Conservation Monitoring in Freshwater Habitats

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

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2. Setting the scene

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Conservation Monitoring in Freshwater Habitats: An Introduction

      • Clive Hurford

      Pages 3-13

   3. Options for Planning Management

      • Terry A. Rowell

      Pages 15-21

   4. The Water Framework Directive and the Habitats and Birds Directives

      • Chris Uttley

      Pages 23-29

3. Biological Indicators for Freshwater Habitats

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 32-32

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   2. Freshwater Mammals as Indicators of Habitat Condition

      • Michael Schneider

      Pages 33-44

   3. Waterbirds as Bioindicators of Environmental Conditions

      • Juan A. Amat, Andy J. Green

      Pages 45-52

   4. Monitoring Fish Populations in River SACs

      • Ian G. Cowx, Jonathan P. Harvey, Richard A. Noble, Andrew D. Nunn

      Pages 53-62

   5. Assessment of Aquatic Invertebrates

      • Richard Chadd

      Pages 63-72

   6. Riverine Plants as Biological Indicators

      • Richard Lansdown, Sam Bosanquet

      Pages 73-83

   7. Phytoplankton (Toxic Algae) as Biological Indicators

      • Héctor Rodríguez-Pérez, Victoria López-Rodas, Eduardo Costas

      Pages 85-90

   8. Monitoring Biological Invasions in Freshwater Habitats

      • Montserrat Vilà, Emili García-Berthou

      Pages 91-100

4. Rivers: Threats and Monitoring Issues

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 102-102

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   2. Threats to River Habitats and Associated Plants and Animals

      • Nigel Holmes

      Pages 103-113

   3. The Development and Application of Mean Trophic Rank (MTR)

      • Nigel Holmes

      Pages 115-124

   4. Monitoring the Ranunculion Habitat on the River Itchen: Practical Application and Constraints

      • Richard Lansdown, Tim Pankhurst

      Pages 125-136

   5. Observer Variation in River Macrophyte Surveys

      • Clive Hurford

      Pages 137-146

   6. The Implications of Observer Variation for Existing Macrophyte Recording Methods

      • Clive Hurford, Richard Lansdown

      Pages 147-158

   7. Unitisation of Protected Rivers

      • Chris Dyson

      Pages 159-166

As in the terrestrial environment, most data collection from freshwater habitats to date falls into the survey, surveillance or research categories. The critical difference between these exercises and a monitoring project is that a monitoring project will clearly identify when we need to make a management response. A Model for Conservation Management and Monitoring Monitoring (as defined by Hellawell) is essentially a tool of practical conservation management, and Fig. 1.1 shows a simple, but effective, model for nature conser- tion management and monitoring. The need for clear decision-making is implicit in this model. First we must decide what would represent a favourable state for the key habitat or species, and then we must decide when to intervene if the state is (or becomes) unfavourable. A third, often overlooked, but equally important, decision concerns when we would consider the habitat or species to have recovered; this is unlikely to be the same point that we became concerned about it. This decision not only has resource imp- cations, it can also have major implications for other habitats and species (prey species are an obvious example). All of these decisions are essential to the devel- ment of an efficient and effective monitoring project.

• Condition indicators
• Conservation management
• Monitoring
• Naturalness
• Surveillance
• Vegetation
• algae
• biodiversity
• ecosystem
• environment
• phytoplankton
• plankton
• wetland
• ecotoxicology

• Orielton Field Centre, Countryside Council for Wales, Pembroke, United Kingdom

  Clive Hurford

• Administrative Board, Västerbotten County, Umeå, Sweden

  Michael Schneider

• International Fisheries Institute, University of Hull, Hull, United Kingdom

  Ian Cowx

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