direct communication of these priorities to the scientific community.