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Effects on Ecosystems
Published in Julie Kerr, Introduction to Energy and Climate, 2017
Climate change is also affecting the planet’s freshwater ecosystems, such as rivers, lakes, and wetlands. Observable changes include the following: An increase in the surface water temperature of lakes and streams, most notably those located in the high altitudes and latitudesAn increase in the temperature of the hypolimnion layer of large deep lakesA reduction in lake ice coverChanges in mountain streams due to the melting of glaciers and permafrost, adding pollutants and solutes to surface waters
Factors determining the distribution of animals and plants in freshwaters
Published in Nick F. Gray, Water Science and Technology: An Introduction, 2017
Freshwater ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to climate change because water temperature is climate dependant, although other fluxes linked to precipitation volume and intensity, evaporation, snow and ice melt are also important. Overall, the ecological impact of climate change depends on the hydrological response of the local hydrological cycle at the catchment level, with the size of the catchment very important with smaller catchments most vulnerable to changes. The key effects can be summarized as follows: Increased water temperature.Reduction in summer flow rates.Rivers fed by groundwaters and upland peatlands possibly drying up in summer.Increased spates and flooding in winter.
Introduction
Published in Alistair Rieu-Clarke, Andrew Allan, Sarah Hendry, Routledge Handbook of Water Law and Policy, 2017
Andrew Allan, Sarah Hendry, Alistair Rieu-Clarke
One of the most pressing needs is to reconcile cross-sectoral interests in a way that protects aquatic ecosystems, as these underpin the sustainability of all other uses of water. Adopted in 2005, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment recognised that humans have changed ecosystems more rapidly and extensively than in any comparable period. This, in turn, ‘has resulted in substantial and largely irreversible loss in the diversity of life on Earth’ (MEA 2005). Anthropogenic changes have also led to a loss in the services that such ecosystems provide to populations across the world. Freshwater ecosystem services are central to human well-being, thus providing provisioning services (drinking water), regulating services (climate and food regulation), supporting services (soil formation and nutrient cycling) and cultural services (spirituality, aesthetics, education and recreation) (Mayers et al.2009). Mayers et al. argue that governance is key to managing water ecosystem services, and also, ‘the core challenge… in sustaining ecosystem services and the needs of the poor in all regions’ (2009, emphasis added).
The effects of changes in diversity on phytoplankton community metabolism
Published in Inland Waters, 2022
The mechanisms responsible for changes in algal diversity are mostly unknown (Reynolds 2006). Traditionally, external nutrient loads (total N and total P) and changes to lake morphometry (lake level) are considered “driving forces” of the shifts in the phytoplankton community (Hakanson et al. 2000, WFD 2000, Adrian et al. 2009). Over recent decades, climate change has been considered a progressively increasing factor affecting functioning of freshwater ecosystems, especially the phytoplankton community (Adrian et al. 2009, Kraemer et al. 2017). Statistical data analysis on the dynamics of selected indicators and potential perturbations is the main tool applied to study the effect of perturbations on aquatic ecosystems. Furthermore, indicators of major shifts in ecosystems are well documented, but studies on the ecological consequences of the observed ecological shifts are less abundant.
An unsustainable level of take: on-farm storages and floodplain water harvesting in the northern Murray–Darling Basin, Australia
Published in Australasian Journal of Water Resources, 2022
Patrick Brown, Matthew J. Colloff, Maryanne Slattery, William Johnson, Fiorenzo Guarino
Contestation over water use and availability has intensified globally as demand has increased, driven by population growth, irrigated agricultural production and the negative effects of climate change (Grafton et al. 2013). For trans-boundary river basins (including those traversing State borders within federal nations) such as the Colorado, Mekong, Ganges–Brahmaputra, Indus and Murray–Darling, a major source of contestation is created by so-called ‘upstream–downstream effects’, whereby negative impacts on livelihoods, communities and the environment occur because of altered flow regimes due to upstream water resource development and use. Declines in the ecological condition and integrity of wetlands and rivers threatens the important ecosystem services that freshwater ecosystems provide to people, including vital hydrological services of water supply, purification and water security (Vörösmarty et al. 2010). For example, reduced flows in the lower Indus River and its delta due to upstream irrigation and hydropower dams have caused saline incursions, damage to crops and pastures and decline in condition and extent of mangrove ecosystems, restricting the supply of ecosystem services that support livelihoods of over two million people (Archer et al. 2010; Memon and Thapa 2011).
Are there differences in the fouling of the native and invasive Unionidae by Dreissena polymorpha?
Published in Inland Waters, 2019
Maria Urbańska, Wojciech Andrzejewski, Henryk Gierszal, Janusz Golski
The zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) is one of the best-known invasive species, and its introduction has resulted in ecological disturbance in numerous freshwater ecosystems. Established populations of zebra mussels directly and indirectly affect ecosystems. Commonly observed changes include major shifts in ecology, biogeochemistry, economy, and biodiversity (Strayer et al. 1999, Karatayev et al. 2007). One particularly notable effect is the extinction of native mussels in the order Unionoida in some localities (Ricciardi et al. 1995, 1996, Strayer and Malcom 2007). The zebra mussel represents a new stress to populations of native mussels because other mussels serve as a substrate for settlement by Dreissena. It is a biofouling organism that smothers the shells of other molluscs and competes with other suspension feeders for food (Ricciardi et al. 1998, Jokela and Ricciardi 2008). Zebra mussels encrust the posterior end of the host’s shell, hindering locomotion and burrowing (Mackie 1991, Strayer and Smith 1996, Sousa et al. 2011).