Water dynamics in Europe due to climate change

Prirodni su protočni režimi rijeka u Europi već bitno izmijenjeni djelovanjem čovjeka: izgradnjom brana, nasipa i kanala, ali također i crpljenjem vode za potrebe stanovništva. Klimatske promjene predstavljaju dodatan rizik. Glavni elementi klime, čije će promjene utjecati na hidrološki ciklus i protočne režime rijeka, su oborine, temperatura i snježni pokrov. Same promjene tih elemenata i njihove posljedice bit će drugačije u pojedinim klimatskim zonama Europe. Najveći stupanj promjene može se očekivati u mediteranskoj i borealnoj klimatskoj zoni, a najmanji u oceanskom dijelu umjerene. Doći će do promjene obujma i vremena javljanja ekstremnih protoka, što će biti bitno za učestalost javljanja i intenzitet riječnih poplava. Očekuje se da će se one u budućnosti povećati kao rezultat daljnjeg ekonomskog rasta i klimatskih promjena. Prosječno vrijeme poplavljivanja u toku godine u Europi se postupno mijenja kako od zapada prema istoku, zbog povećanja udaljenosti od Atlantskog oceana, tako i od juga prema sjeveru, zbog povećanja utjecaja procesa povezanih sa snijegom. U seminarskom je radu za svaku od šest europskih klimatskih zona objašnjeno kako bi tipični protočni režimi mogli izgledati 2050ih pod utjecajem isključivo klimatskih promjena i prikazano hidrogramom reprezentativne rijeke. Klimatske će promjene imati velike posljedice, kako na ekosustave kopnenih voda, tako i na raspoloživost slatke vode za ljudsku upotrebu i neophodno je pažljivo upravljanje vodnim resursima kako bi se te posljedice ublažile.Natural river flow regimes in Europe have already been heavily modified by different anthropogenic impacts such as damming, embanking, channelization and water withdrawals. Climate change induces an additional risk. The main elements of the climate whose changes will affect the hydrological cycle and river flow regimes are precipitation, temperature, and snow cover. The changes of these elements and their consequences will be different in various European climate zones. The highest degree of change can be expected in the Mediterranean and Boreal climatic zone and the smallest in the temperate oceanic zone. There will be a change in magnitude and timing of extreme flows which will be important for the frequency and intensity of river flooding. It is expected that they will increase in the future as a result of further economic growth and climate changes. Timing of European floods is gradually changing from west to east due to increasing distance from the Atlantic Ocean as well as from the south to the north due to the increasing impact of snow-related processes. In a seminar paper it is explained for each of the six European climatic zones how typical river flow regimes could look like in 2050 under the influence of climate change only and it is demonstrated by the hydrography of each representative river. Climate change will have major consequences both on land and the ecosystems and on the availability of fresh water for human consumption so it is imperative to carefully manage water resources in order to alleviate them

Water dynamics in Europe due to climate change

Prirodni su protočni režimi rijeka u Europi već bitno izmijenjeni djelovanjem čovjeka: izgradnjom brana, nasipa i kanala, ali također i crpljenjem vode za potrebe stanovništva. Klimatske promjene predstavljaju dodatan rizik. Glavni elementi klime, čije će promjene utjecati na hidrološki ciklus i protočne režime rijeka, su oborine, temperatura i snježni pokrov. Same promjene tih elemenata i njihove posljedice bit će drugačije u pojedinim klimatskim zonama Europe. Najveći stupanj promjene može se očekivati u mediteranskoj i borealnoj klimatskoj zoni, a najmanji u oceanskom dijelu umjerene. Doći će do promjene obujma i vremena javljanja ekstremnih protoka, što će biti bitno za učestalost javljanja i intenzitet riječnih poplava. Očekuje se da će se one u budućnosti povećati kao rezultat daljnjeg ekonomskog rasta i klimatskih promjena. Prosječno vrijeme poplavljivanja u toku godine u Europi se postupno mijenja kako od zapada prema istoku, zbog povećanja udaljenosti od Atlantskog oceana, tako i od juga prema sjeveru, zbog povećanja utjecaja procesa povezanih sa snijegom. U seminarskom je radu za svaku od šest europskih klimatskih zona objašnjeno kako bi tipični protočni režimi mogli izgledati 2050ih pod utjecajem isključivo klimatskih promjena i prikazano hidrogramom reprezentativne rijeke. Klimatske će promjene imati velike posljedice, kako na ekosustave kopnenih voda, tako i na raspoloživost slatke vode za ljudsku upotrebu i neophodno je pažljivo upravljanje vodnim resursima kako bi se te posljedice ublažile.Natural river flow regimes in Europe have already been heavily modified by different anthropogenic impacts such as damming, embanking, channelization and water withdrawals. Climate change induces an additional risk. The main elements of the climate whose changes will affect the hydrological cycle and river flow regimes are precipitation, temperature, and snow cover. The changes of these elements and their consequences will be different in various European climate zones. The highest degree of change can be expected in the Mediterranean and Boreal climatic zone and the smallest in the temperate oceanic zone. There will be a change in magnitude and timing of extreme flows which will be important for the frequency and intensity of river flooding. It is expected that they will increase in the future as a result of further economic growth and climate changes. Timing of European floods is gradually changing from west to east due to increasing distance from the Atlantic Ocean as well as from the south to the north due to the increasing impact of snow-related processes. In a seminar paper it is explained for each of the six European climatic zones how typical river flow regimes could look like in 2050 under the influence of climate change only and it is demonstrated by the hydrography of each representative river. Climate change will have major consequences both on land and the ecosystems and on the availability of fresh water for human consumption so it is imperative to carefully manage water resources in order to alleviate them

Water dynamics in Europe due to climate change

Prirodni su protočni režimi rijeka u Europi već bitno izmijenjeni djelovanjem čovjeka: izgradnjom brana, nasipa i kanala, ali također i crpljenjem vode za potrebe stanovništva. Klimatske promjene predstavljaju dodatan rizik. Glavni elementi klime, čije će promjene utjecati na hidrološki ciklus i protočne režime rijeka, su oborine, temperatura i snježni pokrov. Same promjene tih elemenata i njihove posljedice bit će drugačije u pojedinim klimatskim zonama Europe. Najveći stupanj promjene može se očekivati u mediteranskoj i borealnoj klimatskoj zoni, a najmanji u oceanskom dijelu umjerene. Doći će do promjene obujma i vremena javljanja ekstremnih protoka, što će biti bitno za učestalost javljanja i intenzitet riječnih poplava. Očekuje se da će se one u budućnosti povećati kao rezultat daljnjeg ekonomskog rasta i klimatskih promjena. Prosječno vrijeme poplavljivanja u toku godine u Europi se postupno mijenja kako od zapada prema istoku, zbog povećanja udaljenosti od Atlantskog oceana, tako i od juga prema sjeveru, zbog povećanja utjecaja procesa povezanih sa snijegom. U seminarskom je radu za svaku od šest europskih klimatskih zona objašnjeno kako bi tipični protočni režimi mogli izgledati 2050ih pod utjecajem isključivo klimatskih promjena i prikazano hidrogramom reprezentativne rijeke. Klimatske će promjene imati velike posljedice, kako na ekosustave kopnenih voda, tako i na raspoloživost slatke vode za ljudsku upotrebu i neophodno je pažljivo upravljanje vodnim resursima kako bi se te posljedice ublažile.Natural river flow regimes in Europe have already been heavily modified by different anthropogenic impacts such as damming, embanking, channelization and water withdrawals. Climate change induces an additional risk. The main elements of the climate whose changes will affect the hydrological cycle and river flow regimes are precipitation, temperature, and snow cover. The changes of these elements and their consequences will be different in various European climate zones. The highest degree of change can be expected in the Mediterranean and Boreal climatic zone and the smallest in the temperate oceanic zone. There will be a change in magnitude and timing of extreme flows which will be important for the frequency and intensity of river flooding. It is expected that they will increase in the future as a result of further economic growth and climate changes. Timing of European floods is gradually changing from west to east due to increasing distance from the Atlantic Ocean as well as from the south to the north due to the increasing impact of snow-related processes. In a seminar paper it is explained for each of the six European climatic zones how typical river flow regimes could look like in 2050 under the influence of climate change only and it is demonstrated by the hydrography of each representative river. Climate change will have major consequences both on land and the ecosystems and on the availability of fresh water for human consumption so it is imperative to carefully manage water resources in order to alleviate them

Hooking the scientific community on thorny-headed worms: interesting and exciting facts, knowledge gaps and perspectives for research directions on Acanthocephala

Although interest in Acanthocephala seems to have reached only a small community of researchers worldwide, we show in this opinion article that this group of parasites is composed of excellent model organisms for studying key questions in parasite molecular biology and cytogenetics, evolutionary ecology, and ecotoxicology. Their shared ancestry with free-living rotifers makes them an ideal group to explore the origins of the parasitic lifestyle and evolutionary drivers of host shifts and environmental transitions. They also provide useful features in the quest to decipher the proximate mechanisms of parasite-induced phenotypic alterations and better understand the evolution of behavioral manipulation. From an applied perspective, acanthocephalans’ ability to accumulate contaminants offers useful opportunities to monitor the impacts – and evaluate the possible mitigation – of anthropogenic pollutants on aquatic fauna and develop the environmental parasitology framework. However, exploring these exciting research avenues will require connecting fragmentary knowledge by enlarging the taxonomic coverage of molecular and phenotypic data. In this opinion paper, we highlight the needs and opportunities of research on Acanthocephala in three main directions: (i) integrative taxonomy (including non-molecular tools) and phylogeny-based comparative analysis; (ii) ecology and evolution of life cycles, transmission strategies and host ranges; and (iii) environmental issues related to global changes, including ecotoxicology. In each section, the most promising ideas and developments are presented based on selected case studies, with the goal that the present and future generations of parasitologists further explore and increase knowledge of Acanthocephala

Hooking the scientific community on thorny-headed worms: interesting and exciting facts, knowledge gaps and perspectives for research directions on Acanthocephala

International audienceAlthough interest in Acanthocephala seems to have reached only a small community of researchers worldwide, we show in this opinion article that this group of parasites is composed of excellent model organisms for studying key questions in parasite molecular biology and cytogenetics, evolutionary ecology, and ecotoxicology. Their shared ancestry with free-living rotifers makes them an ideal group to explore the origins of the parasitic lifestyle and evolutionary drivers of host shifts and environmental transitions. They also provide useful features in the quest to decipher the proximate mechanisms of parasite-induced phenotypic alterations and better understand the evolution of behavioral manipulation. From an applied perspective, acanthocephalans’ ability to accumulate contaminants offers useful opportunities to monitor the impacts – and evaluate the possible mitigation – of anthropogenic pollutants on aquatic fauna and develop the environmental parasitology framework. However, exploring these exciting research avenues will require connecting fragmentary knowledge by enlarging the taxonomic coverage of molecular and phenotypic data. In this opinion paper, we highlight the needs and opportunities of research on Acanthocephala in three main directions: (i) integrative taxonomy (including non-molecular tools) and phylogeny-based comparative analysis; (ii) ecology and evolution of life cycles, transmission strategies and host ranges; and (iii) environmental issues related to global changes, including ecotoxicology. In each section, the most promising ideas and developments are presented based on selected case studies, with the goal that the present and future generations of parasitologists further explore and increase knowledge of Acanthocephala