Characterization of Hydraulic Habitat and Retention Characteristics Across Different Channel Types; Introducing a New Field-based Technique

Understanding the interactions between physical habitat and aquatic biodiversity has become a key research objective in river management. River research and management practitioners are increasingly seeking new methodologies and techniques for characterizing physical habitat heterogeneity. The physical biotope has been widely employed as the standard mesoscale unit in river surveys. However, few surveys have quantified the combined physical heterogeneity at the meso- and microscale scale via a single technique. This paper describes a new field methodology for assessing variations in hydraulic habitat and retention across different channel types (e.g. step-pool, bedrock, plane-bed and pool-riffle). Hydraulic habitat and retention was measured by timing 100 flow tracers across a 100-m stream length, and recording the types of trapping structures. The pattern of flow tracers and retention varied significantly between channel types and structures. Rocks (boulders and cobbles) were more important retentive structures than eddies and snags (woody material and vegetation). The results indicate the importance of a diverse hydraulic environment, woody material and channel substrate character in increasing physical heterogeneity within a stream reach. The findings suggest that the field methodology may be an effective tool to assess differences in physical heterogeneity pre and post river restoration activities

Linkages between Reach-scale Physical Habitat and Invertebrate Assemblages in Upland Streams

Determining the influence of physical habitat on biological structure in minimally disturbed settings is important if the effects of alterations to physical habitat are to be understood. This study tested whether reach-scale differences in physical habitat influence macroinvertebrate community composition at 24 sites in the Cairngorm Mountains, Scotland. Stream reaches were classified into channel types based on a geomorphic typology (i.e. step-pool, bedrock, plane-bed and pool-riffle). PERMANOVA indicated an overall significant relationship between the geomorphic typology and macroinvertebrate species-level composition, and among all combinations of channel types (such as step-pool and pool-riffle, step-pool and bedrock). Most channel types were dominated by high abundances of Baetis rhodani, Rhithrogena semicolorata and Leuctra inermis, which are ubiquitous in unpolluted gravel-bedded Scottish streams. However, reflecting significant differences in abundance of commoner taxa between types, indicator value (IndVal) analysis revealed that pool-riffle reaches were characterised by elmids (Limnius sp. and Oulimnius sp.) and Caenis rivulorum, and step-pool reaches by Alainites muticus, B. rhodani, L. inermis and Brachyptera risi. Geomorphic typing of rivers provides a useful basis for the initial assessment of ecological status whereas abundance-based biological data processed at the appropriate taxonomic resolution should be sensitive to physical-habitat modifications

Turbidity and suspended solids variations downstream of a regulating reservoir

A controlled reservoir release from Llyn Celyn to the Afon Tryweryn, Wales, U.K., has been used to study suspended load and turbidity variations. Turbidity was monitored continuously at two sites and 235 suspended solids samples were obtained at these and three additional sites during the passage of the release wave. The results are compared with data for a natural tributary flood event. The reservoir release data relate to sediment source depletion and reflects changing sources along the channel. Close to the dam, fine organic matter dominates the seston which scanning electron microscopy revealed to be predominantly allochthonous organic matter, with algal fragments and inorganic diatom frustules, derived from the periphyton of the channel bed. Coulter Counter analysis showed the seston to be relatively coarse with a median particle-size of 20 m. Within 3 km of the dam, however, minerogenic particles dominate the sediment load of which more than 90 per cent is finer than 10 m. This represents the flushing of channel-bed accumulations derived from tributary sources. The relationships between suspended sediment concentration and turbidity during the release are characterized by a marked, anticlockwise hysteresis. This contrasts with the clockwise hysteresis for the tributary flood event, but the different relationships cannot be explained by particle-size variations alone; seston composition also appears to be an important control

Variation in performance reveals discharge-related energy costs for foraging Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) parr

The energetic costs associated with foraging and social interaction for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) parr was estimated by measuring gross differences in performance (growth and lipid content) during two experimental trials conducted in an artificial river channel, under similar food input at two discharges. The discharges provided velocities within the range commonly experienced by salmon in the wild. Fish growth (second trial) and lipid content (first trial) were the highest at the lower discharge. Fish were less active and used a smaller area of the experimental arena under high flow. These behavioural adjustments are consistent with the reduction of energy costs at high discharge. However, there was no effect of discharge on aggressive behaviour or food intake. Therefore, despite evidence of energy economy in response to high discharge and velocity, the energetic costs of foraging were sufficiently high to cause substantial reduction in performance. In common with the findings of previous studies, dominance status was associated with individual variation in performance and habitat use

Behavioural responses of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) to presence of boulders

The influence of boulder presence on the behaviour of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) was investigated experimentally in an indoor flume fed by a 161s(-1) flow of natural river water. The flume was divided into 16 arenas (each 1 m2) that were landscaped with river gravel and standardized boulders, to represent relative 'complex' or 'simple' habitats. Each arena housed three wild-caught fish. In a three-week trial, the effects of landscape on aspects of individual behaviour were recorded. Food intake was highest in the simple landscape and directly related to social status and time spent in the water column. The fish in the complex chambers actively maintained station in the water column significantly more than fish in simple landscapes and therefore partially compensated for reduced foraging rates associated with complexity. Fish in simple chambers spent more time orientated upstream than those in complex landscapes. There was no evidence that habitat complexity influenced levels of aggression, average aggressive distance, 'constrained' territory size, or dominance. Activity and space use varied with social status. Overall, this study illustrates that addition of boulders can result in costs to Atlantic salmon parr, which can be expected to offset to some extent benefits brought about by increased stream complexity. Work is now needed to evaluate the balance of costs and benefits at different life stages and under various environmental conditions

Wave-movement and water-quality variations during a controlled release from Kielder Reservoir, North Tyne River, U.K.

Data are presented to describe the at-a-station variations and downstream patterns of change, of flow and water quality during the passage of a controlled reservoir release along a short 10 km reach, immediatly below the dam. By removing the effects of runoff from diverse catchment sources, which characterise natural flow variations, reservoir releases are used to focus attention on the effects of channel characteristics. At each of four main sites, measurements were made at 4 min intervals for at least 4 h. The data illustrate the dominant effect of initial flow conditions, especially channel roughness, upon wave movement, suspended solids transport, and hydrochemical lags. Variations in the patterns of change appear to relate to spatially variable in-channel sources which can be particularly influential within such short study reaches

The hydrodynamics of East Anglia fen systems

Report to the Nature Conservancy Counci1, National Rivers Authority and Broads AuthorityAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:3425.823(NCC-CS--88) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Ecohydrology of riparian forests in the Orinoco River Basin

This paper describes some important ecohydrological interactions within riparian forests in lower Orinoco using the Caura and Mapire rivers in Venezuela. The importance of riparian forests and hydrological seasonality for aquatic faunal ecology and human use patterns are examined using the Caura River. On the other hand, the influence of ecohydrology on the composition, structure and diversity of riparian forests communities was analysed using the Mapire River. By comparing the decomposition processes of the Caura and Mapire floodplains, ecohydrological interactions of biochemical gradients along river confluence zones are discussed