George Monbiot, a journalist for the British publication, The Guardian, recently explored the River Culm in Devon, England. I had wanted to catch some Roach, and catch them I did, using a tip I'd picked up from an old… The BMWP scores of the River Culm were significantly lower than those of the Rivers Coly (P < 0.05) and Otter (P < 0.01). Previous studies have found ammonia concentration to be inversely related to the BMWP score45 as high ammonia concentrations adversely affect water ecology.46, 47 This may explain the low BMWP scores in samples with a high ammonia concentration. Here is a picture I took of it: I’m told by an expert in river ecology that when sewage fungus becomes filamentous like this, it means that the pollution is both severe and chronic. Precipitation rates during May, June and July 2007 were significantly higher than previous years. This comes on top of the €55bn that farmers receive every year through the common agricultural policy. The Environment Agency told me it is “taking this incident seriously” as a result of its visit and will decide what action to take according to what its investigations reveal. Nothing we do has greater potential for reducing our impacts on the living planet. The Mann–Whitney U-test was used to compare observed and expected ASPT results, and a non-parametric correlation was used to compare the QBR data with BMWP data. 01409 221823. Our project on Culm grassland is contributing to Triple C and sharing knowledge with other project partners in the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands. For each indicator, a maximum of 25 points can be awarded, based on a set of criteria. The surrounding land is part of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme; implementation of this scheme may have improved the management of the surrounding land to conserve the riparian habitat. Less than 5% of the month's precipitation fell before the Rivers Otter and Ken were sampled, and the majority of monthly precipitation occurred during the period in which the Rivers Coly and Culm were sampled. “Well, the river … The observed ASPT results from this study were lower than the expected ASPT for the River Culm, although not significantly different (Fig. The weather had been dry for several days before my visit. An increase in precipitation and these factors may have increased the debris, silt and soil entering the river, decreasing the water quality and making it less suitable for intolerant species, therefore reducing the ASPT.4, 15. However, the samples with high phosphate concentrations were also those with high BMWP scores.44 The phosphate levels in the River Otter did not appear to affect the biological quality; this may be due to limited additional pollution; if the nitrate and ammonia concentrations had been higher, effects may have been more noticeable. The bigger you are, the more you get, which is how the whole European subsidy system works. Upstream implementation of water retention and erosion control measures will reduce flooding and associated issues further downstream. Due to the elusive nature of the Otter and the fact they do stray beyond their normal territories, it is not possible to state categorically that Otters are not present because no evidence of their presence has been found. The wider channels meant that there were both shallow riffles and deeper pools, providing habitat for all types of macroinvertebrates and a mixture of water temperatures, features not present in the Rivers Culm or Ken. Based upon the observed and expected ASPT results, the River Otter can be deemed of high ecological quality. This is one of two indoor dairy units on the farm: Here’s the first of the farm’s slurry lagoons, into which manure from the cattle flows: Below the second lagoon, I found a trench containing a broken pipe. The River Otter was surveyed south of Ottery St Mary. The BMWP scores of the four rivers were significantly different (P < 0.05) (Fig. The four indicators were assessed at each river section sampled and the scores from the four indicators were totalled to give an overall QBR score for the section (providing 10 QBR scores for each river). It requires no detailed taxonomic knowledge but a basic knowledge of native species and the ability to answer questions in the survey.29. Some macroinvertebrate species are sensitive to temperature, so may have left the area;31 however, the effects of precipitation would have been similar in each of the rivers due to their proximity. Indeed Oksanen34 suggests that provided sampling regimes are clearly explained and that the data collected are interpreted with regard to the limitations of that design then ‘pseudo-replication may be a pseudo-issue’. Coal refuse (also described as coal waste, coal tailings, waste material, culm, boney or gob) is the left over material from coal mining, usually left as tailings piles or spoil tips. Much of the monitoring of Otter populations has been undertaken via the assessment of sprainting activity along rivers, including these national surveys, either to provide evidence or suggestion of Otter abundance, or indicating the absence of Otter activity.12, 14, 18 However, research by Conroy and French24 shows that sprainting varies seasonally and thus may not give an accurate assessment of population distribution.25. This rapid entry of water may have decreased river water temperature. In this case however, the European commission gave them €500m (£370m) to go away and not restructure their industry. Look at the treatment of Kerry McCarthy, Labour’s new shadow environment secretary, who has the temerity to be vegan in a public place. Planting of trees may increase suitability for Otters, although it will take time for the trees to be appropriate for use as holts. The least tolerant species were more abundant in the rivers with Otter populations; therefore, the hypothesis can be accepted. The low QBR scores of the River Culm suggest an exposed river and the low BMWP scores suggest poor water quality. Coefficients of variance (COVs) in QBR scores along each individual river were also calculated (Table 3). Are scat surveys a reliable method for assessing distribution and population status of pine martens? We will be learning our about how Culm Grassland holds water through new Ph.D research with Exeter University, starting in 2017. This is likely to be due to the silty substrate and the stationary water, indicative of low dissolved oxygen content; when sampling was carried out in riffles, more sensitive species were found. My thanks are due, too, to my family and friends for their encouragement throughout the sampling and writing of this study. Meshaw wildflowers. Minimum, maximum and mean QBR results and standard deviation from the mean, with COV. Runoff can increase the suspended silt content making the river less suitable for sensitive macroinvertebrates requiring clean water, which may explain why the lowest BMWP scores for each of the rivers were all directly downstream from busy roads. I followed this rivulet down to the pipe I had found, discharging into the river. Yet no request is more likely to elicit a baffled, hurt or furious response. The relative influence of riparian habitat structure and fish availability on otter, Seasonal marking habitat and organochlorine contamination in otters (, The potential of local benthic macroinvertebrates as a biological monitoring tool for river water quality assessment, Distribution and abundance patters in macroinvertebrates in a mountain stream: an analysis along multiple environmental gradients, Shade effects on stream perphyton and invertebrates: an experiment in streamside channels, The input of terrestrial invertebrates from tree canopies to a stream, Cold water patches in warm streams: physiochemical characteristics and the influence of shading, Response of freshwater invertebrates to addition of terrestrial plant litter, Identification of the key biological indicators of nutrient enrichment in rivers for use in predictive/diagnostic models, The effect of nutrient enrichment on a freshwater community dominated by Macrophytes and Molluscs and its relevance to Snail control, Macroinvertebrates as bioindicators of water pollution in streams draining dairy farming catchments, The impact of de-icing on a river: the case of the Ouseburn, Newcastle upon Tyne, Effects of land use on water quality and aquatic biota of three North Carolina piedmont streams, Reviewing the impact of metals and PAHs on macroinvertebrates in urban watercourses, Effects of heavy metals on a macroinvertebrate assemblage from a rocky mountain stream in experimental microcosm, The role of phosphorus in the eutrophication of receiving waters: a review, The performance of a new biological water quality score system based on Macroinvertebrates over a wide range of unpolluted running water sites. The biological water quality was sampled by active 3 min kick samples, as standardized by the River Invertebrate Prediction and Classification System (RIVPACS).30 These samples were taken at sections one, three, five, seven and nine of each river, providing five freshwater invertebrate samples for each river. Samples are taken at sampling points around England and can be from coastal or estuarine waters, rivers, lakes, ponds, canals or groundwaters. Additionally, the introduction of nutrients such as phosphates and nitrates can cause eutrophication as plant matter growth increases.38, 44 If the dissolved oxygen content falls too low, the river can become anoxic, suffocating aerobic organisms. So I changed my plans, and went to look for the cause of the pollution. For millennia we counted our wealth in cattle (otherwise known as chattels, or stock). The results of this research suggest that rivers with no evidence of Otter populations are generally of worse riparian quality than those supporting Otter populations. In principle, wildlife habitats within a river catchment can hold back water and help to prevent flooding downstream.

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