River Networks and Biodiversity (IMAGE) Princeton University, Engineering School Caption The figure at the top right represents average runoff (the amount of rainfall that ends up in rivers or streams) with the driest regions appearing in red and the wettest in blue. The middle figure is an abstraction of the Mississippi-Missouri river network. The figure in the foreground represents how many different species occupy different regions of the network, demonstrating a close correlation between the average runoff and the number of species. Areas with the fewest species are represented in red; the areas richest in the number of species are represented in blue. Credit Image by Enrico Bertuzzo of École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Usage Restrictions Please be sure to credit the image. License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.