低头坝养鱼对上下游局域栖息地和鱼类群落时空格局的影响

河流鱼类的群落特征会随栖息地环境的变化而发生变化.为了解鱼类群落对低头坝养鱼的响应程度,2013—2014年共6次调查了乌龙河(长江下游支流)两个可涉水河段样点(上游坝和下游坝)的环境因子、鱼类多样性及其群落结构.共采集到5目10科21属24种鱼类,以鲤形目鲤科最多,占总数的58.3%.通过解析时空动态变化与局域栖息地条件对鱼类群落的影响,发现季节因素对鱼类群落结构无显著影响,而鱼类群落所在空间位置(上游坝,下游坝)对群落结构差异具有较显著影响,其中上游中华鳑鲏(Rhodeus sinensis)、(Hemiculter leucisculus)、棒花鱼(Abbottina rivularis)、大鳍鱊(Acheilognathus macropterus),下游食蚊鱼(Gambusia affinis)的多度决定了这种差异;而3个栖息地变量(溶解氧浓度、电导率和流速)均对鱼类群落特征具有显著性影响.栖息地环境差异对河流上、下游鱼类群落的影响较大,具体体现在下游样点鱼类的捕获重量、捕获数量、密度、多样性明显下降,推测利用低头坝养鱼是造成这些现象的重要原因.     

产卵迁徙对金沙江黑水河下游鱼类群聚结构变动的影响

鱼类作为河流生物的重要组成部分,其在干支流之间的迁徙或移动不仅是常见的,而且通常与鱼类的繁殖活动相联系.金沙江下游支流作为金沙江下游河流网络的重要组成部分,分布有较为丰富的集合生境以及较高的鱼类物种多样性.研究鱼类在金沙江下游干支流的产卵迁徙对支流鱼类群聚结构变动的影响以及支流生境维持对区域鱼类种群维系的意义,对金沙江下游干支流鱼类的保护具有重要的意义.本文拟选择黑水河下游江段作为典型研究区域,通过2014年在该区域的逐月渔获物调查,采用聚类分析、基于距离的线性模型以及基于距离的冗余分析等多种多元分析方法,确定黑水河下游群聚结构的逐月变动是否严重依赖于鱼类在干支流之间的产卵迁徙以及黑水河下游自然生境的维持对区域鱼类种群的维系是否具有重要的意义.结果表明:黑水河下游鱼类群聚结构在金沙江雨季和旱季显著分离的同时,表征这种分离的8种指示种的性成熟个体丰度也在雨季和旱季间发生不同程度的变动.7种指示种鱼类性成熟个体丰度的变动能够解释黑水河下游鱼类群聚结构变动77.20%的变异,其中齐口裂腹鱼、大鳞副泥鳅和犁头鳅性成熟个体丰度的变动是影响黑水河下游鱼类群聚结构变动的3个最显著的因素,7种指示种鱼类在干支流的产卵迁徙对黑水河下游鱼类群聚结构的变动造成了明显的影响.研究表明:在金沙江干支流严重水电开发背景下,维持黑水河现有的自然生境面积对区域鱼类种群的维持具有重要意义.为实行上述目标,建议在白鹤滩水电站蓄水运行后,拆除黑水河的部分小型水坝,并采取其他河流再自然化措施以维持黑水河现有的自然生境面积.     

黄河伊洛河中下游鱼类多样性及群落结构

为了解伊洛河中下游鱼类多样性、群落结构及其与环境因子的关系,于2016年2-12月对伊洛河中下游5个河段开展鱼类多样性及环境调查.共采集鱼类12361尾,43种,隶属于4目9科37属.伊洛河中下游鱼类群落的Shannon-Wiener多样性指数、Margalef丰富度指数、Pielou均匀度指数和Simpson指数变化范围分别为1.75~2.38、2.44~3.63、0.59~0.76和0.73~0.86.各指数均以西草甸河段最高.各河段优势种以（Hemiculter leucisculus）、似鳊（Pseudobrama simoni）、鲫（Carassius auratus）、兴凯鱊（Acheilognathus chankaensis）和鳑鲏属（Rhodeus）等小型或广适性鱼类为主.丰度/生物量比较（ABC）曲线显示,除西草甸河段外,各河段优势鱼类群落均受到不同程度的干扰.其中七里铺和黑石关鱼类群落处于严重干扰状态,以小型鱼类或大型鱼类的幼鱼为主.采用冗余分析方法分析了鱼类群落结构与环境因子的关系,发现除了河床、水流、捕捞等因子以外,氨氮、总磷浓度与pH是导致伊洛河中下游鱼类群落结构差异的主要影响因子.针对伊洛河鱼类多样性现状,建议加强流域水质监管,恢复河流连通性,推进保护区全面禁渔,开展生态修复等以恢复伊洛河河流健康.     

Identifying and mitigating dam-induced declines in river health:Three case studies from the western United States

River health can be defined as the degree to which riverine energy source,water quality,flow regime, habitat and biota match the natural conditions.In a healthy river,physical process and form remain actively connected and able to mutually adjust,and biological communities have natural levels of diversity and are resilient to environmental stress.Both physical diversity and biodiversity influence river health.Physical diversity is governed by hydrology,hydraulics,and substrate,as reflected in the geometry of the river channel and adjacent floodplain,which create habitat for aquatic and riparian organisms.Biodiversity is governed by biological processes such as competition and predation,but biodiversity also reflects the diversity,abundance and stability of habitat,as well as connectivity. Connectivity within a river corridor includes longitudinal,lateral,and vertical dimensions.River health declines as any of these interacting components is compromised by human activities.The cumulative effect of dams and other human alterations of rivers has been primarily to directly reduce physical diversity and connectivity,which indirectly reduces biodiversity.Restoration and maintenance of physical diversity and biodiversity on rivers affected by dams requires quantifying relations between the driver variables of flow and sediment supply,and the response variables of habitat,connectivity,and biological communities.These relations can take the form of thresholds(e.g., entrainment of streambed sediment) or response curves(e.g.,fish biomass versus extent and duration of floodplain inundation).I use examples from Wyoming,Colorado,and Arizona in the western United States to illustrate how to quantify relations between driver and response variables on rivers affected by dams.     

Determining transition reaches between torrents and downstream rivers using a valley morphology index in a mountainous landscape

Dividing rivers into homogeneous reaches is key for river processes and watershed management. In contrast to downstream fluvially dominated rivers, upstream debris-flow dominated torrents have steeper channel slopes and smaller valley width/depth ratios. Investigating transition reaches between torrents and fluvially dominated rivers, not only explores the structure of the landscape, but also contributes to hazard management. This study proposed a valley morphology index combining two variables, channel slope and valley width/depth ratio, to determine transition reaches between torrents and rivers. The methodology was applied to 41 mountain streams in Taiwan using a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based topographic analysis. Plots of valley width/depth ratio versus channel slope were used to determine boundary values of the valley morphology index (I_v) separating torrents from rivers. The plots showed that about 80% of the river basins present “L-shaped” curves, which indicate sharp decreases in slope for upstream sections and dramatic increases of valley width/depth ratio for downstream sections. Results further demonstrated an average value of I_v 0.0047 across the study sites. Spatial comparison between geographic regions indicated that transition reaches in eastern rivers tend to occur lower in the drainage basin due, in part, to higher terrain. Local factors, such as tributary confluences and landslides promote the transition from torrents to fluvially dominated rivers. Satellite images verified that the approach correctly identified transition reaches, suggesting that it may provide a useful reference for river management.     

Terrestrial invertebrates of dry river beds are not simply subsets of riparian assemblages

Dry river beds are common worldwide and are rapidly increasing in extent due to the effects of water management and prolonged drought periods due to climate change. While attention has been given to the responses of aquatic invertebrates to drying rivers, few studies exist on the terrestrial invertebrates colonizing dry river beds. Dry river beds are physically harsh and they often differ substantially in substrate, topography, microclimate and inundation frequency from adjacent riparian zones. Given these differences, we predicted that dry river beds provide a unique habitat for terrestrial invertebrates, and that their assemblage composition differs from that in adjacent riparian zones. Dry river beds and riparian zones in Australia and Italy were sampled for terrestrial invertebrates with pitfall traps. Sites differed in substrate type, climate and flow regime. Dry river beds contained diverse invertebrate assemblages and their composition was consistently different from adjacent riparian zones, irrespective of substrate, climate or hydrology. Although some taxa were shared between dry river beds and riparian zones, 66 of 320 taxa occurred only in dry river beds. Differences were due to species turnover, rather than shifts in abundance, indicating that dry river bed assemblages are not simply subsets of riparian assemblages. Some spatial patterns in invertebrate assemblages were associated with environmental variables (irrespective of habitat type), but these associations were statistically weak. We suggest that dry river beds are unique habitats in their own right. We discuss potential human stressors and management issues regarding dry river beds and provide recommendations for future research.     

Tracking Groundwater Discharge to a Large River using Tracers and Geophysics

Few studies have investigated large reaches of rivers in which multiple sources of groundwater are responsible for maintaining baseflow. This paper builds upon previous work undertaken along the Fitzroy River, one of the largest perennial river systems in north‐western Australia. Synoptic regional‐scale sampling of both river water and groundwater for a suite of environmental tracers (⁴He, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, ²²²Rn and major ions), and subsequent modeling of tracer behavior in the river, has enabled definition and quantification of groundwater input from at least three different sources. We show unambiguous evidence of both shallow “local” groundwater, possibly recharged to alluvial aquifers beneath the adjacent floodplain during recent high‐flow events, and old “regional” groundwater introduced via artesian flow from deep confined aquifers. We also invoke hyporheic exchange and either bank return flow or parafluvial flow to account for background ²²²Rn activities and anomalous chloride trends along river reaches where there is no evidence of the local or regional groundwater inputs. Vertical conductivity sections acquired through an airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey provide insights to the architecture of the aquifers associated with these sources and general groundwater quality characteristics. These data indicate fresh groundwater from about 300 m below ground preferentially discharging to the river, at locations consistent with those inferred from tracer data. The results demonstrate how sampling rivers for multiple environmental tracers of different types—including stable and radioactive isotopes, dissolved gases and major ions—can significantly improve conceptualization of groundwater—surface water interaction processes, particularly when coupled with geophysical techniques in complex hydrogeological settings.     

Detecting multi-scale riverine topographic variability and its influence on Chinook salmon habitat selection

Quantifying geomorphic conditions that impact riverine ecosystems is critical in river management due to degraded riverine habitat, changing flow and thermal conditions, and increasing anthropogenic pressure. Geomorphic complexity at different scales directly impacts habitat heterogeneity and affects aquatic biodiversity resilience. Here we showed that the combination of continuous spatial survey at high resolution, topobathymetric light detection and ranging (LiDAR), and continuous wavelet analysis can help identify and characterize that complexity. We used a continuous wavelet analysis on 1-m resolution topobathymetry in three rivers in the Salmon River Basin, Idaho (USA), to identify different scales of topographic variability and the potential effects of this variability on salmonid redd site selection. On each river, wavelet scales characterized the topographic variability by portraying repeating patterns in the longitudinal profile. We found three major representative spatial wavelet scales of topographic variability in each river: a small wavelet scale associated with local morphology such as pools and riffles, a mid-wavelet scale that identified larger channel unit features, and a large wavelet scale related to valley-scale controls. The small wavelet scale was used to identify pools and riffles along the entire lengths of each river as well as areas with differing riffle-pool development. Areas along the rivers with high local topographic variability (high wavelet power) at all wavelet scales contained the largest features (i.e., deepest or longest pools) in the systems. By comparing the wavelet power for each wavelet scale to Chinook salmon redd locations, we found that higher small-scale wavelet power, which is related to pool-riffle topography, is important for redd site selection. The continuous wavelet methodology objectively identified scales of topographic variability present in these rivers, performed efficient channel-unit identification, and provided geomorphic assessment without laborious field surveys.     

Effects of habitat structural complexity on diversity patterns of neotropical fish assemblages in the Bita River Basin,Colombia

Several studies have shown that fish assemblages are structured by habitat features, most of them have proposed that there is a positive relationship between habitat structural complexity and species diversity. In this study, we aimed to test this positive-relationship idea in three habitats types (creeks, oxbow lakes and river sandbanks) distributed along the Bita River Basin in South America. Standardized surveys were conducted during January and February of 2016 (low water period) in 30 sites distributed along the entire basin. We recorded 23,092 individuals representing 191 species. To investigate possible relationships between habitat structural complexity and species diversity, we calculated the first three Hill’s numbers, and performed a Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS), a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and a Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA). Our results showed that river sandbanks and creeks had the highest species richness. Results from the NMDS analysis (stress = 0.19) showed that fish community composition was different in the assessed habitats (ANOSIM < p = 0.001). According to the results of the principal component analysis, sand percentage, dissolved oxygen, and vegetation width separated river sandbanks from the other habitats. Results from the Hill’s numbers, forward selection procedure, and canonical correspondence analysis suggested that species composition and diversity were significantly influenced by the habitat structural complexity index and conductivity.     

Beeinflusst die Strukturgüte von Fließgewässern das Vorkommen von Makrophyten?

Does the Structural Quality of Running Waters Affect the Occurrence of Macrophytes? The morphological structure plays, besides e.g. nutrient concentration, an important role for the integrated assessment of running waters. This paper focuses on the relationship between structural quality and macrophyte vegetation. During summer 2000 structural quality according to LAWA, macrophyte vegetation, and selected habitat parameters were recorded in 135 mapping sections in running waters in Southern Germany. In streams of high structural diversity, generally higher species richness is expected than in rivers of low diversity of habitats. However, no significant differences in macrophyte species richness were detected between different classes of structural quality. In contrast, bryophytes alone showed a significant decrease in species richness with degradation of structural quality. The number of species of other macrophytes increased, respectively. The relationship between occurrence of macrophytes, structural quality, and other environmental variables was analysed using canonical correspondence analysis. Rivers of high structural quality mostly showed high flowing velocities and were heavily shaded. These environmental conditions, which characterize river types of mountainous regions, were predominantly tolerated by bryophytes. Vascular plants and charophytes generally prefer slowly flowing and unshaded habitats. River types exhibiting these environmental conditions often are more influenced by human activities and are more structurally degraded, respectively. With respect to these fundamental differences between river types, species richness of macrophytes and class of structural quality are not correlated when all types of rivers are taken into account. Type‐specific ecomorphological parameters, which conceal the differences in species richness caused by structural quality, are discussed. Structural degraded rivers can provide good environmental conditions for vascular plants and charophytes. To predict macrophyte species richness from structural quality, a differentiation of river types is essential.     

Changes in the epipelic diatom assemblage in nutrient rich streams due to the variations of simultaneous stressors

Benthic diatoms are often used for assessing environmental conditions, such as water quality and habitat conditions in stream and river systems. Although laboratory experiments have shown that each diatom species have different levels of tolerance to different stressors, few studies have been conducted in laboratory settings that analyze the responses of the diatom assemblage to the effects of multiple simultaneous variables. The aim of this study was to evaluate some structural responses (such as species composition and diversity) of the diatom assemblage on a short time scale to the effects of the simultaneous increase in four variables that are directly linked to the environmental changes affecting the Pampean streams: turbidity, nutrients (phosphorous and nitrogen), water velocity and temperature. To this end we conducted a five-week laboratory experiment using artificial channels where we simulated two environmental conditions (LOW and HIGH) employing epipelic biofilm from a mesotrophic stream. The results obtained in the experiment show that the structure of the diatom assemblage in the epipelic biofilm is affected by the simultaneous modification of temperature, water velocity, nutrient concentration and turbidity. These modifications in the assemblage included moderate decreases in diversity, small decreases in the proportion of species sensitive to eutrophication and saprobity, moderate increases in the IDP (Pampean Diatom Index) values and moderate changes in the percentages of the stalked growth-forms. The relative abundance of species such as Luticola mutica, Navicula cryptocephala and Navicula lanceolata were negatively affected by both treatments; other species such as Planothidium lanceolatum, Caloneis bacillum, Encyonema minutum, Humidophila contenta, Luticola kotschyi, Nitzschia amphibia, Navicula veneta, Pinnularia subcapitata var. subcapitata were positively affected by the HIGH treatment; and Nitzschia fonticola was positively affected by both treatments. The results suggest that, in the very short term of the bioassay conducted, the diatom assemblage can modify its structure to respond in a sensitive manner to the abrupt changes in multiple physical–chemical variables.     

Measuring ecological change of aquatic macrophytes in Mediterranean rivers

A metric was developed for assessing anthropogenic impacts on aquatic macrophyte ecology by scoring macrophyte species along the main gradient of community change. A measure of ecological quality was then calculated by Weighted Averaging (WA) of these species scores at a monitoring site, and comparison to a reference condition score. This metric was used to illustrate the difficulties of developing aquatic macrophyte indices based on indicator species in Mediterranean rivers. The response of the metric to a nutrient gradient was examined within two different river typologies: the national typology designed for the Water Framework Directive and a typology that segregates the environmental variables to produce maximum species similarity within a river type. Both typologies showed the strong north-south climatic divide in Portugal, with southern rivers having long periods without rainfall and often without flowing water in the summer. Overall, the metric responded well to nutrient impacts however it performed poorly in some southern lowland river types. This was thought to be due to low numbers of aquatic macrophytes in temporary rivers. Non-aquatic species that establish in the river channel of temporary rivers may have to be included in indices to improve performance. Also, simple Weighted Averaging (WA) metrics may be insensitive to abundance changes and loss of rarer indicators in lowland Mediterranean rivers. More sophisticated methods of using WA are suggested, as well as further research into developing assessment methods specific to the character of Mediterranean rivers.     

Modeling the distribution of Populus euphratica in the Heihe River Basin,an inland river basin in an arid region of China

Populus euphratica is a dominant tree species in riparian Tugai forests and forms a natural barrier that maintains the stability of local oases in arid inland river basins. Despite being critical information for local environmental protection and recovery, establishing the specific spatial distribution of P. euphratica has rarely been attempted via precise and reliable species distribution models in such areas. In this research, the potential geographic distribution of P. euphratica in the Heihe River Basin was simulated with MaxEnt software based on species occurrence data and 29 environmental variables. The result showed that in the Heihe River Basin, 820 km~2 of land primarily distributed along the banks of the lower reaches of the river is a suitable habitat for P. euphratica. We built other MaxEnt models based on different environmental variables and another eight models employing different mathematical algorithms based on the same 29 environmental variables to demonstrate the superiority of this method.MaxEnt based on 29 environmental variables performed the best among these models, as it precisely described the essential characteristics of the distribution of P. euphratica forest land. This study verified that MaxEnt can serve as an effective tool for species distribution in extremely arid regions with sufficient and reliable environmental variables. The results suggest that there may be a larger area of P. euphratica forest distribution in the study area and that ecological conservation and management of P.euphratica should prioritize suitable habitat. This research provides valuable insights for the conservation and management of degraded P. euphratica riparian forests.     

Exploring landscape and geologic controls on spatial patterning of streambank groundwater discharge in a mixed land use watershed

Preferential groundwater discharge features along stream corridors are ecologically important at local and stream network scales, yet we lack quantification of the multiscale controls on the spatial patterning of groundwater discharge. Here we identify physical attributes that best explain variation in the presence and lateral extent of preferential groundwater discharges along two 5th order streams, the Housatonic and Farmington Rivers, and 32 1st to 4th order reaches across the Farmington River network. We mapped locations of preferential groundwater discharge exposed along streambanks using handheld thermal infrared cameras paired with high-resolution topographic and land use land cover datasets, surficial soil characteristic maps, and depth-to-bedrock geophysical measurements. The unconfined Housatonic River, MA, USA (12 km) had fewer discharge locations and less lateral extent (41 discharge locations with 38 m of active discharge/km of river) compared to the partially confined Farmington River, CT, USA (26 km; 169 discharge locations with 129 m of active discharge/km of river). Using a moving window analysis, we found along both rivers that discharge was more likely to occur where bank slopes were steeper, floodplain extent was narrower, and degree of confinement was higher. Along the Farmington River, groundwater discharge was more likely to occur where saturated hydraulic conductivity was higher and depth-to-bedrock was shallower. Among the 32 stream reaches surveyed (33.2 km of total stream length) within the Farmington River watershed, preferential discharge was observed in all but two stream reaches, varied from 0 to 25% of lateral extent along stream banks (mean = 6%), and was more likely to occur where stream reach slopes were steep, saturated hydraulic conductivity was high, and watershed urbanization was low. Our results show that, though both surface (e.g., topographic, land use land cover) and subsurface (e.g., soil characteristics, bedrock depth) factors control the prevalence of streambank preferential groundwater discharge, the dominant controls vary across valley settings and stream sizes.     

Dams in the last large free-flowing rivers of Patagonia,the Santa Cruz River,environmental features,and macroinvertebrate community

Three large rivers have their headwaters in the Patagonian Ice Fields (PIFs) in the Andes Mountains, the largest mid-latitude ice masses on Earth: Santa Cruz, Baker and Pascua. They are the last large free flowing rivers in Patagonia, but plans are advanced for building dams for hydroelectric power generation. The three PIF rivers, with a discharge dominated by ice melt, share a common, unique hydrograph compared to that of the other eight large rivers in the region: a distinct seasonal cycle, and an extremely stable discharge, with much lower variability than other rivers. In this study we present the first extensive survey of habitats and benthic macroinvertebrates in the least studied system, the Santa Cruz River. We assess how much of the natural capital provided and sustained by benthic invertebrates are expected to be lost by flooding and discuss how dams would affect riverine habitat and biota. In the Santa Cruz River, we conducted an intensive field survey during September 2010; a total of 52 sites located at regular 6 km intervals were sampled along the 310 river-km for macroinvertebrates and seventeen habitat variables. Although some habitat structure is apparent at the local scale, the Santa Cruz River could be described as very homogeneous. Macroinvertebrate density and the richness (38 genera) found in the Santa Cruz River resulted to be one of the lowest in comparison with 42 other Patagonian rivers. Albeit weak, the structure of the macroinvertebrates assemblages was successfully described by a reduced set of variables. The reduced flow variation and the lack of bed scouring flows have a direct and negative effect on the heterogeneity of riverbeds and banks. The high turbidity of the Santa Cruz River may also contribute to shorter food webs, by affecting autotrophic production, general trophic structure, and overall macroinvertebrate productivity and diversity. Dams will obliterate 51% of the lotic environment, including the most productive sections of the river according to our macroinvertebrate data. Since Santa Cruz River has a naturally homogeneous flow cycle, dams may provide more variable flows and more diverse habitat. Our data provide critically valuable baseline information to understand the effects of dams on the unique set of glacial driven large rivers of Patagonia.     

PRINCIPLES OF RIVER TRAINING AND MANAGEMENT

River regulation and river training have been performed for various purposes and negative effects have been shown in numerous cases. In some cases the negative effects are so serious that humans have to consider to "renaturalize" the regulated rivers. Only by using the strategy of integrated river management the diverse river uses and natural fluvial processes and ecological systems may be harmonized. Based on analysis of case studies and data collected from literatures this paper presents the concept of integrated river management and four principles of river training. The integrated river management comprises: 1) taking the watershed, upper stream basin including the tributaries, middle and lower reaches and the estuary as an integrated entity in the planning, design and management; and 2) mitigating or controlling the negative impacts on hydrology, erosion and sedimentation, fluvial processes, land use and river use, environment and ecology while in achieving economic benefit from water resources development, flood safety management and hydropower exploitation. River training and management should be in accordance with the four principles: 1) extending the duration of river water flowing on the continent, which may be achieved by extending the river course or reducing the flow velocity; 2) controlling various patterns of erosions and reducing the sediment transportation in the rivers; 3) increasing the diversity of habitat and enhancing the connectivity between the river and riparian waters; and 4) restoring natural landscapes.     

Hydraulic modelling of fish habitat in urban rivers during high flows

In urban rivers, flow regime and channel morphology are the drivers of physical habitat quality for aquatic species. Peak discharges are increased at high flows as a result of impermeable catchments and channel engineering for flood protection schemes. Hazardous conditions and flashy hydrographs mean that measurement of velocities at high flows is a difficult task. This research uses a three‐dimensional computational fluid dynamics (3D‐CFD) model to simulate hydraulic patterns in two urban river channels. A 3D‐CFD code, called SSIIM, was used to simulate hydraulic conditions in two engineered river reaches of the River Tame, Birmingham, UK. These two sites represent channels with different levels of engineering. Models were calibrated and tested using field measurements. Results show that modelled water surface levels and velocity profiles are well simulated. Calibrated roughness heights are compared with those derived from field measurement of sediment size. Numerical experiments are used to assess the relationship between grid resolution in the vertical dimension and the form of the modelled velocity profiles. Biologists have used laboratory experiments to determine maximum sustainable swimming speeds (MSSS) of fish, often in order to assess what level of a particular pollutant may be tolerable. In this work, simulations of high‐flow hydraulic patterns are used to compare velocity patterns with fish MSSS. Results show that when the water levels rise to fill the first channel of the two‐stage channels at the sites, which occurred 16 times in 2000, MSSS are surpassed in the majority of available habitat, suggesting that excessive velocities at high flows are one factor that limits fish habitat. A comparison between the two reaches shows that there is less available habitat in the more modified reach. Conclusions suggest that an approach that integrates water quality issues and physical channel characteristics must be taken in river rehabilitation schemes, as improvements to water quality alone may not be sufficient to improve habitat quality to the desired level. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The spatial distribution of groundwater flooding in a chalk catchment in southern England

Groundwater flooding occurred in the upper parts of many chalk rivers in the UK during the exceptionally wet winter of 2000–01. This provided a rare opportunity to investigate the spatial distribution of groundwater discharge and flooding along the normally dry intermittent headwaters of a chalk catchment. The extent of flooding along the River Pang, upstream of the seasonal head, was mapped using aerial photography, and point measurements of flow and water temperature were used to identify the contributing reaches of the river. The results are discussed in the context of the geological and groundwater conditions. The occurrence of flooding can largely be explained by the regional groundwater flow directions, but increased flow in some locations may be as a result of preferential groundwater flow along lines of geological structure. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Environmental determinants of species turnover of aquatic Heteroptera in freshwater ecosystems of the Western Ghats,India

Partitioning beta diversity into its two components of spatial turnover and nestedness is a more robust method for checking spatial variability in biological communities than calculating the total beta diversity alone. The relative contribution of spatial turnover and nestedness has been used to test the effects of climatic, environmental, spatial and temporal variables on community composition. In this study, we tested the effects of environmental factors and microhabitat features on total beta diversity and its spatial turnover and nestedness components using a comprehensive dataset of aquatic Heteroptera collected from four types of permanent freshwater habitats (i.e. streams, ponds, rock tanks and reservoirs) in the Western Ghats of India. We observed that communities in all four types of habitats were predominantly shaped by dissimilarity caused due to spatial turnover (>85 %). Each type of habitat showed the presence of one or more species uniquely associated with it, which might contribute to the turnover between communities. The abiotic environment (climatic factors, topological factors, soil characteristics and microhabitat features) as well as assemblage structure differed significantly between habitat types. Communities in each type of habitat were affected by different environmental factors, such as precipitation and temperature patterns for streams, altitude and rocky substrate for rock tanks, and soil characteristics and the presence of aquatic macrophytes for ponds and reservoirs. Assemblages observed in the four types of permanent habitats are thus compositionally distinct due to species replacements between local communities, which in turn are strongly influenced by environmental variables. Similar to previous studies, our results show that spatial turnover largely measures the same phenomenon as total beta diversity on a regional scale.