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The use of palaeoecological and contemporary macroinvertebrate community data to characterize riverine reference conditions
journal contribution
posted on 2019-09-04, 13:37 authored by Emma Seddon, Matthew Hill, Malcolm Greenwood, Christopher Mainstone, Kate Mathers, James C White, Paul WoodPaul WoodDefining reference conditions is a crucial element in quantifying the extent of anthropogenic modification and for identifying restoration targets in riverine ecosystems. Despite palaeoecological approaches being widely applied in lakes to establish reference conditions, their use in lotic ecosystems remains limited. In this study, we examine contemporary, historical (1930 and 1972), and palaeoecological macroinvertebrate biodiversity and biomonitoring scores in Eastburn Beck, a headwater tributary of the River Hull (UK) to determine if palaeoecological approaches can be used to characterize lotic system reference conditions. Palaeoecological samples comprised a greater gamma diversity (18 taxa) than contemporary samples (8 taxa), samples taken in 1972 (11 taxa) and 1930 (8 taxa). Palaeoecological samples supported taxonomically different Gastropoda, Trichoptera, and Coleoptera (GTC) communities compared with contemporary and historical samples (1930 and 1972). Results from biomonitoring indices using the GTC community indicated that the palaeochannel had (a) similar invertebrate biological quality, (b) a less energetic flow regime, and (c) increased fine sediment deposits compared with the contemporary channel. The results clearly illustrate that palaeoecological data can provide a suitable method to characterize reference conditions for lotic habitats. However, it is important to recognize that faunal data from palaeochannel deposits provide a short-term “snapshot” of the conditions within the river immediately prior to its hydrological isolation. River restoration activities should therefore draw on multiple lines of evidence, including palaeoecological information where possible, to characterize a range of reference conditions to reflect the highly dynamic nature of lotic ecosystems.
Funding
Natural Environment Research Council Open CASE Studentship award (REF—NE/G011524/1)
History
School
- Social Sciences
Department
- Geography and Environment
Published in
River Research and ApplicationsVolume
35Issue
8Pages
1302 - 1313Publisher
WileyVersion
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Rights holder
© John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Publisher statement
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: SEDDON, E. … et al, 2019. The use of palaeoecological and contemporary macroin-vertebrate community data to characterize riverine reference conditions. River Research and Applications, 35 (8), pp.1302-1313, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.3490. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.Acceptance date
2019-06-12Publication date
2019-07-21Copyright date
2019ISSN
1535-1459eISSN
1535-1467Language
- en