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Coarse woody debris (CWD) derived from shoreline trees provides an important, spatially complex habitat and a food source for lake-dwelling organisms. Here are some interesting facts about lake CWD, taken from a recent review paper: In the absence of the physical action of flowing water, CWD breaks down more slowly in lakes than in streams. […]
June 19, 2017
Comments Off on Planting vegetation to stop stream bank erosion: where’s the evidence?
Increased rates of stream bank erosion and sediment movement in disturbed catchments have been attributed to changes in catchment hydrology caused by land clearing, channel modification, the trampling activities of livestock and the removal of riparian vegetation. Given that these effects are human-induced, it’s commonly assumed that they can also be reversed by human intervention, […]
March 27, 2017
Comments Off on Floating times of riparian seeds
Given the important role that the transport of water-borne seeds plays in the long-distance dispersal of riparian plants, surprisingly little is known about this process. In laboratory experiments, a team of Australian and Chinese scientists measured the floating times of seeds collected from sixty species of Australian riparian plant species. Most species reached the test […]
March 27, 2017
Comments Off on Tree cover makes for lower fish diversity
A pervasive feature of lowland streams, especially in areas where land has been cleared for agriculture or urban development, is a decrease in forested cover from the headwaters to the mouth. The presence or absence of streamside tree cover has a profound influence on stream ecology. Streams running through undisturbed forests typically contain large woody […]
June 1, 2016
Comments Off on The dynamics of habitat choice: alien predators stifle amphibian breeding
The way that animals select habitats reflects their need to balance the costs and benefits associated with factors such as food availability and predation risk. Therefore, habitat choices should vary in response to changes in these key factors. As an example, amphibians are expected to continually adjust the relative amounts of time that they spend […]
October 15, 2015
Comments Off on Hotspots for riparian plants
Streamside plants buffer the damaging effects of floodwaters and filter material and nutrients washed down from higher points in the catchment. While these processes are well understood, the effects of seepage and overland flows on riparian plants have been largely overlooked. To explore how streamside plant diversity is affected by groundwater discharge from upland areas, […]
October 15, 2015
Comments Off on How to green the banks of urban rivers
Because the banks of urban waterways are often highly modified by hard reinforced embankments, streamside habitats can be very restricted. New ecological engineering techniques can help to improve such habitats by increasing their surface complexity, and thus their capacity to trap sediment particles, organic matter, floating plant seeds and invertebrates. Coir (the fibrous material around […]
June 19, 2017
Comments Off on Coarse, shallow and wooden… but useful nonetheless