Round up of news and views from the Freshwater Biological Association

1. Freshwater Matters
What’s happening at the FBA?
Upcoming FBA Training Courses
Identifying chironomid larvae
Date: Tuesday 15 - Wednesday 16 July; Tutor: Steve Brooks; Cost: £220; FBA member £195;
Location: FBA Windermere, Cumbria
There are about 600 species of chironomid midges in Britain. They can be found
in all types of freshwater ecosystems, where they are often the most abundant
insects. They are also sensitive indicators of environmental change and respond
to a wide range of environmental perturbations including eutrophication,
acidification, heavy metal pollution and climate change. Chironomid larval head
capsules are also well preserved in lake sediments and can also be used to make
quantitative reconstructions of palaeoenvironmental change. The larval stage,
however, has an unjustified reputation of being difficult to identify. For this reason,
in routine biodiversity assessments and environmental impact assessments,
identification of chironomid larvae is often not taken beyond family level. As a
result, information on an important element of freshwater biodiversity and a key
component of ecosystem functioning is lost. This course will comprise a short
lecture on chironomid biology, ecology, morphology and taxonomy followed
by a tutored practical on preparation of chironomid samples for microscopical
examination and guidance on identification of the larval stage of British and
European species using reference slides and identification guides. Course
participants will also be encouraged to bring their own chironomid samples and
slides for the identification of difficult taxa. Steve Brooks has research interests in
freshwater insect ecology and taxonomy and environmental change. His research
at the Natural History Museum, London, is currently focussed on Chironomidae
where he has pioneered their use as palaeoecological indicators.
The Chironomid Pupal Exuvial Technique (CPET)
Date: Thursday 17 - Friday 18 July; Tutor: Les Ruse; Cost: £220; FBA member £195; Location: FBA
Windermere, Cumbria
Midges make monitoring manageable! Collecting and identifying chironomid midge
pupal exuviae (skins) is easy and rewarding. Chironomid taxa composition and
relative abundance are sensitive to physical and chemical change in waterbodies.
The collection of floating chironomid pupal exuviae at the leeward shore of
standing water bodies, or behind obstructions within flowing water, provides a
simple and safe means of obtaining abundant macroinvertebrate data. Using
the FBA guide to chironomid pupae assists amateur naturalists, anglers and
professionals to produce inventories of their local waterbodies and in monitoring
June 2014
Freshwater Matters is a monthly electronic bulletin of the most recent
freshwater news from around the world, compiled by the Freshwater Biological
Association (FBA). It includes updates of what is happening at the FBA and ways
to get involved.
Contents
What’s happening at the FBA?
This month’s articles
Methane fuels life in pristine chalk rivers
Asian relative of cane toad threatens Madagascar
Crane chicks hatched after special breeding programme
Dam removal improves shad spawning grounds
White-faced darter dragonfly reintroduced to Cheshire
Warming climate found to increase hybridization in trout
Links between the flow of rivers and diversity of fish species
Babbling brooks bubble up methane gas
The world’s largest migratory freshwater fish
Global freshwater conservation gains momentum among UN countries
Improved monitoring of endangered Ganges river dolphin

2. sites easily. CPET provides a unique method of obtaining representative
macroinvertebrate samples, it is particularly suitable for large waterbodies and is
independent of the sampler because of its passive derivation. The two-day course
will provide training on: sampling chironomid pupal exuviae from waterbodies,
laboratory techniques and sample preparation, the morphology of chironomid
pupae, identification of chironomid pupae to the level of the Wilson & Ruse FBA
Guide and data analyses to assess water quality and Water Framework Directive
ecological classification. Les Ruse has been a biologist in the Water Industry for
35 years and is now an Aquatic Ecologist for APEM Limited and a Research Fellow
at Roehampton University. He researched the microdistribution and ecology of
chironomid larvae in river substrata while under the tutelage of Ronald Wilson at
Bristol University.
For further details or to book a place on a course, please visit www.fba.org.uk/
fba-training-courses or contact us at events@fba.org.uk or on 015394 42468.
This month’s articles
Methane fuels life in pristine chalk rivers
Naturally high concentrations of the greenhouse gas methane have been found to
contribute to energy production in chalk rivers. The study by scientists at Queen
Mary University of London and led by PhD student Felicity Shelley, who is part-
funded by the FBA, is published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B,
here:
http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/281/1783/20132854.full
Asian relative of cane toad threatens Madagascar
A letter in the journal Nature this month reports that the Asian common toad,
a relative of the cane toad that has devastated wildlife in Australia, has invaded
Madagascar. In the letter the researchers call for urgent action to be taken to
prevent an ecological disaster that could wreak havoc on the country’s unique
fauna.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27607978
Crane chicks hatched after special breeding programme
Four hundred years after they disappeared from Britain, staff at the Wildfowl and
Wetlands Centre in Slimbridge are celebrating the birth of two Crane chicks. The
births are part of a breeding programme that aims to reintroduce the birds to the
country in large numbers.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27514642
Dam removal improves shad spawning grounds
Research published in Transactions of the American Fisheries Society details the
benefits of dam removal for survival of Shad, revealing different benefits for eggs,
juveniles and adults. Being able to access higher upstream areas of the river
improves survival rates for eggs and juveniles as such areas are generally better
spawning grounds with fewer predators. For the adults, time spent in the river has
a big impact on survival rates so any steps to improve the speed of their passage
delivers benefits.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-05/ncsu-dri052114.php
White-faced darter dragonfly reintroduced to Cheshire
A project to reintroduce a rare dragonfly to Cheshire has got off to a good start
according to Cheshire Wildlife Trust. The project saw larvae of the White-faced
darter collected from pools in Shropshire and Staffordshire, and then relocated
to the Delamere Forest in what is thought to be only the second time that the
reintroduction of a dragonfly has been attempted.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-27616403
Warming climate found to increase hybridization in trout
A study published this month in Nature Climate Change provides the first direct
evidence that climate change can increase cross-breeding between native and
invasive species and so threaten biodiversity. The study examined the relationship

3. between native westslope trout and rainbow trout in rivers in Canada. The authors
report that increasing stream temperature and decreasing spring flow has led
to increasing hybridization between the two species, threatening the long term
survival of the native fish.
http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/47427
Links between the flow of rivers and diversity of fish species
A study published in Freshwater Biology this month examines the link between
fish species richness and flow regime of rivers across the world. The authors
found that specific high and low flow characteristics are important for explaining
variation in basin scale species diversity.
http://phys.org/news/2014-05-links-rivers-diversity-fish-species.html
Babbling brooks bubble up methane gas
Research published this month in Global Change Biology reveals that freshwater
streams, rivers and lakes may be contributing more methane gas to the
environment that previously realised. The discovery has important implications for
how climate scientists calculate the greenhouse gas budget.
http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/7258/20140527/babbling-brooks-
bubble-up-methane-gas.htm
The world’s largest migratory freshwater fish
May the 24th marked the first ever World Fish Migration Day, a day aimed at
raising awareness of the diversity of migratory species and the threats that they
face. To mark the occasion National Geographic looked at some of the world most
remarkable migratory fish species.
http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2014/05/24/the-worlds-largest-
migratory-freshwater-fish/
Global freshwater conservation gains momentum among UN countries
Following ratification by Vietnam, the United Nations Convention on the Law of
the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses will come into effect this
August, changing the way that government manage fresh water resources and
ecosystems across entire river basins.
http://www.thepigsite.com/swinenews/36664/global-freshwater-conservation-
gains-momentum-among-un-countries
Improved monitoring of endangered Ganges river dolphin
Research published this month in PLoS ONE details a new method of monitoring
the endangered Ganges river dolphin – one of only four remaining freshwater
cetaceans in the world. The method uses a combined visual-acoustic assessment
that enables researchers to quickly detect changes in the population and so
manage them more effectively.
http://phys.org/news/2014-05-endangered-ganges-river-dolphin.html
Please forward this bulletin to any of your colleagues who may be
interested!