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An understanding of how iron affects the supply of nutrients in aquatic systems may open the door to better success in managing harmful algal blooms. In highly productive lakes, the release of phosphorus stored in the bottom sediment can encourage bloom development, but nutrient release is retarded in the presence of iron, which precipitates phosphorus […]
September 25, 2017
Comments Off on Urban trees protect local water bodies
As a result of nutrient transfer from the land, urban waterways often have high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus, which can lead to algal blooms, low water clarity, oxygen depletion and species loss. Nutrient enrichment problems also extend to urban groundwater, where water quality can be compromised. Although nutrients moving from land to groundwater water […]
March 27, 2017
Comments Off on Unravelling trends in stream nitrogen
Oxides of nitrogen derived from agriculture, industry and emissions from the burning of fossil fuels fall out from the atmosphere and enter terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. Over the last century the deposition of reactive nitrogen has increased three to five times, and this is reflected in a general global increase in stream nitrogen concentrations. However, at […]
December 13, 2016
The increased use of antidepressants in society means that the pollution of freshwater systems by SSRIs (serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors) is becoming more prevalent. SSRIs persist in the environment, bioaccumulate in animals, influence a wide range of physiological and behavioural processes and are toxic at high concentrations. Although it’s been established that SSRI toxicity is […]
June 1, 2016
Comments Off on The dynamics of habitat choice: low-oxygen areas can be safer
Animals should spend more time in habitats where their predation risk is low and their foraging rewards are high. However, habitat use is also affected by the degree of physiological stress imposed by environmental factors such as oxygen, pH, salinity and temperature. Because prey are under greater selective pressure from being eaten than predators are […]
June 1, 2016
Comments Off on Remote surveillance: assessing water quality
Remote sensing technology gives natural resource managers and landowners the ability to monitor environmental conditions in new and powerful ways. However, the remote assessment of water quality in lakes and ponds is complicated by wide variations in the inorganic and organic composition of suspended particles, which affect the optical environment, and the moderate- and medium-resolution […]
September 25, 2017
Comments Off on Ironing out harmful algal blooms