Freshwater Matters from the FBA

Freshwater Matters
What’s happening at the FBA?
Upcoming courses - The Chironomid Pupal Exuvial Technique (CPET)
Date: Monday 13 - Tuesday 14 April; 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 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 sites easily. This
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 36 years and is now an Aquatic Ecologist for APEM Ltd and a Research
Fellow at Roehampton University.
Places on the course are still available - for more information and to book a
place, please contact us at events@fba.org.uk. For a full course programme and
downloadable booking form, please visit www.fba.org.uk/fba-training-courses.
Notices
FBA research
We want to keep you up to date with the research FBA staff and Honorary
Research Fellows are involved in so from March 2015, we will list papers and other
publications which FBA staff have contributed to recently. The FBA contributor’s
name is given in bold.
Kutschera, U. & Elliott, J.M. (2014). The European medicinal leech Hirudo
medicinalis L.: Morphology and occurrence of an endangered species.
Zoosystematics & Evolution, 91 271-280.
Elliott, J.M. (2014). Obituary: Uwe H. Humpesch. FBA News, 64, 16.
Elliott, J.M. (2015). Density-dependent and density-independent growth in a
population of juvenile sea-trout, Salmo trutta, assessed using long-term data
from a small stream in Northwest England. Freshwater Biology, 60 336-346.
March 2015
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?
Notices
This month’s articles
Female sticklebacks prime their offspring to cope with climate change
Lawsuit filed to save three freshwater species from extinction
Fish catch break on world stage at global conference
Aerial monitors shed light on reed die-back
Australian study says fences could halt cane toad menace
Tracking fish easier, quicker, safer with new injectable device
Swamps may be potent weapons against climate change
Invasive species in the Great Lakes by 2063
Crocodiles just wanna have fun, too

This month’s articles
Female sticklebacks prime their offspring to cope with climate change
A study published this month in Functional Ecology has shown that sticklebacks
(Gasterosteus aculeatus) are able to pass mitochondria to their offspring that are
adapted to the environmental conditions that the mother has experienced. As a
result the young fish are primed to survive in the prevalent conditions without any
overall genetic changes.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150203112129.htm
Lawsuit filed to save three freshwater species from extinction
The Centre for Biological Diversity has filed a lawsuit against the US Fish and
Wildlife Service for failure to protect three species of fish in the south-eastern
USA. This area of the country is a hotspot of biodiversity but has seen the loss of
50 species over recent years.
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2015/southeast-aquatic-
species-02-18-2015.html
Fish catch break on world stage at global conference
Michigan State University and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations this month announced a partnership to better promote and understand
the importance of inland freshwater fisheries to people around the world. It
is estimated 60 million people globally rely on these fisheries. However, their
visibility compared to marine fisheries is poor as freshwater fisheries are often
based on the efforts of individuals, families and small cooperatives making it
difficult to judge their size.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-01/msu-fcb012715.php
Aerial monitors shed light on reed die-back
An international team of researchers has developed a technique to map reed
die-back using a combination of aircraft and satellite data. The technique allows
them to assess the health of reed beds based on the amount of light and infrared
radiation that is reflected from the reeds. It is hoped that the technique will allow
scientists to get to the root of what is causing the reed die-back globally in order
to find a solution.
Australian study says fences could halt cane toad menace
Putting toad-proof fences around dams in arid areas of Australia may help to halt
the spread of cane toads according to research led by experts from the University
of New South Wales. The toads are drawn to the dams as one of the only sources
of water in such arid areas. However, fencing prevents the amphibians reaching
the dams and leads to mass deaths that suppress numbers for many years.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-31123945
Tracking fish easier, quicker, safer with new injectable device
A new injectable acoustic fish tag will help scientists track the progress of fish
through hydroelectric dams according to a study published this month in Scientific
Reports. The tracker is an improvement on previous devices that require a
surgical procedure to implant and so should provide more reliable information on
fish behaviour.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-01/dnnl-tfe012815.php
Swamps may be potent weapons against climate change
Freshwater wetlands and swamps may be 50 times more effective at storing
carbon than rainforests according to researchers from Deakin University. Their
performance may be attributable to the way that organic matter is collected
underwater, significantly reducing the speed at which it breaks down.
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/33281/20150217/swamps-may-be-potent-
weapons-against-climate-change.htm

Invasive species in the Great Lakes by 2063
Over the last two centuries the Great Lakes of North America have been colonised
by more than 180 non-native species, nearly 20% of which are considered to be
ecologically or economically harmful. Now research published in the Journal of
Great Lakes Research suggests that unless serious action is taken the next 50
years could see increased invasions with potentially devastating effects on the
systems.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-01/mu-isi012915.php
Crocodiles just wanna have fun
There is a tendency to think of crocodiles as cold blooded predators waiting for
their next meal. But new research suggests that there is a more playful side
to them. Based on decades of work researchers at the University of Tennessee
report that crocodiles exhibit all the types of play patterns found in other species.
Providing opportunities to exhibit these behaviour could be an important part of
environmental enrichment for the many thousands of crocodiles kept in captivity.
Please forward this bulletin to any of your colleagues who may be
interested!

Freshwater Matters from the FBA

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