Joining the dots: hydrology, freshwater ecosystem values and adaptation options

AbstractThe objective of this research was to investigate and test the necessary steps in developing an adaptation planning framework for freshwater biodiversity. We used Tasmania as a test case to demonstrate how downscaled climate model outputs could be integrated with spatially resolved hydrological models and freshwater biodiversity data. This enabled us to scope adaptation actions at local, regional and state scales for Tasmania, and to explore how priorities might be set.To achieve this integration we quantified how different climate change scenarios could affect the risks to biodiversity and ecosystem values (‘biodiversity assets’) in freshwaters, the scope and types of adaptation actions, and assessed the strengths and weaknesses of the policy and planning instruments in responding to climate change.We concluded that downscaled climate modelling, linked with modelling of catchment and hydrological processes, refines projections for climate-driven risks to aquatic environments. Spatial and temporal hazards and risks can now be compared at a variety of scales, as well as comparisons between biodiversity assets (e.g. relative risk to riparian vegetation v. in-stream biota). Uncertainties can be identified and built into adaptation processes. Notwithstanding this progress, we identified a number of issues that need to be addressed in order to increase confidence in this process.The main issues for improved and timely modelling are: frameworks for using and downscaling outputs from improved global climate models as they become available; better data on thermal tolerances of freshwater biota; and, improved methods for predicting key water temperature variables from air temperature and other biophysical predictors. Improvements are also needed in updating and maintaining high quality biodiversity data sets, and better spatially explicit information on the contributions of groundwater to surface waters and rates of recharge.The list of adaptation options available is extensive, but the key challenge is to organise these options so that stakeholders are not overwhelmed. Scenario modelling that incorporates explicit tools for comparing costs, benefits, feasibility and social acceptability should help with setting priorities but require further development.A review of current Australian policies revealed a variety of responses driven by both water reform and climate change agendas. Many agencies are actively revising their policies to accommodate adaptation. However, we note that much of the reform of the water sector in the last 10–15 years has aimed to improve certainty for non-environmental water uses. Under the National Water Initiative, governments have agreed that entitlement holders should bear the risks of reduced volumes or reliability of their water allocations as a result of changes in climate. The key opportunity for adaptive uptake of climate adaptations is by developing and periodically reviewing water management planning tools. Pathways need to be developed for integrating the traditional evolution of planning and policy with the needs for climate change adaptation for aquatic ecosystems. Formal mechanisms for the uptake of knowledge about identified risks into policy and legislative instruments remain under-developed. An even bigger challenge is to integrate multiple adaptation strategies (sometimes at different scales) to achieve specific adaptation objectives within regions or catchments—especially where a mix of water management and non-water management is required

Responses of zooplankton and zoobenthos to experimental acidification in a high‐elevation lake (Sierra Nevada, California, U.S.A.)

SUMMARY. 1. During the summer of 1987 we conducted an acidification experiment using large enclosure at Emerald Lake, a dilute, high‐elevation lake in the Sierra Nevada, California, U.S.A. The experiment was designed to examine the effects of acidification on the zooplankton and zoobenthos assemblages of Sierran lakes. 2. Treatments consisted of a control (pH 6.3) and pH levels of 5.8, 5.4, 5.3, 5.0 and 4.7; each treatment was run in triplicate. The experiment lasted 35 days. 3. The zooplankton assemblage was sensitive to acidification. Daphnia rosea Sars emend. Richard and Diaptomns signicauda Lilljeborg decreased in abundance below pH 5.5–5.8, and virtually disappeared below pH 5.0. Bosmina longirostris (Müller) and Keratella taurocephala Ahlstrom became more abundant with decreasing pH. although B. longirostris was rare in the pH 4.7 treatment. These species might serve as reliable indicators of early acidification in lakes such as Emerald Lake. 4. The elimination of D. rosea in acidified treatments probably allowed the more acid‐tolerant taxa to increase in abundance because interspecific competition was reduced. Even slight acidification can therefore alter the structure of the zooplankton assemblage. 5. In contrast to the zooplankton, there was no evidence that the zoobenthos in the enclosures was affected by acidification. Copyright © 1990, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserve

What do we teach them and what are they learning? Evaluation and assessment of the information literacy skills of science students

Information literacy ‘enables learners to engage critically with content and extend their investigations, become more self-directed, and assume greater control over their own learning’ (Council of Australian University Librarians 2001). Such skills are, therefore, a key element of undergraduate learning, a foundation for research activities, and a basis for lifelong learning within the workplace. A number of key generic graduate attributes can collectively be described as information literacy skills (ILS). These include: • a capacity to recognise the need for information and determine the nature and extent of the information needed; • a capacity to access required information effectively and efficiently; • the ability to evaluate information and its sources critically; and • the ability to create new knowledge by integrating prior knowledge and new understandings. The acquisition of such skills is an integral part of becoming a professional scientist, and there is an increasing impetus to include more overt teaching of such skills within the undergraduate degree (Parker 2003). It is acknowledged that the most effective learning outcomes occur when generic skills are an integral part of teaching within the discipline and taught to all students in a structured and progressive manner (Shapiro and Hughes 1996). Indeed, based on their own experiences of teaching ILS within the School of Zoology at the University of Tasmania (UTas), Dearden, Jones, Richardson and Barmuta (2004) have suggested that students’ acquisition of ILS should be incremental, iterative, embedded and assessed, as also proposed by Lupton (2002). Yet how can we determine what skills our students already possess, and at what level? And how can we best teach and assess their learning of information skills within the context of our own discipline? In this project we aimed to address these questions. In collaboration with Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Library staff, the project team developed a multipart survey to test students’ current knowledge, skills and practice against the Australian and New Zealand Information Literacy Framework (ANZIL) Framework standards. We surveyed students in all three undergraduate years to see if their knowledge and skills improved from years one to three, as a result of transferring skills acquired at lower levels into higher undergraduate levels. Second, we wished to investigate whether there are discipline-specific differences in students’ ILS. We therefore focussed on three schools that we anticipated might have rather different expectations of their graduates regarding ILS: Computing, Engineering and Zoology. Students in the first two disciplines are highly likely to be enrolled in specialist degrees, while Zoology students are most likely to be enrolled in the more generic BSc

Global Patterns and Drivers of Ecosystem Functioning in Rivers and Riparian Zones

River ecosystems receive and process vast quantities of terrestrial organic carbon, the fate of which depends strongly on microbial activity. Variation in and controls of processing rates, however, are poorly characterized at the global scale. In response, we used a peer-sourced research network and a highly standardized carbon processing assay to conduct a global-scale field experiment in greater than 1000 river and riparian sites. We found that Earth’s biomes have distinct carbon processing signatures. Slow processing is evident across latitudes, whereas rapid rates are restricted to lower latitudes. Both the mean rate and variability decline with latitude, suggesting temperature constraints toward the poles and greater roles for other environmental drivers (e.g., nutrient loading) toward the equator. These results and data set the stage for unprecedented “next-generation biomonitoring” by establishing baselines to help quantify environmental impacts to the functioning of ecosystems at a global scale

Riparian Plant Litter Quality Increases With Latitude

Plant litter represents a major basal resource in streams, where its decomposition is partly regulated by litter traits. Litter-trait variation may determine the latitudinal gradient in decomposition in streams, which is mainly microbial in the tropics and detritivore-mediated at high latitudes. However, this hypothesis remains untested, as we lack information on large-scale trait variation for riparian litter. Variation cannot easily be inferred from existing leaf-trait databases, since nutrient resorption can cause traits of litter and green leaves to diverge. Here we present the first global-scale assessment of riparian litter quality by determining latitudinal variation (spanning 107°) in litter traits (nutrient concentrations; physical and chemical defences) of 151 species from 24 regions and their relationships with environmental factors and phylogeny. We hypothesized that litter quality would increase with latitude (despite variation within regions) and traits would be correlated to produce ‘syndromes’ resulting from phylogeny and environmental variation. We found lower litter quality and higher nitrogen:phosphorus ratios in the tropics. Traits were linked but showed no phylogenetic signal, suggesting that syndromes were environmentally determined. Poorer litter quality and greater phosphorus limitation towards the equator may restrict detritivore-mediated decomposition, contributing to the predominance of microbial decomposers in tropical streams

Riparian plant litter quality increases with latitude

Plant litter represents a major basal resource in streams, where its decomposition is partly regulated by litter traits. Litter-trait variation may determine the latitudinal gradient in decomposition in streams, which is mainly microbial in the tropics and detritivore-mediated at high latitudes. However, this hypothesis remains untested, as we lack information on large-scale trait variation for riparian litter. Variation cannot easily be inferred from existing leaf-trait databases, since nutrient resorption can cause traits of litter and green leaves to diverge. Here we present the first global-scale assessment of riparian litter quality by determining latitudinal variation (spanning 107 degrees) in litter traits (nutrient concentrations; physical and chemical defences) of 151 species from 24 regions and their relationships with environmental factors and phylogeny. We hypothesized that litter quality would increase with latitude (despite variation within regions) and traits would be correlated to produce 'syndromes' resulting from phylogeny and environmental variation. We found lower litter quality and higher nitrogen: phosphorus ratios in the tropics. Traits were linked but showed no phylogenetic signal, suggesting that syndromes were environmentally determined. Poorer litter quality and greater phosphorus limitation towards the equator may restrict detritivore-mediated decomposition, contributing to the predominance of microbial decomposers in tropical streams.We thank the many assistants who helped with field work (Ana Chara-Serna, Francisco Correa-Araneda, Juliana Franca, Lina Giraldo, Stephanie Harper, Samuel Kariuki, Sylvain Lamothe, Lily Ng, Marcus Schindler, etc.), Cristina Grela Docal for helping with leaf chemical analyses, and Fernando Hiraldo (former director of EBD-CSIC) for his support. The study was funded by start-up funds from the Donana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC, Spain) and from Ikerbasque to LB, the Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT) strategic project ID/MAR/04292/2013 granted to MARE (Portugal), the 'BIOFUNCTION' project (CGL2014-52779-P) from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) and FEDER to LB and J. Pozo, and Basque Government funds (IT302-10) to J. Pozo

Latitude dictates plant diversity effects on instream decomposition

Running waters contribute substantially to global carbon fluxes through decomposition of terrestrial plant litter by aquatic microorganisms and detritivores. Diversity of this litter may influence instream decomposition globally in ways that are not yet understood. We investigated latitudinal differences in decomposition of litter mixtures of low and high functional diversity in 40 streams on 6 continents and spanning 113 degrees of latitude. Despite important variability in our dataset, we found latitudinal differences in the effect of litter functional diversity on decomposition, which we explained as evolutionary adaptations of litter-consuming detritivores to resource availability. Specifically, a balanced diet effect appears to operate at lower latitudes versus a resource concentration effect at higher latitudes. The latitudinal pattern indicates that loss of plant functional diversity will have different consequences on carbon fluxes across the globe, with greater repercussions likely at low latitudes

Shared vision, shared responsibility : the vertical integration of information literacy across the zoology curriculum

This paper tells the story of how a shared vision and shared responsibility between the Library and the School of Zoology at the University of Tasmania has led to the vertical integration of information literacy into the Zoology curriculum. Lecturers have embedded meaningful and stimulating learning activities into coursework, deliberately aimed at developing students’ information literacy. Students require sound information skills to undertake these activities; these skills are taught by the Liaison Librarian during specially tailored workshops incorporated into the unit teaching. Activities include: a first-year introduction to information skills and the scholarly information infrastructure; second/third year projects that require students to find 'the science' behind popular wildlife documentaries and to explore issues and controversies of scholarly communication; the introduction of EndNote to third-year students to manage information for their major research project; and advanced skills for Honours students to undertake major literature searches and manage information using EndNote. This paper discusses: the value of contributions from the different perspectives of librarians and lecturers; the importance of an iterative, incremental approach to developing students’ information literacy for lifelong learning; what students think; and work that still needs to be done

Multifunctional redundancy: Impossible or undetected?

Abstract The diversity‐functioning relationship is a pillar of ecology. Two significant concepts have emerged from this relationship: redundancy, the asymptotic relationship between diversity and functioning, and multifunctionality, a monotonic relationship between diversity and multiple functions occurring simultaneously. However, multifunctional redundancy, an asymptotic relationship between diversity and multiple functions occurring simultaneously, is rarely detected in research. Here we assess whether this lack of detection is due to its true rarity, or due to systematic research error. We discuss how inconsistencies in the use of terms such as ‘function’ lead to mismatched research. We consider the different techniques used to calculate multifunctionality and point out a rarely considered issue: how determining a function's maximum rate affects multifunctionality metrics. Lastly, we critique how a lack of consideration of multitrophic, spatiotemporal, interactions and community assembly processes in designed experiments significantly reduces the likelihood of detecting multifunctional redundancy. Multifunctionality research up to this stage has made significant contributions to our understanding of the diversity‐functioning relationship, and we believe that multifunctional redundancy is detectable with the use of appropriate methodologies