https://phys.org/news/2018-07-disturbance-waterways-dont-fully-recover.html

"Waterways with more natural cover are more complex. They are typically home to more rare and sensitive species, because these are less stressful environments. They can support more species diversity," said lead author Bronwen Stanford, a doctoral candidate in environmental studies at UC Santa Cruz. "In urban or agricultural landscapes, ecosystems are often dominated by fewer species and by generalists that do well with human disturbance—think worms and snails rather than frogs and mayflies. You've basically already selected for species that come back following a disturbance."

The paper, "Meta-analysis of the Effects of Upstream Land Cover on Stream Recovery," is available online now in Conservation Biology. Coauthors are Erika Zavaleta, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UCSC, and Holly Jones, an associate professor of biology at Northern Illinois University.