Dams are important structures for generating electricity and irrigation, but they often severely modify river hydrology and geomorphology and thus impact freshwater communities. These effects are broadly predictable and therefore, at a catchment scale, biological communities should respond in some predictable manner. We interrogated the New Zealand Freshwater Fish Database to determine whether dams have predictable catchment‐s...

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a widespread phenomenon globally. Drainage into streams from coal mines often contains a cocktail of acidic waters high in dissolved metals, and consequently stream invertebrate communities may be severely impacted. Traditionally, the intensity of impacts has been assessed by combinations of water chemistry and benthic invertebrate metrics; however, a metric specifically designed for assessing minin...