No. 49 Spring 2010 - Freshwater Biological Association

NewsThe Freshwater Biological Association NewsletterNo. 49 Spring 2010In Praise of Hot WaterPike Populations in CanadaInternational Year of Biodiversity 2010

The Freshwater BiologicalAssociation (FBA) is an independentmembership organisation and a registeredCharity. Founded in 1929, our missionis to advance freshwater science andencourage as many people as possible toadopt it as the best way to understand,protect and manage our precious waterresources. We promote freshwaterscience by:• disseminating information throughwebsites, publications, scientificmeetings and courses• facilitating innovative and essentialresearch• providing sound independentscientific opinion.Supporting ScienceThe FBA is based on the shore ofWindermere, the Lake District in Cumbriaand alongside the River Frome, East Stokein Dorset. It supports scientific work atthese and several other sites throughproviding specialist facilities and equipment.The research programme is also promotedby awarding grants and studentships toyoung scientists and FBA Members andby providing a working environment forHonorary Research Fellows - distinguishedscientists who have retired from full timeemployment.The FBA is taking a lead in an initiativeto rejuvenate the UK freshwater researchcommunity by developing “The CooperativeResearch Partnership”, a collaborativestrategic science programme with directrelevance to industry and the managementof freshwater resources.Library and Information ServicesThe FBA is an acknowledged leader in theprovision of information on freshwaterbiology through:Library and Collections - the FBA holdsone of the finest freshwater libraries in theworld, housing published and unpublishedcollections, and is the custodian of a varietyof long-term datasets from the LakeDistrict, River Frome and other sites ofscientific significance.FreshwaterLife - an initiative to drawtogether information on freshwater faunaand flora and make it accessible via theWorldwide Web (www.freshwaterlife.org).The Fritsch Collection - an active andgrowing reference collection containingmillions of illustrations, identification notesand taxonomic bibliographic references foralgae (www.fritschalgae.info).Publications - the FBA publishes a rangeof high quality, scientifically accurate,keys, reference texts and analysis guides.Members are entitled to a 25% discount onall publications.Scientific Meetings and CoursesThe Association arranges a variety ofnational and international meetings (byitself or jointly with others), and runsgeneral and specialist courses in freshwaterbiology. It holds a highly respected AnnualScientific Meeting each year and alongwith other national European freshwatersocieties, organises the biennial Symposiumfor European Freshwater Sciences.MembershipMembership is open to individuals andorganisations who are interested infreshwater science and who wish to supportthe Association. Members receive a regularNewsletter and free on-line access to theAssociation’s journal Freshwater Reviews.They are entitled to a generous discounton FBA Scientific Meetings, on Scientific,Occasional and Special Publications, and onLibrary and Information Services. Membersare encouraged to visit the Windermere orEast Stoke sites and preference is given toMembers for use of the scientific facilities andthe Library.Annual Membership rates for 2009 are asfollows.Individual Member........................ £35Student Member........................... £20Corporate Membership................ £300Life Membership is also offered at a singlepayment of £600 (or £325 at age 60 or over).All enquiries about the FBA to:The Freshwater Biological Association,The Ferry Landing, Far Sawrey, Ambleside,Cumbria, LA22 0LP, UK.Tel: +44 (0) 1539 442468.E-mail: info@fba.org.uk, Web: www.fba.org.ukThe FBA is a registered charity, number214440 and a company limited by guarantee,registration number 263162, England.FBA News Article SubmissionsFBA News is published four times annually(Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter) and isdistributed to all FBA members. We encourageand welcome articles from all members of theAssociation. Articles or material for publicationshould be submitted electronically as aMicrosoft Word document or in the body of ane-mail please. In extremis hard copy or evenhand-written (clear) may be acceptable.COPY DEADLINES:1st November/ 1st February/ 1st May/ 1st AugustCopy for the Newsletter to: FBA News EditorsProf. Terry Langford & Dr Melanie FletcherProf. Terry LangfordEmails: terry.langford@btinternet.com ortel2@soton.ac.uk (Southampton University)Tel: +44 (0) 1590 643475 or +44 (0) 2380595869 (Southampton University).Dr Melanie FletcherEmail: mfletcher@fba.org.uk orinfo@fba.org.ukTel: +44 (0) 1539 442468Fax: +44 (0) 1539 446914AdvertisingTo take advantage of the advertisingopportunities through FBA News pleasecontact Dr Melanie Fletcher.Single issue rate card:Full page = £130 + VATHalf-page or more = £85 + VATQuarter-page or more = £55 + VATLess than quarter-page = £35 + VAT.Options for multiple adverts and multipleissues are also available. Pre-printed insertsare charged at £40.00 per issue, per insert.Special rates are offered to FBA Members.Entries in the Diary section are free of chargeand should be emailed to:mfletcher@fba.org.ukFront cover:With many thanks to Allan Pentecost for thisphotograph of fantastic travertine depositsformed by the superambient Reotier springin the French Alps.If you have a picture that you would like us toconsider for the front cover, why not send it tothe editors ?Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this Newsletter reflect those of the contributors and are not necessarily those of The Freshwater Biological Association.© Freshwater Biological Association 2009 ISSN 1476-2269. Printed by Titus Wilson & Son, Kendal, Cumbria.

From the EditorsAs I write this, we are beginning to seethe first signs of Spring after a chillyWinter. Following the record high levelsof Windermere in the Autumn (covered inthe last issue of FBA News), we have hadfurther extreme weather, as evidenced byWindermere which froze completely acrossat its narrowest point for the first timein many years. An antidote is presentedin Allan Pentecost’s cover story abouthot springs. 2010 is a good year for thepromotion of biological issues to the generalpublic with the British Science AssociationNational Science and Engineering Weekencouraging people to get involved inbiological recording and the Internationalyear of Biodiversity. We have also got someinteresting fish-focused articles from closeto home (the FBA River Laboratory) andfurther afield (Canada). We hope you enjoythe issue and the promise of Spring!Melanie and TerryContents01 From the EditorsDirector’s Column02 In praise of hot water04 International Year of Biodiversity 201006 Recreational fishing and science at the FBA River Laboratory08 LIS Update09 Freshwater biology in New Zealand10 Pike populations in Canada12 Notice of NFBR conferenceBPS Hilda Canter-Lund photography award winner announced14 What on Earth is in your garden?15 Metabolomics facility16 Association News18 Lab coats and lace – Prof. Carmel Humphries19 FBA North East and Yorkshire region meeting report20 Diary of EventsDirector’s ColumnInevitably in an organisation like the FBA,there comes a need every few years to reviewour membership package. This time is nowupon us. At the same time our subscriptionrate needs consideration, as it has remainedunchanged for a while and is very low by thestandards of equivalent societies. Inevitably,therefore, it is going to have to rise soon.Some of our current benefits of membershiphave been overtaken by events; for example,last year’s flood has prompted a re-housingof the Library which means that proceduresfor visiting members will have to changeconsiderably. We are also aware that bykeeping benefits the same for all, those whodo not use a given service are subsidisingthose who do. Members are served better iftheir membership is a means of accessing,at a discount, the products and servicesthat they wish to use, as has been the casewith publications and conferences for manyyears and for training courses since theywere relaunched. We are therefore planningto adopt the same approach for FreshwaterReviews from next year. Those who wish tosubscribe will be able to do so for a smallextra charge, as is the norm for most learnedsocieties nowadays. By separating FreshwaterReviews from general membership benefits,we will be able to keep our rise in subscriptionrates minimal for those who do not wish toaccess the journal. This change will also getus out of the Gift Aid conundrum for UK taxpayers that I referred to in Issue 43, enablingus to increase our membership income at noextra cost to you. No increase in charges isideal, nor is any decision of this nature takenlightly, but I hope you approve of this wayforward. More details will be forthcoming infuture issues of FBA News.Dr Michael DobsonDirector01

In praise of hot water“Green plants grow in the hot springs of Padua” Pliny the ElderAllan Pentecost, an Honorary Research Fellow at the FBA, Windermere, waxes somewhat ‘lyrical’ about natural warm springs.In the cool-temperate climate of the LakeDistrict, the thought of hot water is oftena pleasurable experience. Natural hotwater that is easily accessible is a distantprospect. The invading Romans must havebeen disappointed to discover the paucityof hot springs in their new acquisition. BathSpa is the only natural source of surfacehot water, and to find others would haverequired technology beyond their means.One can imagine interrogations of the nativeinhabitants concerning the whereaboutsof these springs, only to have their hopesdashed on later inspection. Most Europeancountries can boast of some ‘hot’ and‘warm’ springs and in almost every case,they were ‘developed’ in ancient times toprovide bathing or curing establishments.The naturalist, searching for a source inEurope untouched by humanity, is eitherforced into the more remote areas of thecontinent or has to make do with ‘artificial’springs, where the water is piped from itsoriginal source to serve humanity.The ubiquity of natural warm water utilisationwas brought home to me unexpectedly aftera visit to a little known Italian spring in the1980s. Lago della Regina near Rome is aremarkable site where warm water risesfrom the bottom of a deep doline (Figs. 1,2). Upon surfacing, the water deposits largequantities of travertine and sulphur fromthe salts carried in solution. After cooling,it enters a shallow pool where it is possibleto sample the water and deposits. The softFig. 1. The great water-filled doline of Lago dellaRegina near Tivoli, Italy, looking up from thebottom. The diver is horizontal and close to thewater surface. Photo: M.d’Angelis.Fig. 2. Looking across the bottom of Lago dellaRegina showing ‘bubble mats’ of the cyanophyteOscillatoria. The bubbles are probably of carbondioxide mixed with some oxygen resulting fromphotosynthesis and some geologists see parallelswith these growths and ancient fossil stromatolitesthat once dominated the earth’s shallow waters.The water turbidity is caused by sulphur as a resultof hydrogen sulphide oxidation by the overlying air.Photo: M. d’Angelis.yellow crusts cover every surface under thewater and are pockmarked with thousandsof tiny holes made by the larvae of a brinefly Paracoenia beckeri that is believed tobe endemic to these waters (Fig. 3). Upondissecting the sulphur-rich deposit forbacteria, a mat of human hairs was discoveredholding the crust together! Although the sitewas private, owing to dangers of hydrogensulphide poisoning, local villagers often usedthe pool for bathing!The ‘warm’ and ‘hot’ springs of Europeare much less well known than thoseof the United States, New Zealand andIceland. Although they occur on a smallerscale, some are astounding sites coveringseveral hectares of ground with spectaculartravertines and sinters (front cover image).In Waring’s ‘Thermal Springs of the World’,one of the standard works on the topic,over 700 springs are listed for Europe,most of which are in France, Germany andItaly. Waring’s work is a valuable referencebook for those wishing to seek out the moreobscure springs but it refers to all springswhose average temperature is above themean annual air temperature. This defines a‘thermal’ spring, rather than a hot spring, somany other springs are included. Although auseful concept, it means that some thermalsprings are in fact, extremely cold. Forexample, some of the springs of Svalbardhave temperatures significantly above meanair temperature, but average only 4 o C!So what is a hot spring? A few years ago, Igathered together, with the help of colleagues,a list of definitions in the literature and wethen tried to make some sense of them.The problem was that most, like the abovedefinition, had some merits, but we concludedthat ‘hot’ as a sensation, could not logicallybe applied to waters below core human bodytemperature. After some deliberation, wedecided to define hot springs as those whosemean exit temperature exceeds 36.7 o C.While this may appear anthropocentric, theterm ‘hot’ is clear to everyone. Terms forsprings falling below this temperature aremore problematic. It is useful to distinguishsprings whose temperature is above themean air temperature because it usuallyindicates a deep flow path for some of thewater. Often, the path is long and the watermay remain in the ground for many years,often becoming deoxygenated and highin dissolved minerals. To call such springs‘thermal’ would be acceptable for some ofthe warmer examples but is inappropriatefor those occurring in high latitudes oraltitudes such as Svalbard. Instead, theterm ‘superambient’ has been suggested,removing any reference to sensible heat. Thisshould be a more acceptable term for springswhose mean exit temperatures exceed thelocal mean annual air temperature. All hotsprings of course, are also superambient,since mean annual air temperatures on earthnowhere exceed the core body temperature.Upon emerging as a hot spring, the elevatedtemperature and unusual chemistry usuallyselects special groups of organisms, makingthese springs rich in endemic plants andanimals. At temperatures above about50 o C, most eukaryotes are excluded andare replaced by prokaryotes - the bacteria,archaea and cyanophytes. There has beengreat interest in these microbial ‘floras’over the past few decades resulting insome remarkable discoveries, such as‘extremophile’ bacteria capable of growthat temperatures exceeding 100 oC.These microbes have been exploited02

y biotechnologists who use a range ofhigh temperature enzymatic reactions,some of which find everyday use in DNAamplification.In the British Isles, only Bath Spa can beconsidered ‘hot’ with an exit temperatureof 45 o C. Owing to an unfortunate incidentinvolving a pathogenic protozoan someyears ago, a detailed study was made of thebiology and chemistry of these springs byBath City Council (Kellaway, 1991). This studyhowever, did not address the algae, and afew years ago I was fortunate to discoverthere, Britain’s only truly hot spring alga, thecyanophyte Fischerella laminosus, showingthat there are still things to find even in thisapparently well-investigated location.Some further readingKellaway, G. A. (ed.) (1991). Hot Springs ofBath. Bath City Council, Bath, Avon.Waring, G. A. (1965). Thermal Springs ofthe United States and other Countries ofthe World - a Summary. United StatesGeological Survey Professional Paper492, U.S. Government Printing Office,Washington.Thank you Allan, after this cold winter wewill all know where to go. In some 25 years ofworking in artificially heated waters at powerstations I did always appreciate being able tosample during winter in more comfort thansome of my ‘cold-water’ contemporaries.Hot springs seem a good alternative. Myown favourites are the boiling pools ofYellowstone. Terry Langford.Fig. 3. Exposed sulphur-rich crusts in a pool below nearby Lago delle Collonelle showing numerous cavities formed by the larvae of a brine fly. Photo: Allan Pentecost03

The International Year of Biodiversity2010 – was Darwin ahead of our time?(while we have been treading water?)2010 has been declared the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) by the United Nations. IYB-UK is the UK partnership supporting IYB,and is made up of over 200 partners ranging from Universities, media organisations and museums to theatre companies and artists, andincludes the FBA. Dr Robert Bloomfield, the co-ordinator of IYB-UK, emphasises below the importance of conserving biodiversity for thefuture.The International Year of Biodiversity hasbeen mandated by the United Nations GeneralAssembly to coincide with the renegotiationof the Convention of Biological Diversity(CBD) when all 193 signatory countries meetfor the 1Oth meeting of the parties (COP10)in October in Nagoya, Japan. The aim for theyear is to raise awareness of the importanceof biodiversity and the consequence of itsunprecedented rate of loss for both peopleand the natural world. It is hoped that a widepublic engagement celebrating its importancewill influence a positive outcome, resulting inthe creation of more stretching, but realistic,and valuable targets set for the decadeahead. In the UK alone there are alreadymore than 300 partners that have signedthe waiver to use the graphic identity in theirpublic programme activity. But the truth isthe existing targets of the CBD to reversebiodiversity loss have not been met, so whyshould there be any cause for optimism? Assomeone with a keen interest in the historyof science and society I am ambivalent,but there is an emerging awareness andrealignment of perspective which is reachingout wide, beyond the natural history andbiological science community, into the realmsof finance and policy. This is one issue whichmight give more cause for optimism thananytime since the formation of the CBD.I’ll start in what might seem a strange place;with the fact that Charles Darwin’s idea ofnatural selection was influenced directlyby economic theory, in particular with theobservation that the limitation of resourcessuch as food and space would lead to ahuman struggle for survival as articulatedby Thomas Malthus. Malthus’s argumenthas been contested, not least because ofarguments of how human ingenuity andnew agricultural technologies and later thegreen revolution would put hunger aside.However, the combined issues of humanpopulation numbers and per capita resourceconsumption are again emerging as weassess the impact of the human footprint onthe natural world, and our erosion of its vitalresources – the living diversity of the planet.For many, such as my self, it is clear that thehistorical furore over evolution versus creationobscured a much deeper vision that Darwinhad seen. In his concluding paragraphs toOrigin of Species Darwin described theinterconnectedness of life in an entangledbank, referring to a hedgerow close to hishome in the village of Down in Kent. Darwindescribed this inter-relationship as being‘the economy of nature’ and it was thisthat led his German disciple, Ernst Heckle,to defining a new science explaining that‘Ecology is the study of all those complexinterrelations referred to by Darwin as theconditions of the struggle for existence’. I’vestarted here with Darwin, as most biologistsdo, because he had seen more than most.The depth of his vision is evident in his latermonograph on the earthworms. He carefullynoted that ‘…worms have played a moreimportant part in the history of the worldthan most persons would at first suppose…’he was referring to what we would nowdescribe as their ecosystem service role inrecycling decaying vegetable material andproviding soil fertility. In Origin of Speciesthere is an even more intriguing insight whenhe notes that ‘…It has been experimentallyproved that if a plot of ground be sown withone species of grass, and a similar plot besown with several distinct genera of grasses,(in the latter) a greater number of plants anda greater weight of dry herbage can thus beraised…’. Here he perceived the synergiesin ecological space that arise when speciesinteract. It seems almost funny that 150years on we still find articles elevated to thejournal Nature recording that mixed cropslead to reduced nitrate pollution of adjacentwater courses when compared to the runofffrom a monoculture (Qiu, 2009) – as I saidDarwin was a long way ahead of the game.However, what is exciting today is that thingsare moving full circle. Economic theory andour mantra of GDP goes directly to AdamSmith’s Wealth of Nations, but it was Smithhimself who realised that all the pubic goodof Natural Capital; the price of clean air,fresh water, flood and drought reduction,nurseries and seed reserves, pollination,genetic resources for human industry; allof these things derived from nature arenot accounted for in this crude economicmeasure. Smith’s problem has never beenaddressed… until now.To put it crudely, while all the good of astanding forest, for food, fuel, shelter, rawmaterials for a community, as potentialsources of medicinal drugs and so on has04

no currency, its cut timber as a privatecommodity does. But this is changing, firstwith the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment(2006), and now with The Economics ofEcosystems and Biodiversity report (www.teebweb.net), the world is beginning to faceup to the financial cost of not protectingits Natural Capital, and the losses arestaggering, tens of trillions of dollars perannum, every year, and depreciating theasset at a devastating rate.Why is this so important? Well, the answerto this was visible in the climate talks inCopenhagen last year. The role of naturalsystems in being able to sequester in theorder of 17% of the world’s atmosphericcarbon is making politicians, financiers,insurers and sustainable investors prick uptheir ears. For example Reduced Emissionsfrom Deforestation and Degradation(REDD), is a mechanism that could transfercarbon credits to protecting areas of forestfor its carbon sequestering potential. Itsmore sophisticated relative REDD+ takesaccount of the other ecosystem services theforest provides, such as its benefits to localcommunities or pharmaceutical prospectors.So in this new world the global cycles ofcarbon and the new carbon currency, arepart of a changing mindset that offers away forward. Land owners can benefit fromkeeping a forest standing, and potentiallyto invest in it by developing its carbonasset (making it more diverse with higherintrinsic turnover and yield). Looking downthe road similar mechanisms will emergefor protecting peat bogs, salt marshes andother environments where carbon can besequestered. At the same time it is likelythat high carbon releasing industries willget tax penalties through being charged forthe carbon they release; such an examplemight be the production of concrete for thebuilding and construction industry.Now I am not in the prophesy game, so ifthis intrigues you look out for the politicalreactions to the release of the TEEB reports;already Hillary Benn for the UK governmentis publicly arguing that financial institutionshave to, as an imperative, respond to itsconclusions; watch the debate emergingin the lead up to Nagoya and see howthis plays out. These changes as theyemerge will have dramatic consequencesfor financial institutions and for privateindustry, and probably for people interestedin freshwater biology. Financiers will beseeking stable investments and getting aninterest on standing forest for its carbonsequestration and service provision is a realemerging prospect.What are the ecosystem services provided byfreshwater habitats and catchments? Howcan the services they provide be enhancedfor the benefit of their ecological diversityand the human communities that drawupon them? These will be key argumentsin the efforts to protect them from theconsequences of surrounding land-usepractice. Arguments like this are alreadyapparent in the arguments for managedretreat and the use of salt marsh as coastaldefence. How can carbon captured in thesesystems be more permanently sequestered,or with human initiative transferred intointermediate repositories? For examplecan willow or reed production support amodern sustainable industry that alsoprovides services in flood or water qualitymanagement? Such possibilities may makemore economic sense in this economicparadigm, while locking carbon into the builtenvironment of more sustainable homes andbuildings? Would such approaches give newopportunities for biodiversity partnershipswith business? When the world’s scientificacademies met in London in January todiscuss biodiversity what it did highlight wasthat biodiversity solutions had to happenlocally, on the ground, bringing together allthe stakeholders - scientists, communities,landowners, politicians and industries - toshare understanding and to create a newconsensus with biodiversity being part ofthe solution.This year is a time to imagine a difference,and potentially see a new realisation. Whenthe Eco (Greek Oikos = home) in Economicsand Ecology are rejoined, we might at last asa species be coming to terms with Darwin’svision, and not a moment too soon.ReferencesQiu, J. (2009) Nitrogen fertilizer warningfor China Nature dx.doi.org/10.1038/news.2009.105Bob BloomfieldCo-ordinator IYB-UKwww.biodiversityislife.netWith many thanks to Bob for this thoughtprovokingtake on biodiversity. As a partnerin IYB 2010 the FBA will be holding a publicevent at FBA, Windermere on Saturday 1stMay to highlight freshwater biodiversityissues and look at life in local water bodieswith the High-Tech Wild-Trek trailer (seephotos below). If you are in the area, pleasedrop in and enjoy the day.The High-Tech Wild-Trek trailer attracts the crowds at a public event at Windermere last year.Photo: Peter Notley.Dr Richard Osmond highlights some of the life inthe lake with the help of a big screen.Photo: Westmorland Gazette.05

Recreational fishing and scienceat the FBA River LaboratoryDr Mike Ladle, an Honorary Research Fellow at the FBA River Laboratory, East Stoke talks about the root of his passions for fishing andscience.When I was five years old my dad took mefor a walk near a golf club on the outskirtsof Leeds. As we passed a dirty little pondI picked up a stick from the mud. On theend of the stick was a piece of thread witha worm attached and clinging to the wormwas a stickleback, I thought that I’d neverseen anything so wonderful – I was hooked!Twenty years later when I was interviewedfor a job with the FBA at Wareham, DavidLeCren, the then Officer In Charge, asked mewhether I had any hobbies and my answer -‘I’m a fanatical fisherman!’ - obviously rangthe correct bells; I worked (and sometimesfished) there from 1965 until my retirement.Since the River Laboratory was opened inthe early 1960s the FBA has owned severalkilometres of fishing on the south bank ofthe River Frome at East Stoke. Later it acquiredboth banks of the adjacent downstreamsection at West Holme. Much ofthe research on the river over the past 45years would have been extremely difficultwithout this ownership because installationof equipment, sampling and even access tothe banks depended on having control ofthe fishing. There is a long-standing gentleman’sagreement (and mutual exchangeof fishing rights) with David Hogg and hissalmon fishing tenants on the north bank,without which few of the following studieswould have been possible.The main technical installation at East Stokeis the migratory fish counter on the gaugingweir. The long-term records of salmonmigration, hourly, daily and yearly, obtainedfrom this device are probably the best data setof its kind in the UK and have in recent yearsbeen supplemented by counts of downstreammigrating smolts – so it is now possible to‘count them in and count them out’. Since theinception of counting, it has been possibleto make comparisons with catches reportedby anglers fishing on the river. The averageexploitation level is in the order of 11% of therun. Not surprisingly, although catches arerelated to counts, the influence of variablessuch as fishing effort and conditions (waterlevels, turbidity, temperature etc) meanthat the catch is not a good indicator of thenumber of fish running upstream.In recent years the almost universal changesin population structure and the dramaticdecline in runs of Atlantic salmon, have beenreflected in the Frome data. In the eventthat current restoration activities, such ascleaning of spawning gravels and catchand release of adult fish are successful,the counts will provide a measure of this,and hopefully permit evaluation of differentconservation and enhancement techniques.The importance of these studies to thefuture health of salmon stocks can hardly beoverstated.Of course salmon and seatrout are by nomeans the only fish in the Frome. The fishcounter also records the upstream anddownstream movements of other species.Some are difficult to identify from overheadphotographic observations but others suchas the little studied thinlipped mullet, whichenters south coast rivers to feed, have beenregularly observed in large shoals. Thisspecies, which is a herbivore and detritivorefeeding on microscopic algae and othersmall particles, was seen to swim upstreamduring Spring and Autumn blooms of diatomalgae. The movements of the fish could bepredicted from seasonal declines in the silicaFig. 1 Angler Peter Lyne fishing for coarse fish onthe FBA water at West Holme.concentration of the water resulting fromuptake by benthic diatoms. The fish can onlybe caught by means of a highly specialisedangling technique developed on the lowerreaches of the River Frome and other Dorsetrivers.Large populations of dace, roach, grayling,pike and eels are present in the FBA watersas well as many smaller species such asminnow, bullhead, stone loach, sticklebacksand gudgeon. Dr Richard Mann and his teamspent decades evaluating the basic ecologyand production of many of these species.‘Tags’ such as fin clips, numbered jaw tags,Panjetted ‘tattoos’, visible implants (littlenumbered pieces of film inserted under theskin) and elastomer (colour coded plasticinjected into fin membranes), were all usedto identify individual fish – but these hadto be recaptured (often by angling) forexamination.Fig. 2 A female dace caught at East Stoke. TheRiver Frome dace have been studied in depth.More recently, remote detection of fish bysophisticated electronic tagging methodswas developed and introduced at East Stoke.This enabled scientists to track and identifyindividual fish and to establish home ranges,as well as patterns of movement, feeding,breeding and migration activities. Tags havebeen miniaturised for attachment to fishas small as dace, others have had switchesintroduced to enable recording of the feedinglunges of pike. By using Passive IntegratedTransponders (PIT tags) there is now thepossibility of recognising individual fish ofall sizes (including juvenile pike and salmonand trout smolts) even without removing06

Fig. 3 Student Marina Nyquist searching for PIT tagged juvenile pike at East Stoke in 2010.them from the river. PIT tagging helps toestablish their breeding sites of origin andhow they disperse from them. It is only byfully understanding the habitat requirementsof each species at different life stages thatrealistic management decisions can betaken.As hinted already, Frome angling has itspart to play in the scientific study of fishother than salmonids. Knowledge of fishbehaviour patterns gained by time spentfishing and observing fish is of great valuewhen it comes to deploying scientific effort.The anglers have also helped by catchingfish to be tagged and recapturing themwhen tags needed to be replaced. Over theyears angling methods have been modifiedto be more ‘fish friendly’. For example bythe introduction of barbless, jaw-hooking,circle hooks to capture pike, instead oftraditional treble hooks. The handling andsurgical manipulation of the fish themselves,often involving antibiotics, disinfectants,Fig. 4 Mike Ladle with a typical pike from the West Holme fishery. Many of these fish have been taggedand tracked.anaesthetics and dissolving sutures isalso now well tried and very effective asshown by the often prolonged survival andnormal growth patterns of the tagged fish.Conversely, the revelation of large scale,regular, diel (24hour) migration, the almostexclusive use of mill streams as spawningareas and the apparent importance offlooded meadows as refugia during periodsof high water by dace, will be of great interestto the angling fraternity and the conservationbodies alike.The results of the scientific studies are, ofcourse published in scientific journals butattempts are also being made to disseminatethe information to a wider public in the formof books, angling magazines and radioand television programmes. Late in 2009 Ipublished Tactical Pike Fishing with a formerstudent and colleague, Dr Jerome Masters,now of the Environment Agency. A secondbook, dealing with coarse fish researchand angling, has been written with anotherformer colleague Dr Stuart Clough of APEM(Stuart also did his PhD studies at the RiverLaboratory) and is in an advanced state ofpreparation. I recently made the latest of anumber of Living World broadcasts for BBCRadio 4 concerning pike research by the FBAand its relevance to pike fishing.All in all the benefits of scientific researchcarried out on a well controlled fishery haveproved to be substantial. Fishing, after all, isthe norm rather than the exception on riversin the UK. Currently, the investigation ofsalmonids, eels, pike and other fish speciescontinues on the FBA waters alongside apopular mixed fishery which produces a smallbut significant source of revenue to the FBA.Anglers still catch fish for tagging, exchangeinformation with scientists and help togather data for research purposes. At times,because it is selective and non-destructive,rod and line fishing is the only means ofrecapture permitted by the EnvironmentAgency. Also, since the monetary value ofsalmon fisheries is still gauged chiefly by theannual catch, it is clearly in the Association’sinterest for angling to continue and thrive onits waters.Mike LadleFBA River LaboratoryEast Stoke,WarehamDorset,BH20 6BB, UKWith thanks to Mike Ladle for all thephotos.07

Library and InformationServices (LIS) UpdateLibrary Floods Update600 metres of journals need movingThe LIS team worked hard on a rescue planfor the Library journals that were affected bythe floods in November 2009. As reportedin the last issue of FBA News, some 600metres of shelving were exposed to dampconditions when the Annexe was flooded.After some discussions with our Windermeresite management we decided to move all theAnnexe journals into the Pearsall building.Journals drying out in the Conference Room. Photo:Simon Pawley, FBA.Finding new Library spaceWhat first seemed to be an impossible task– finding space for 600 metres of shelvingin an already full building – looks now likean achievable target. Most have now beenmoved to newly erected shelving in corridors,meeting rooms and the main Library room,but there is still some way to go in order tocomplete the task.Loss of journalsA small number of journals were directlyexposed to the floods, mainly periodicalssitting on bottom shelves. In some cases thewater damage was so significant that theparticular journal had to be disposed of. Inother cases the journals went to a specialistcompany that specialises in restoration ofdamaged books and will hopefully return tothe FBA in reasonable condition.Library stays openDespite the move, the LIS team tries toprovide information services as usual forFBA staff and members. Members whowant to do research in the FBA Library canbook an appointment. However, access toThe Pearsall Building has an added scholarlyatmosphere, with journals lining the corridors.Photo: Simon Pawley, FBA.some journals will be restricted in the comingmonths until the move is completed.Daniel Turner - work placementI am currently studying environmental scienceat the University of Leeds and, as part of mydegree, I was given the opportunity to do astudent placement before my final year. Theplacement of nine months started at thebeginning of September and will finish atthe end of May. I already had an interest infreshwater science through both my courseand previous work experience with a localrivers trust (Eden Rivers Trust). I thought thiswould be a perfect opportunity to enhancemy knowledge of freshwater science tocomplement my degree.So far on my placement I have beeninvolved with many aspects of the FBA. Ihave been working on the FreshwaterLifewebsite, adding articles and introductoryguides to various topics, assisting with thehusbandry of the Pearl Mussel Ark Project,and producing electronic identification keys.Since the flood in November, I havebeen heavily involved in the relocation ofthe periodicals, with Matt Freeman ourWindermere Facilities Supervisor and KenClarke our part time grounds man andHonorary Research Fellow. We have beenbusy erecting shelving, transporting booksand reorganising the library to createadditional space.During my remaining time at the FBA,I will be looking at the morphometrics ofa population of pearl mussels under theguidance of Roger Sweeting and LouiseMiles. The data collected will be used for myfinal year dissertation. Additionally, in AprilI will be helping with the FBA Conference inAquatic Biology.Some of the library team (from left: Inge Bristow, Lawrence Dobson, Hannah Dobson, Matt Freeman,Dan Turner and Hardy Schwamm), who have all worked hard, along with other FBA staff, to salvage andrehouse periodicals from the flooded Annexe. Photo: Simon Pawley, FBA.08

So far I have very much enjoyed theexperience, been involved with a varietyof different activities which have all beenapplicable to my degree and the areas inwhich I want to concentrate my education.I am also looking forward to the up andcoming months for more valuable experience(see photo of Dan on previous page).Inge Bristow - work placementAs part of my postgraduate course inInformation and Library Managementat Liverpool John Moores University, Iundertook a three-week work placement,in January, within Library and InformationServices at the FBA, Windermere. I chosethe FBA firstly because I wanted to gainexperience working within a specialistcollection (as I am interested in workingwithin this field in the future) and secondly,because I have an agricultural andenvironmental background and was keen towork in a related field of interest.During my placement I was involved ina variety of tasks such as processing andshelving new journals, and cataloguingand classifying books and reprints. It wasinteresting to see how many exchangeagreements with other organisationsworldwide are in place for current journalsand literature, and this certainly madeopening the daily post very interesting! Ascataloguing is one of my interests, I waslooking forward to putting my recentlyacquired skills into practice. The FBA usesa cataloguing system specifically designedfor its collection so I had to first get togrips with this, and the associated indexingsystem, as well as the computer programmeused. An added challenge was that manyof the reprints I catalogued were in foreignlanguages. Most surprising to me was theextent of the collection of unpublishedmaterial held, and I was struck by just howlabour intensive and time consuming a job itwould be to catalogue it all.The flooding of the annexe buildingslast November and the damage causedto part of the collection stored there wasnot nice to see; however this did illustratethe importance of disaster managementplanning. I also attended a meeting inwhich both the current and future collectionpolicies were discussed, which provided aninsight into the complexities of collectionmanagement.I thoroughly enjoyed my placementat the FBA, being involved in and shown awhole range of activities associated withmaintaining this important collection. Iwould like to thank Hardy Schwamm for allhis invaluable advice, and all the staff at theFBA for making me feel so welcome (seephoto of Inge on previous page).FreshwaterBiology inNew Zealand,2009Having returned to New Zealand a fewmonths ago, I thought that I ought toget a glimpse of what freshwater biologywas going on there. So I booked to attendthe Annual Meeting of the ‘New ZealandFreshwater Sciences Society’ at Whangareiin the north for five days in November.Whangarei is the principal town of Northland,and the District Council has an impressive‘Conference-performance-exhibition-centre’there. Unusually, this year’s conference wasjoint with the ‘N.Z. Hydrological Society’; Idid not gather how much cross-fertlisationof ideas really took place; perhaps less thanthe organisers hoped?A total of 364 people attended the meeting,and the programme and compendium ofabstracts was a heavy 330 pages long. Iguess that slightly more than half was onhydrology and the rest on a wide varietyof aspects of freshwater biology. A crudeclassification showed that the deliveredpapers were on both lakes and rivers withone or two devoted to wetlands or estuaries.Fourteen papers were devoted to freshwaterchemistry, 19 to algae and phytoplankton, 6to zooplankton, 20 to benthic invertebrates,29 to fish (mostly native species) and 7 tomacrophytes. Most New Zealanders live intowns or cities, but, like the tourists, enjoycountry recreations. They like their lakesand rivers to be clean and clear for theirswimming, fishing or jet-skiing. Many ofthem, at long last, are also concerned forthe survival of their native fauna and flora,though some still like to fish for trout orsalmon!Thus much national effort now goes into the‘management’ of fresh waters. This is oftenan attempt to control the productivity andenrichment of lakes and rivers. The effluentsof most of the bigger towns and cities aretreated and then sent out to the nearbyseas, so much enrichment comes fromagricultural fertilisation. There was somediscussion amidst the papers as to whetherit is necessary to control nitrogen as wellas phosphorous, as several Cyanobacteriacan fix nitrogen. Cases were cited wherethe concentrations of toxins secreted byCyanobacteria had reached dangerous levels.There was also evidence of problems aheadfrom competition between irrigation andother water uses including power generation.Dairying is now more prosperous than sheeprearing, so spray irrigation schemes toirrigate the lush pastures that cows needare rapidly being developed. The speciesand community-variety of invertebrates arewidely used as measures of ‘water health’,and various indices and models proposed.I was not convinced of the science behindsome of these and felt that a bit moredetailed taxonomy is still needed.The conference began with a welcome inMaori from two leaders of the local tribe; theMaoris attach spiritual significance to lakes,rivers and other natural features.The papers ranged greatly in content andquality from answers to simple practicalneeds, such as helping little galaxid fishesto migrate up past the hanging downstreamends of culverts under roads, to much moresophisticated science such as the progressof fatty acids up the pelagic food chain (toend up more in copepods rather than incladocera); or the identification of female sexhormones in the introduced perch to aid thecapture and removal of excessive male fish!Several of those taking part were from thelaboratories of ‘NIWA’ – the National Institutefor Water and Atmosphere Research, butmany contributions came from freshwaterresearch groups in the universities, especiallyWaikato (at Hamilton near the middle ofthe North Island), Canterbury and Otago.Indeed, a feature of the meeting was thecontribution of graduate students. I doubtvery much if the UK (with more than tentimes New Zealand’s population) couldnow muster such a large and lively group ofstudents in freshwater biology.I chose to go on the excursion to the KaiIwa Lakes, west of Whangerei. These area fascinating little group of dune lakes.Surprisingly, they are very oligotrophic;apparently because they were surroundedby Kauri forest, all of which was clear felledfor timber in the 19th century. The kauriwas a ‘greedy’ tree that impoverished thesoils where it grew. Great care is now beingtaken to avoid any enrichment. The lakesare known for their macrophytes including alittle plant that is the only angiosperm to liveentirely under water and rely on lake currentsfor pollination!David Le CrenContact C/O FBA09

Pike Populationin Minipi Lake,Labrador, CanadaR. John Gibson and Richard L. Haedrichrjgibson@nf.sympatico.ca; Haedrich@mun.caThis summer we were invited by Jack Cooper(of Coopers’ Minipi Camps, Labrador) to hiscamp at Minipi Lake, in Labrador. The campis at the northern end of the lake, near theoutlet river, about 90 km to the south-westof Happy Valley–Goose Bay, and is reachedby float plane. Jack has four well equippedcamps throughout the watershed, withevery modern convenience. The system isbest known for giant brook trout, Salvelinusfontinalis, which can be caught up to 10 lbs inweight. Large Arctic char, Salvelinus alpinus,also provide angling, averaging 7 lbs but alsoup to ten pounds. Angling is permitted by flyonly, and most fish are returned to the water.The system therefore retains its unique giantbrook trout stocks. Jack’s motto for hiscamps is, ‘The Way It Was Is How It Is’, anunusual and very welcome situation in thesemodern times.A 7-lb Minipi brook trout (caught by Barry Davies). Photo: R.J. Gibson.A nice pike, held by the guide, Ed. An orange Floytag can be seen just under the dorsal fin.Photo: R.J. Gibson.Minipi Lake is a large lake, 35 miles (56 km)in length and relatively shallow. Dr. DavidLarson (Memorial University, Newfoundland)found that the insect fauna is a rich one, andthat large bodied insects are very abundant.Some systems produce large fish relatedto the abundance or size of food, suchas the trophy trout of Star Lake in centralNewfoundland feeding mainly on dwarfArctic char (both the trophy trout and thedwarf char now unfortunately are virtuallyextinct after the lake was turned into afluctuating hydroelectric reservoir in 1997,see Gibson et al., 2008), but the exceptionalsize of Minipi trout is probably due to thepresence of pike (Esox lucius). ‘Small’ trout,up to about 30 cm in length, are found inthe rivers, but only migrate to the lake afterexceeding this size, and becoming quite ‘slabsided’, to avoid predation by the pike. Thisstrategy is sometimes called a ‘size refuge’.The pike are very numerous, and large,reaching 20 lbs in weight.10

One of the locals contemplating Minipi Lake. Photo : R.L. Haedrich.Our trip took place between July 1st and July8th, 2009, and our main purpose was toget an estimate of the pike abundance. Wecaught pike by angling, on a fly rod, castingand trolling poppers and streamers. Thisactually is enormous fun, as they are a verystrong and active fish. Each pike was taggedwith a Floy tag, embedded in the bonesbelow the dorsal fin with a special ‘gun’, andreleased. We fished in a bay near the riveroutlet, and estimated population size bythe multiple catch and release method. Thebay we fished was about 12.4 ha in area, 1to 2 m in depth, with patches of underwatervegetation, and actually we could see pikefrom the boat.Over the seven days we fished we caught95 pike, and estimated a population size of106 (95% C.L. 70 – 200) in our small studyarea, which was about 8.6 fish/ha (C.L. 5.7– 16.2). All the pike we caught were large,most about 4 to 5 lbs, but the largest was14 lbs in weight, and the second largest 10½ lbs. The first two days were ‘scorchers’,after which the air temperature droppedremarkably. The water temperature overthe week dropped from 24 °C to 12 °C, andprobably affected the success rate. On July2nd – 4th our catch rate for the two anglerswas 6.2 fish/hr, dropping to 2.4 /hr on July7th. The optimum temperature for lineargrowth in the natural environment for pikeis 19.8 + 0.6 °C (Casselman 1978), whichwould affect activity.Pike spawn over flooded vegetation inshallow, sheltered areas in Spring, shortlyafter ice-out (Casselman and Lewis 1996).Pike stocks can be limited by lack of suitablespawning areas, and in some places havedeclined due to loss of marshy areas, butsuitable sites are not limiting in Lake Minipi.Optimal juvenile and adult habitat requiresvegetative cover that ranges from 35 –80%, the amount inversely correlated withpike body size (Casselman and Lewis 1996).Conditions appear favourable in Minipi for allage groups.In two highly productive rivers in southernEngland densities of pike older than 0+ranged from 32/ha to 80/ha (Mann, 1980).The population densities were consideredhigh related to other English waters. Pierceand Tomcko (2003; 2005) found in a numberof Minnesota lakes that the densities of pikegreater than 350 mm total length rangedfrom 3.2 to 59.0 fish/ha. Densities of pikeover 600 mm averaged only 1.6 fish/ha.They remark that because old fish aresusceptible to overfishing, managementaimed at producing large fish must severelyrestrict the harvest of large fish. The pike ofMinipi are virtually unexploited, contributingto the high densities of large fish.Forage fish include suckers (Catostomuscatostomus, Catostomus commersoni),lake chub (Couesius plumbeus), and burbot(Lota lota) in addition to trout when theopportunity presents itself. Small pike, andsometimes large pike, eat invertebrates. Pikeare exceedingly voracious, are cannibalistic,and will also take small mammals andsmall waterfowl (perhaps that is why loonsat first carry their young on their backs?).One of the Minipi guides, Kelly Groves, toldus that he had seen a pike thrashing at thesurface, probably suffocating, with a 2 lbsucker stuck in its gullet, and another similarincident where a 3 lb Arctic char was stuckin the pike’s gullet. The strike of pike on alure as they come up from the depths is veryexciting. Pike fishing at Minipi can be a lotof fun!Wildlife of course was around, such asmoose, otter, loon, etc, and we saw bears acouple of times (see photo). As a postscript,a month after our trip, four bears broke intoMinipi Lodge and trashed it. After that theyleft through the plate glass windows, leavingJack and his staff to clean up the mess andput the Lodge back in order. That’s mucheasier said than done, and just goes toshow that operating a wilderness camp canhave pitfalls and problems that few smallbusinesses have to deal with.ReferencesCasselman, J.M. and C.A. Lewis (1996)Habitat requirements of northern pike (Esoxlucius). Canadian Journal of Fisheries andAquatic Sciences 53 (Suppl. 1): 161-174.Gibson, R.J., R.L. Haedrich, J.C. Kennedy,K. Vodden, and C.M. Wernerheim (2008)Promoting, blocking and diverting theflow of knowledge: four case studies fromNewfoundland and Labrador. Chapter 9, pp.155-177, in: J.S. Lutz and B. Neis (eds), Makingand Moving Knowledge: Interdisciplinary andCommunity-based Research for a World onthe Edge. McGill-Queen’s University Press,Montreal.Mann, R.H.K. (1980) The numbers andproduction of pike (Esox lucius) in twoDorset rivers. Journal of Animal Ecology 49:899-915.Pierce, R.B. and C.M. Tomcko (2003)Interrelationships among production,density, growth and mortality of northernpike in seven north-central Minnesota lakes.Transactions of the American FisheriesSociety 132: 143-153.Pierce, R.B. and C.M. Tomcko (2005)Density and biomass of native northernpike populations in relation to basin-scalecharacteristics of north-central Minnesotalakes. Transactions of the American FisheriesSociety 134: 231-241.11

National Federation for BiologicalRecordingassisted by the Freshwater Biological AssociationProgramme: Day 113.30 Arrival and registration.14.00 Welcome and introduction toprogramme for the Conference.14.15 Seminar: Focus on freshwatersampling and data quality.Facilitator: Adrian Norris (RecorderConchological Society of Great Britain).Introductory talk: Sampling and recordingfreshwater invertebrates: an overview.Dr Francois Edwards, Lead River Ecologist,CEH Wallingford.16.00 Round-up and report session.16.30 Tea and posters etc.Programme: Day 210.00 Arrival and registration forlatecomers.10.20 Welcome and introduction to theprogramme for the day.10.25 Ephemeroptera (mayfly) recordingand the use of mayfly data. Craig Macadam,Ephemeroptera Recording Scheme11.00 Following fish forever: the long-termmonitoring of lake fish populations. IanAnnualConferenceand AGM 2010The Belsfield Hotel, Kendal Road,WindermereLA23 3EL 0870 6096109(SD.4030596728)www.corushotels.com/belsfieldBiologicalrecordinginfreshwatersNFBR Contacts and bookings to:Administration: John Newbould, 01305837384 john_newbould@btinternet.com.3 Brookmead Close. Sutton Poyntz,Weymouth .Dorset DT3 6RSProgramme: Trevor James, 01462742648 trevorjjames@btinternet.comWinfield, CEH Lancaster.11.35 Dragonflies in Focus - chartingchanges in Odonata distribution andabundance. Steve Prentice, BritishDragonfly Society12.10 The Cumbria Tarns Project. AnnePowell, FBA12.50 Lunch, posters etc.13.30 NFBR AGM14.00 What do we have, what do we needand what do we do with it? - freshwaterspecies data and the Environment Agency.Alice Hiley, Environment Agency14.40 Public dissemination of biodiversitydata, with special reference to freshwaterspecies in Cumbria. Steve Hewitt, TullieHouse Museum, Carlisle15.20 Boats, beetles and biologicalrecording: the Belle Isle survey AlanPentecost, Simon Pawley and MelanieFletcher, FBA16.00 Discussion and round-up.Saturday Field visit and visit to FBAlaboratories.The BritishPhycological SocietyHilda Canter-LundPhotography Award2009This award wasestablished by theBritish PhycologicalSociety (BPS) inrecognition of HildaCanter-Lund, whosestunning photographswill be known to many.Her photomicrographsof freshwater algae combined high technicaland aesthetic qualities whilst still capturingthe quintessence of the organisms she wasstudying.The winner of the 2009 Hilda Canter-Lundprize for the best photograph of an alga wasawarded to Mariano Sironi of the Institutode Conservación de Ballenas for his stunningphotograph of a southern right whale motherwith her calf swimming through a green tide(tentatively composed of Lepidodinium sp.)off the coast of Peninsula Valdes in Argentina.The judges commented that this picture hada ‘simple yet elegant composition, whichillustrates how microscopic organisms mayhave an impact that belies their size.’ Pleasesee opposite page for the winning photo andthe photographer.The full shortlist can be seen at www.brphycsoc.org/Hilda_Canter-Lund_Prize.lasso. In total, 25 entries were received, from15 different countries. Submitted imagesvaried from macroscopic images (such asthe winning entry) to scanning electronmicrographs. The judges were looking fora number of qualities in the winning entry:it had to be of high technical and aestheticquality whilst, at the same time, illustratingan aspect of algal biology. Mariano’sphotograph is an example of what HenriCartier-Bresson referred to as the “decisivemoment”: he was in the right place atthe right time, had his camera ready andcaptured a stunning image. Looking aheadto the 2010 competition, the lesson for us allis to be ready: brush the dust off our lenses,check our memory card has space and ourbatteries are fully charged and be receptiveto the wonderful views that we are privilegedto see when we peer down our microscopesor go out into the field.Martyn KellyC/O British Phycological Society12

What on Earth isin your garden?If you’ve ever found something unusualcrawling around in your garden or discovereda strange looking plant in the hedgerowwhilst walking the dog, then What on Earth(www.whatonearth.org.uk) is a great placeto log your find - and an easy way to join inthe nation’s largest celebration of science…British biodiversity is under threat and thisyear’s National Science and EngineeringWeek (NSEW) issues a ‘call-to-action’ togo out into local parks and gardens with akeen, watchful eye and a camera. What onEarth is one of the highlights of NSEW 2010,which takes place with the theme of ‘Earth’across the UK during 12–21 March. The tendayprogramme of events and activities isthis year in support of the International Yearof Biodiversity, a United Nations initiativeto raise the profile of the loss of globalbiodiversity and to celebrate its varioussuccess stories (see page 4).It may not always be obvious that the UKcontains a whole host of weird and wonderfulflora and fauna in many different habitats.Organised in conjunction with nature sharingwebsite iSpot, the project aims to increaseawareness of the wide range of biodiversityacross local areas and to highlight itsimportance, relevance and beauty.With a little bit of enthusiasm our nativeBritish species, which are not normallynoticed or recognised, can easily be foundand named – but to many their exact identityremains shrouded in mystery. The What onEarth website will give the opportunity forfinds to be identified by a team of scientificexperts. By simply uploading a snap ofsomething spotted in the garden, local park,school grounds or hedgerow to the site,NSEW’s specialists from all fields of naturalscience will examine and identify as manyof the finds as they can during the Weekand beyond. A limited supply of free seedsare available to all who participate to helpencourage biodiversity in their own gardensor window boxes.The aim is for people to rediscover theirlocal environment and for the team behindthe project to collect a gallery of as manyidentified species as possible over the courseof the Week – painting a fascinating pictureof UK wildlife for all to observe. Bringingspecialists and the public together duringNSEW, What on Earth will be a buzzing hubof activity for all things taxonomic.The Green Roof CompetitionTo encourage learning outside the classroomin schools, NSEW is offering a fantastic prizeof a 200 square metre green roof to a schoolin the area of the UK which has collectivelyuploaded the most images by the end of theweek*.Green roofs are an excellent way to increasethe range of biodiversity in urban spaces,and are often a haven for wildlife in built-upareas. Created in conjunction with leadingurban ecologist and wildlife TV presenterDusty Gedge and sponsors Sika Sarnafil,the NSEW green roof will not only benefitlocal children who will use it as an outdoorclassroom, it will help attract and preservelocal wildlife too.Creating more green spaces is particularlyimportant at a time when the habitats ofsome of our oldest and most loved species,such as the brown-banded carder bee andtoadflax brocade moth, are in worryingdecline.Promoting conservation as a past-timeWildlife recording and preservation hasbeen a popular part of British culture forcenturies, and in testament to raising theprofile of British biodiversity a number oforganisations have joined forces in supportof the What on Earth project.The RSPCA, Zoological Society of London,Freshwater Biological Association, Wetlandsand Wildfowl Trust and the InternationalUnion for the Conservation of Nature,(who help set the infamous Red List ofendangered species) are just a few of theorganisations who have pledged theirsupport, helping NSEW to raise the profileof wildlife conservation as a popular andimportant past-time through the What onEarth project.Intending to target all ages, the free activityand information pack which is available to allthose who take part, encourages children andadults alike to think more about biodiversityand the implications of its decline. Topicssuch as food webs, foreign and invasivespecies, changing environment, destroyinghabitats and hunting are covered throughhands-on activities that educate and inspireyoung (and old!) minds.With International Year of Biodiversity in fullflow, now is a great time to get down to thebottom of your garden to see what you canfind. Whether you are an inquisitive youngmind or a fully fledged wildlife expert, thecommunity-led What on Earth project aimsto bring together everyone during NSEW torediscover and name everything our greenand pleasant land has to offer.The What on Earth project is funded bythe Department for Business, Innovationand Skills and co-ordinated by the BritishScience Association for National Science andEngineering Week.* Total number of images uploaded will be averagedout over the number of people living there to makeit fair.Dan Richardswww.whatonearth.org.ukThe FBA are participating in NationalScience and Engineering week with aseries of presentations in local schools andcommunity groups in March.14

A new metabolomics facility for environmental researchDr Ulf Sommer, Facility Manager, NERC Metabolomics Facility, University of Birmingham, u.sommer@bham.ac.ukOne of the current challenges forenvironmental scientists is to find robustmeasures to describe the influence ofexternal pressures, for example climatechange, on plants and animals in the wild.Traditional approaches, such as countingindividuals in their natural habitat, areoften inadequate as they are insensitiveto detecting sublethal stresses that candegrade the health and fitness of organisms.Furthermore, measures such as ‘alive’ and‘dead’ cannot provide any insight into theunderlying causes of the stress.Metabolomics describes the study ofthe entire composition of small moleculebiochemicals (or metabolites) in a given cell,tissue, biofluid, or whole organism. Changesin the concentrations of these thousands ofmetabolites like glucose, cholesterol, urea, orATP can be induced in response to a changingenvironment, for example by changes inwater or air temperature, acidity, foodsupply, or by the influence of environmentalpollutants. Traditionally, only certain subsetsof the metabolome, like sugars or aminoacids, or even single metabolites could beinvestigated in a targeted approach. Today itis possible to analyze a large proportion ofthe metabolome at once, in an untargetedapproach, using sensitive, high-resolutiontechniques such as nuclear magneticresonance (NMR) spectroscopy and FT-ICRmass spectrometry (MS), shown opposite.The Natural Environment ResearchCouncil (NERC) has recently funded a newmetabolomics facility at the University ofBirmingham to facilitate just this approach.The facility represents one of five nodeswithin the NERC Biomolecular AnalysisFacility (NBAF; www.nbaf.nerc.ac.uk). Weare using the University’s world-class NMRand MS instrumentation as well as advancedcomputational approaches in order to obtainthe high-quality datasets needed to identifythe often subtle changes in the metabolomethat are indicative of environmental stress.This ‘discovery driven’ research can be usedto generate novel hypothesis about thebiochemical stress response mechanisms,which can be tested in subsequent targetedexperiments.Environmental scientists from acrossthe UK who are conducting researchwithin the NERC scientific remit (www.nerc.ac.uk/funding/application/topics.asp) and who meet principal investigatorstatus (www.nerc.ac.uk/funding/available/researchgrants/eligibility.asp) are eligibleto apply to NERC to gain access to thisstate-of-the-art metabolomics facility.Applications to conduct small-scale pilotprojects are strongly encouraged. For moreinformation, including how to apply, pleasevisit our website at www.biosciences.bham.ac.uk/nbaf-birmingham, or contact theFacility Director, Dr Mark Viant (m.viant@bham.ac.uk), or Facility Manager, Dr UlfSommer (u.sommer@bham.ac.uk). NERCMetabolomics Facility, School of Biosciences,University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B152TT, United Kingdom, Phone: +44-(0)121-414-8699.If any of our readers have a facility opento other researchers, why not let us knowabout it? Editors60% off SPEC 8: Assessing theBiological Quality of Fresh Waters -RIVPACS and Other TechniquesThe FBA is currently offering a 60%discount on its Special Publication 8,Assessing the Biological Quality of FreshWaters - RIVPACS and Other Techniques.Originally retailing at £40, SPEC 8 isavailable on www.amazon.co.uk whereyou can search for RIVPACS and purchasecopies at the reduced rate of £16. Thisoffer is open to individuals and institutionsso please tell anyone you think may beinterested.15

ASSOCIATION NEWSMembership matters, leavers and joiners, project and site news. Remember you can visit www.freshwaterlife.orgfor the latest news and developments from the world of fresh water.Since the last edition of FBA News wehave fourteen new Individual Membersand thirteen new Student Members.The FBA would like to extend a verywarm welcome to all our new members.Individual MembersMs S L Clarke (England), Dr K S Frake(Scotland), Dr C A Morrissey (England),Miss G K Murray (Scotland), Dr R Wilson(England), Dr W C E P Verbeck (England),Miss D C Wright (England), Dr A Holt(England), Dr S Jaehnig (Germany), Dr SYildiz (Turkey), Dr F J Kroon (Australia), Dr TJ C Page (England), Mr B Castro (Portugal),Dr S J Lambert (England).Student MembersMr S R Hughes (England), Mr C D Barry(Northern Ireland), Miss S A Miller(England), Mr P J Blaen (England), Mr OTills (England), Mr P J Ainsley (England),Ms N Atchison-Balmond (England), Mr AK Keruzore (England), Ms V J Robinson(England), Miss K J Glen (Scotland), Ms T JJurca (Ireland), Mr D J Trotman (England),Mrs S Sawyer (England).Members no longer with usIt is with great regret that we have beeninformed of the deaths of the followingmembers and supporters of the FBA:Dr J C Hartley (England), Dr H I S Thirlaway(England), an honoary member of theAssociation who joined in 1951, Mr WilliamElls (England) who specialised in desmids(please visit www.desmids.com to leavemessages and memories), and also JoanDuke (Robinson), who was the FBA librarianfrom 1949 to 1955. We hope to include fullertributes to those listed here in future issuesof FBA News.Subscriptions 2010If you have not yet paid your subscriptionthis year, you should be receiving a remindershortly. Please pay promptly to ensure youcontinue to receive membership benefits, asmailouts will be withdrawn from Membersstill in arrears after this reminder.FBA to publish new SIL journalWe are pleased to announce that the FBA hasbeen selected by SIL as the publisher for theirnew journal - Inland Waters: Journal of theInternational Society of Limnology, edited byJack Jones. The new, peer-reviewed journalwill be produced in partnership with the FBAand will replace the SIL proceedings. Thejournal will be available primarily online, withan option for printed copies. The intention isto remain as faithful as possible to the nichethat SIL occupies, with encouragement of aworldwide set of authors and short (exceptfor papers arising from named and plenarytalks at Congresses), rapidly publishedpapers. The journal will be launched andopen for submissions at the SIL Congressin Cape Town, South Africa, in August 2010.We look forward to working with SIL on thisexciting new venture, which complementsour own house-journal Freshwater Reviews.Freshwater Reviews joins BioOneIn a new venture the FBA journal FreshwaterReviews is now available through BioOne,a not-for-profit, collaborative venturewhich provides access to journal articles forindividuals (on a pay-per-view basis) andinstitutions (as part of journal bundles).The FBA joins over 120 other independentpublishers who make their publicationsavailable online via BioOne. Online accessto Freshwater Reviews is still available toFBA members and subscribers via theFBA journal system (www.fba.org.uk/journals) but access via BioOne increasesour readership to almost 400 institutionsworldwide. BioOne also facilitates accessto developing countries via philanthropicprogrammes such as HINARI, AGORA,OARE, and eIFL, meaning users in thesecountries can access Freshwater Reviews forfree or at significantly discounted rates.Being part of BioOne does more thanjust increase the readership of FreshwaterReviews, it also increases awareness of otherFBA activities within similar and associatedfields as well as increasing income for theFBA.For more information on how youcan gain access to Freshwater Reviewseither through the FBA journal system (formembers and institutions) or via BioOne(for BioOne subscribers), please see theassociated pages at https://www.fba.org.uk/journals/index.php/FRJ/index and http://www.bioone.org/loi/frer.FBA Annual Scientific Meeting 2010We would like to correct an unfortunatetypesetting error in the last edition of FBANews (No. 48 Winter 2009/2010) whereit was stated that the AGM would be heldon Wednesday 19th July at the FBA RiverLaboratory, East Stoke , Dorset. This is notthe case. This year the FBA is not havingan Annual Scientific Meeting of its own butinstead will be celebrating the contributionmade by regional freshwater groups in theUK. As part of this, our AGM will be heldduring the autumn meeting of the FBA NorthEast Freshwater Group at the Universityof Leeds on 22nd September 2010. Lookout for more details of this, and the otherregional group meetings, in the next issue.Work experience at the FBAMy name is Josie Robb. I am sixteenand studying for my GCSEs at Clyst ValeCommunity College in Devon. I came to theFBA to discover what it would be like tofollow a career path into Freshwater Biology.I have always been amazed by the naturalenvironment and wildlife, so I have beeninterested in biology for a long time. I findresearch in this area fascinating because ofthe amount we still have to learn from theworld around us. On previous visits to theLake District I had seen the FBA buildingsJosie conquers the summit of Helvellyn during hertime in the Lakes. Photo: Graeme Robb.and the site has appealed to me as abeautiful place to work. Because of this Iapproached the FBA and was overjoyed16

when I was offered the opportunity of twoweeks experience.I expected the workplace to be formal andserious, but I found the working atmosphereto be very friendly and relaxed. The staffwere all very welcoming and were enjoyablecompany. They were also very informativeand helpful with any problems I had. Theygave me the fantastic opportunity of usingequipment unavailable to me at school, suchas the electron microscope. By allowing meto be involved in all aspects of working lifeat the FBA the staff gave me a wonderfulchance to learn about my career of choice.I enjoyed learning about the pearlmussels that are being kept on the siteat the moment, as well as learning abouttheir life cycle and anatomy. I also enjoyedlearning about microscopy and identifyingfreshwater invertebrates, and using thisnew-found knowledge in the lab to help testthe new identification key currently beingproduced by the FBA. I was given the chanceto develop my artistic skills by creatingbiological drawings of stonefly and caddisfly larvae. This gave me new confidence inthose skills.I was very interested to observethe continuously changing climate andtemperature of the lake through themeasurements the staff have taken overthe years, and I also learnt about the effectsthese changes have on the wildlife in thelake.Before attending the FBA I was moreinterested in Marine Biology; however I amnow certain that I want to carry on withFreshwater Biology instead in the future. Thestaff were incredibly helpful with their adviceon how I should go about following thiscareer path, with suggestions of universitiesand colleges that had good courses in thesubject.When I left the FBA after my two weeksthere I found that I had greater confidenceand belief in myself. This will help megreatly in the future, and I am very gratefulto the staff at the FBA for giving me thisopportunity.Environment Agency (EA) RiverFrome Rehabilitation Plan Exhibitionhosted by the FBA, East Stoke, DorsetWednesday 27 JanuaryThis event was open to all and designedto give information on the forthcomingrehabilitation project. The EA wantedinput to ensure local views and concernswere taken on board. Members of the EAand the project’s Technical Group were onhand to answer questions from attendees.Questionnaires were available, which weredesigned to capture views on the river.Posters included the River Frome’s currentDisplays and photos give information on theforthcoming project. Photo: Alasdair Maxwell, EA.condition, associated wildlife and examplesof current projects.Over one hundred people attendedincluding local farmers, landowners and thegeneral public.A further exhibition will be held in Mayto report on the survey and obtain feedbackon specific rehabilitation measures.EA staff chat to interested attendees. Photo:Alasdair Maxwell, EA.ClarificationIn the Opinion section of the last editionof FBA News (No. 48 Winter 2009/2010),it was stated in the editorial comment thatJoan Cramphorn is a teacher. Joan has askedus to clarify that whilst she has been trainedin field studies and reprographics, she hasnot had formal teacher training. Apologiesto Joan for this error.Papers from the inaugural ‘FBAConference in Aquatic Biology’Now freely available online in aspecial issue of Freshwater BiologyThe fundamental importance of freshwaters, the rapid extinction rate offreshwater species and the real sensitivityof freshwater ecosystems to global changetogether bring an urgent need for renewedscientific focus, resources and evidence tosupport their management. Against thisbackground, the FBA in 2008 launcheda new series of ‘summit’ Conferences inAquatic Biology intended to develop andshowcase the application of ecologicalscience to major issues in freshwaterecosystems. The inaugural meeting, partsponsoredby the Environment Agencyand the journal Freshwater Biology, washeld in the Association’s Pearsall Buildingat Windermere. In a novel collaborationbetween Freshwater Biology and itspublishers (Wiley-Blackwell) and the FBA,papers from this conference are now freelyavailable online in a new e-Special Issue ofFreshwater Biology (at www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/123243237/issue or viathe FBA website at www.fba.org.uk/index/events/summit.html).This is an important initiative by the FBAand Freshwater Biology, and an excellentSpecial Issue, so do access this importantpublication.Multiple stressors in freshwater ecosystems.Guest edited by Steve OrmerodAlthough freshwater science andmanagement are replete with multiplestressorproblems, relatively few studieshave been designed explicitly to untangletheir effects. In this special issue, someof the world’s best-known freshwaterresearchers:• reveal the wide array of fresh waterssubject to multiple stressors• illustrate the spatial and temporal scalesover which effects arise• provide key examples of the species andecosystem processes affected• highlight the complex interactionsinvolved, including between ecology andsocioeconomics• offer approaches to unravel multiplestressoreffects.The contributions reveal the challenge ofrestoring systems once affected and illustratealso the extent to which new multiplestressorproblems continue to emerge, forexample with respect to invasive species andclimate. Perhaps most important of all, thereare suggestions of a developing vision ofhow fresh waters might be managed, in thewake of multiple stressors, in a sustainablefuture.Papers in the issue also hint atimportant general issues, for example thatfresh waters appear to be among thoseecosystems at particular risk of multiplestressoreffects; that dramatic ‘ecologicalsurprises’ sometimes emerge as multiplestressoreffects develop; and that goodecology should be at the heart of managingmultiple-stressor effects.17

Carmel, her sister Annie and Cromwell,stories of a pioneering Irish womanfreshwater ecologistProf. Carmel Humphries from the FBA archivesUnder the patronage of the President ofIreland, Mary McAleese, Women in Scienceand Technology (WITS; www.witsireland.com/index-1.htm) was established in 1990to actively promote women in technologyand science in Ireland. Amongst its manyactivities is the production of a series ofbiographies of historic Irish women scientists.The second volume, Lab Coats and Lace(edited by Mary Mulvihill) was published in2009. It includes a chapter on Prof. CarmelHumphries (1909-1986) described as aninspiring zoologist and the first womanprofessor of zoology at University CollegeDublin (UCD) who devised techniques foridentifying chironomid larvae. The bookbriefly mentions that Carmel Humphriesspent some time at the Freshwater BiologicalAssociation at Wray Castle supported by apostgraduate fellowship from the NationalUniversity of Ireland. This was a formativeexperience for her which she rememberedfondly and it prompted us to search the FBAarchives for references to Prof. Humphries.T.T. Macan remembered Carmel and hersister Annie, the Misses Humphries, verywell when they were members of an Easterclass at the FBA. In particular Annie was agreat talker with any lags in conversationspunctuated by tales from Irish history. Onememorable story involved a lady surroundedin a castle, who managed to keep Cromwell’sIronsides at a distance by pouring boilingporridge on their heads until she was rescuedby her Lord.This tall tale was the inspiration forsome subsequent high jinks which meritreporting from the recollections of T.T. Macan– “Arthur [Ramsay] led us all on a climbingexpedition one afternoon and anotherentertainment was a re-enaction of thestory of the Irish castle, modified somewhatby the substitution of cold water for boilingporridge. The defenders were led by ArthurRamsay, the assault by John Pringle,two gentlemen of notable ability, as wasrecognized in later years by their election tothe Royal Society…..They also devoted a lotof time to hauling buckets of water to variousstrategic points on the roof. The rules werethat the attackers must leave the castle andremain inactive for half an hour before tryingto enter and reach the foot of the stairs.The thirty minutes having elapsed, we slunkround the castle seeking a window that wehad doctored and keeping a watchful eye onthe roof above….Eventually John found thatthe window to one of the W.Cs in the cornerturret had not been secured, he climbed inand hastily bolted the door. Our entry wassoon detected and the defenders feverishlymobilized every available bucket in the hall.There were ready for us when we made ourdash for the stairs and and we were soakedto the skin…..I do not think that anyone toldAnnie about the liberties we had taken withIrish history.”There are also implications that CarmelHumphries was somehow involved witha reported infestation of ghosts in WrayCastle. Reports began shortly after PhillipMoon, Kay Allen and Carmel Humphriesmoved in to live in the castle in 1933. Itseems spaces between the floors and abovethe upper rooms allowed the installation ofloudspeakers and connecting wires. For aperiod of time it was a popular practical joketo create ghostly noises to scare those whohad just gone to bed.Macan comments that “Annie marriedbut Carmel, after research projects at WrayCastle and in Plön, went on to becomeprofessor at University College Dublin, whereshe worked hard and successfully to promotefreshwater biology.”The 1933 report for the FreshwaterBiological Association of the British Empiredescribes ecological surveys of Windermereand surrounding streams. It was poignantto find a description of Carmel Humphriesstarting her lifelong investigations ofchironomids. “The fauna of the deeper partsof the lake shores is being studied by MissC.M. Humphries (University College Dublin).This fauna is luxuriant in the zone justbelow the rooted vegetation. But both innumber and species it decreases rapidly withincreasing depth and is very sparse below20 metres. The population of the lowerzones is mainly composed of various typesof midge larvae (Chironomidae) and of thesmall molluscs (Pisidia). Miss Humphriesis attempting to hatch out the Chironomidlarvae with a view to determining the speciesof fly which emerge from them, these beingmostly unascertained.”All these accounts are completely credibleand in character with Carmel Humphries whois still remembered at UCD and beyond. Herlectures at UCD were legendary, attractinglarge crowds and they were delivered withvisible enjoyment, sometimes verging onpantomime. Most importantly CarmelHumphries played a major role in thedevelopment of limnology in Ireland. You canread more about Prof. Humphries and thelives and legacies of a series of inspiring Irishwomen scientists in ‘Lab Coats and Lace’(WITS 2009). The book can be ordereddirectly from WITS (www.witsireland.com/LabCoatsLaceProject.html) or by sendinga cheque for Ð22.50 (Ð20 +Ð2.50 pp) toWITS, PO Box 3783, Dublin 4, including yourreturn address.With thanks to Hardy Schwamm at theFBA for finding the references. Photo of Prof.Carmel Humphries (below) kindly providedby Prof. Tom Bolger, School of Biology andEnvironmental Science, University CollegeDublin.Catherine DuiganContact C/O FBA18

Crunch time for monitoring? Freshwatermonitoring and the economic downturnFBA North East and Yorkshire region meeting, December 16th 2009The Winter meeting of the North Eastand Yorkshire Region group took place atthe Environment Agency (EA) building inNewcastle, on the subject of FreshwaterMonitoring. The meeting centred on adilemma of the current economic downturn,with fewer resources despite the need toincrease the level of monitoring to meetevolving legislative and policy objectives.The morning’s talks began with a shortintroduction from Frank de la Planta, head ofmonitoring for NE EA, in which he remindedeveryone of the challenging few years aheadfor biological monitoring with a backdropof budget constraints (£8M lost from EAmonitoring budget already) and a needfor innovative approaches to ensure thatappropriate data continue to be collected.Martyn Kelly (Bowburn Consultancy) warnedthat the need to improve the ‘efficiency’ ofmonitoring should not come at the cost ofdata quality and the professionalism of thestaff collecting these data; he stated the needto avoid ‘McMonitoring’ where a productionline approach to monitoring is adopted.On the subject of innovative approachesto monitoring, Les Ruse (EA) presented asummary of his work so far using discardedchironomid pupal skins to derive EcologicalQuality Ratios; this represents a robustand cost-effective method for obtainingecological data from lakes. Sarah Clarke(ECUS Ltd) then outlined a recent studylooking at the sources of variability withinand between river macrophyte surveys usingthe LEAFPACS and JNCC methodologies.The main sources of variability were surveyeffort, definition of bank and channel areaand the practicalities of applying thesemethodologies on different river types. Theneed to collect relevant and representativedata was again covered by Brian Whitton(Durham University). Certain species ofthe diatom genus Didymosphenia areparticularly well adapted to effectively usethe organic fraction of phosphate. However,the standard monitoring of the inorganic Pfraction would not indicate the potential forthese algae to thrive suggesting the need tomonitor for both the inorganic and organicP fractions.After lunch was served on the smallest platesever made (necessitating several returnsto the food table!), Jonah Tosney (DurhamUniversity, working alongside YorkshireWater) summarised his work assessing thepotential impacts of reintroducing spateflows on brown trout. The work so farindicates that these artificial spate flowshave no discernible negative impact on theecology and movements of trout. Therethen followed a short introduction to a newnetworking site for wildlife enthusiasts byKeith Bowey (Open University). iSpot (www.ispot.org.uk/) allows users to post picturesof wildlife they have spotted which can thenbe identified by other ‘experts’ who buildup reputation ‘points’ for their communityinvolvement. This encourages those withan interest in wildlife but perhaps with noformal training to develop their knowledgealongside experts and other enthusiasts. Asimilar regional project for the North East,the EYE Project was discussed by NaomiHewitt. This project has two aspects: thefirst is similar to iSpot and allows users torecord local wildlife sightings on an easy touse website (eyeproject.org.uk/). The secondaspect of the project is the North EastEnvironmental Data Hub which digitiseswildlife and habitat information from arange of ‘grey’ sources and compiles theminto one complete natural history databasefor the North East. Ceri Gibson (TyneRivers Trust) gave an excellent example ofengaging citizen science recorders to collectinformation on aquatic ecology. The Riverflyproject has trained over 50 volunteers tocollect macroinvertebrate data using asimplified BMWP system; these data havebeen responsible for identifying a number ofpollution incidents, three of which have beenformally dealt with by the EA. Without thesevolunteers, it is possible that these incidentswould have gone unnoticed.Robbie Stevenson (EA) presented a briefoverview of his work using angler catches toassess coarse fish populations particularlyin fast, relatively shallow rivers such as theTyne where electrofishing is both impracticaland ineffective. Of particular note were twoangling competitions organised by the EAon the Tyne and Wear where sub-samplesof angler catches were scaled up to estimatetotal populations. These studies noted anabsence of young, small fish in some partsof these rivers indicating poor recruitment.The chair of the afternoon session, MalcolmNewson (Tyne Rivers Trust) then led a shortdiscussion session covering all issues raisedduring the meeting. The main focus of thisdiscussion was on the need to increase publicunderstanding, involvement and access tofreshwater monitoring whilst maintainingits vital basis in sound science and the needto maintain a locally knowledgeable andconsistent expert link through the process ofsampling, analysis and reporting.Stephen HughesUniversity of LeedsJanuary 2010Guide to FreshwaterInvertebratesIn the last edition of FBA News we mentionedthe forthcoming publication of a Guide toFreshwater Invertebrates. We will announcethe publication date soon, so keep a lookoutfor that. We would like to acknowledgea generous grant from the Esmée FairbairnFoundation which is helping with thepreparation and publication of this book.19

DIARY of eventsVisit www.freshwaterlife.org for a more comprehensive list of events.Scottish Freshwater Group Meeting8 April 2010University of Stirling, UKThe theme of the meeting will be lochrestoration.www.ceh.ac.uk/sci_programmes/Water/ScottishFreshwaterGroup.htmlFBA Sponsored EventSecond FBA Conference in AquaticBiologyAchieving ecological outcomes: aquaticecological responses to catchmentmanagement12 – 15 April 2010FBA Windermere, Cumbria, UKThe conference will tackle one of the mostdifficult questions in catchment sciencetoday: why is it so difficult to achievegood ecological outcomes from integratedcatchment management programmes?The speakers have been chosen tohighlight new research approaches tounderstanding the complexities of linkedlandscapes and waterscapes and to focusdiscussion around how to move forwardon this issue. The conference will be ofinterest not only to scientists working inthis field, but also those responsible forpractical management. There will also be anallocation of subsidised places for students.Emphasis will be placed on interaction anddiscussion, with a mix of lectures fromworld-renowned invited speakers andworkshops.www.fba.org.ukinfo@fba.org.ukRiver Restoration Centre Conference201014 - 15 April 2010University of York, UKThe conference will aim to broaden the riverrestoration network and provide a forumfor river restoration workers to share theirexperiences.www.therrc.co.ukrrc@therrc.co.ukIntegrated river basin managementunder the Water Framework Directive26 - 28 April 2010Le Nouveau Siècle, Lille, FranceThe conference will review technicalchallenges faced by Member States,stakeholder organisations and scientists,while developing the first River BasinManagement Plan under the WaterFramework Directive (WFD). It will focuson aspects of integration, looking at theway cross-sectoral and multidisciplinary cooperationhas developed, and how emergingissues such as adaptation to climatechanges will be considered in the future.This event aims to be a forum of exchangesbetween policy-makers, stakeholders, andscientists on issues that are closely relatedto the implementation of EU water policies.Discussions will hence not be limitedto the WFD, but will open up to relatedpolicies concerning, for example, prioritysubstances, groundwater, floods, climatechange adaptation, etc.www.wfdlille2010.org/maggi@WFDLille2010.orgWater and Environment 2010 -CIWEM’s Annual Conference28 - 29 April 2010Olympia Conference Centre, London, UKThe aim of the conference is to challengeand inspire the water and environmentalcommunity by sharing knowledge and bestpractice, which is at the heart of meetingkey global challenges.www.ciwem.org/events/20th Science and Technology forEnvironmental Protection23 - 27 May 2010Seville, SpainThe SETAC Europe Annual Meeting isEurope’s biggest meeting on environmentaltoxicology and chemistry with more than1500 presentations in parallel platformsessions and poster sessions, participantsand scientific speakers from academia,business and government and a blend ofscientists and practioners, researchers andregulators all in attendance.www.seville.setac.eu/home/?contentid=181&pr_id=180setaceu@setac.orgConference on water observationand information system for decisionsupport25 - 29 May 2010Ohrid, Republic of MacedoniaThe purpose of the conference is to providea solutions-based forum and to exchangeinformation regarding research activitiesand plans for studying the relationshipbetween climate and environment forimproving the quantity and quality of water,and engineering, and current policies fromstate and federal agencies.www.balwois.com/2010/secretariat@balwois.com4th Conference of the European PondConservation Network: Eyes of theLandscape – value of ponds in the 21stcentury1 - 4 June 2010Erkner, BerlinMillions of ponds are an exceptionalfreshwater resource around the world thatrepresents 30 percent of the global surfacearea of standing water. They have a highpotential for ecosystem functions andservices. There is an urgent need to protect,consolidate and increase the pond resourcein Europe. In 2010, the year of biodiversity,the objective is to intensify exchangeof experiences of pond experts fromboth, basic sciences and applied work onconservation and management to addressthe issue of the Pond Manifesto (2008).www.4epcn2010.de/4epcn2010@zalf.deAquatic Sciences: Global Changes fromthe Center to the Edge. Joint meetingwith ASLO & NABS6 - 11 June 2010Santa Fe, New Mexico, USAThe theme of the meeting, AquaticSciences: Global Changes from the Centerto the Edge, will pull all of our aquaticsciences together and build strong synergyand collaboration between societies andscientists.aslo.org/santafe2010/business@aslo.orgDrawdown Zones: Conservation andManagement16 June 2010Charles Darwin House, London, UKIn association with the BES AquaticEcology Group. Drawdown zones arefound in ponds, lakes and reservoirs withfluctuating water levels. They are also acharacteristic feature of distinctive sitessuch as turloughs, the Breckland Meresand winterbourne streams. It is anticipatedthat the hydrological changes caused by20

climate change will present both threatsand opportunities to their conservationand management in coming years. Thisnational meeting seeks to provide a forumfor researchers and practitioners interestedin the ecology of this poorly understoodhabitat type, providing the first opportunityin the UK to bring together knowledge froma range of relevant disciplines.www.drawdownzone.eudrawdownzone@virgin.netTHE CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OF RIVERS:20 YEARS ONSEB Annual Main Meeting 201030 June - 3 July 2010Prague, Czech Republicwww.sebiology.org/meetingsk.steel@sebiology.orgFisheries Society of the British IslesAnnual International Symposium: Fishand Climate Change23 - 30 July 2010Queen’s University, Belfast, UKThe meeting aims to maximise theinteractions between fish biologists ofall disciplines and backgrounds who areinterested in climate change.www.fsbi.org.uk/201031st Congress of the InternationalSociety of Limnology15 - 20 August 2010Cape Town, South AfricaThis congress marks the first time SIL hasbeen to Africa and will highlight the world’swater problems and the essential role of thescientific approach in their solution.www.sil2010.ufs.ac.za/confetal@iafrica.com17th International Conference onAquatic Invasive SpeciesSan Diego, California, USAThe introduction and spread of aquaticinvasive species in freshwater and marineenvironments is a worldwide problemthat is increasing in frequency. There arevarious pathways by which nonindigenousinvertebrate, fish, and plant species areintroduced, becoming established andcausing significant damage to coastaland freshwater ecosystems, and to theeconomies that depend upon them.www.icais.org/index.htmlElizabeth@theprofessionaledge.comFish Sampling with Active Methods8 - 11 September 2010Ceske Budejovice, Czech RepublicTo be held by the Biology Centre of theAcademy of Sciences of the Czech Republic,Institute of Hydrobiology. Special attentionwill be paid to the technical development,development of sampling strategies, passedAn international conference at the University of York, U.K.6-9 September 2010OverviewIn September 1990 the Nature Conservancy Council organised an international conference on‘The Conservation and Management of Rivers’. The conference was truly international,attracting 337 delegates from 29 countries.By September 2010 twenty years will have elapsed since the York conference. A huge amounthas changed in the world since then – economically, politically, culturally, scientifically. Thisconference will look back over this period and assess the changes in river conservation – howthe environment has changed, how the legislation and policies that drive conservation havechanged, how organisations have changed, how techniques for practising river conservationhave changed, and how public attitudes have changed. What predictions did we make in 1990?Which have been proved accurate and which have not? Where have we succeeded and wherehave we failed?The 2010 conference provides an opportunity both to share experience as we look back overthe last 20 years, and to use the lessons of the past to look 20 years into the future.Aims The conference, sponsored by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Environment Agency,Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Northern Ireland Environment Agency and Scottish NaturalHeritage, will bring together all those with an interest in achieving greater integration of conservation withinthe management of river systems. It will provide a forum for scientists, policy makers, water resourcemanagers, engineers and nature conservationists to:•discuss the theory and practice of river conservation•describe progress in different parts of the world•define appropriate strategies for the futureThe emphasis of the conference will be on habitat and wildlife conservation but will be set within the widercontext of water management. The meeting will have a broad, international perspective, and will reflect therange of priorities within and between countries in the developed and developing world.ToregisteryourinterestandreceivefurtherinformationemailRiversConference2010@jncc.gov.ukand remaining limitations, selectivity,efficiency and standardization of activesampling gear.www.fsam2010.wz.czfsam2010@hbu.cas.czDINFISH 2010Dynamics of Inland Fish and Fisheries:Toward a Synthesis of Objectives,Models and Data Analyses forSustainable Management13 - 16 September 2010Ceske Budejovice, Czech RepublicDINFISH2010 will provide an opportunityfor scientists, students and stakeholdersto come together, discuss recentdevelopments in the studies of freshwaterfish population dynamics and exchangeideas on the future of inland fisheries. Thesymposium will cover a range of topicsincluding data analyses, models of fishpopulations, assessment of the currentstate of inland fisheries and models ofoptimal exploitation strategies.www.dinfish2010.wz.czdinfish2010@entu.cas.czIWA World Water Congress andExhibition19 - 24 September 2010Montreal, CanadaThe International Water Association WorldWater Congress and Exhibition will bringtogether water professionals to advancetheir common goal of sustainable watermanagement. The scientific and technicalprogramme will cover water treatment,wastewater treatment, design andoperation of water systems, managing andplanning water services, health and theenvironment and the political importance ofwater rights.www.iwa2010montreal.org/21

Publication due March 2010 (New, larger format!)Mayfly Larvae (Ephemeroptera) of Britain and Ireland: Keys and a Review of their Ecology by J.M. ELLIOTT & U.H.HUMPESCH, FBA Scientific Publication No. 66, ISBN 978-0-900386-78-7, 152 pages.This new edition on the larvae of mayflies replaces an earlier oneby the same authors, published by the FBA in 1988 (ScientificPublication No. 49). Since then another three species have beenrecorded from Britain, bringing the total to 51 species recordedfrom Britain and Ireland, although one of these (Heptagenialongicauda) does not occur in Ireland and may no longer occurin Britain. Similarly, Arthroplea congener has not been recordedsince an adult was found in 1920. Several changes to familiarnames are included in this latest edition, particularly in thefamily Heptageniidae; thus Heptagenia lateralis is now placedin a new genus, Electrogena, and is joined by E. affinis, a newthough possibly rare species for Britain. Another notablechange is that of Ephemerella ignita, now placed in the genusSerratella. Two new species are recorded in the genusCaenis (C. pseudorivulorum and C. beskidensis). All theseand other recent advances in classification and taxonomyhave been incorporated into a new key to 10 families ofthe Ephemeroptera, compared with only 8 families inthe earlier edition. The key to families is followed by aseries of new or updated keys to identify 51 species in20 genera. These are illustrated by numerous linedrawingsthat show the important key charactersused for identification, supplemented (as in the 1988edition) by a dozen sketches of common mayflylarvae drawn by Professor Mizzaro-Wimmer and(a new addition) a further 12 colour photographsof live larvae. These greatly enhance the textand will help beginners and others to familiarisethemselves with the general appearance anddiversity of mayflies.Apart from the keys for identification, awealth of basic information on their ecologyis summarised in 40 pages of tables andtext, plus text-figures showing the lifehistoriesof most species. A final section of text coversthe importance and use of mayflies for applied purposes, especiallyin relation to pollution and ecological assessment of aquatic environments. Thetwo authors, Professor Malcolm Elliott (Freshwater Biological Association) and ProfessorUwe Humpesch (University of Vienna), have an unrivalled practical knowledge of the mayfly faunaof northwestern Europe, gained from many years of study, and the results of their own studies are incorporatedinto the text. Both are fully acquainted with the extensive scientific literature, published in several languages, and this isdistilled into a readable form, citing more than 500 references. The authors previously also collaborated on A Key to the Adults of theBritish Ephemeroptera, published in 1983 (FBA Scientific Publication No. 47).Even for those who are already familiar with mayfly larvae, this latest edition is an essential requirement for accurate and up-todateidentification, including the latest nomenclature for this important and popular group of freshwater insects.Price £27.00 plus postage (see FBA website for postage ratesand further information on how to order).FBA members are entitled to a 25% discount on the book price.