Can top-down effects of cypriniform fish be used to mitigate eutrophication effects in medium-sized European rivers?

Gerke, Madlen; Hübner, Dirk; Schneider, J.; Winkelmann, Carola

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142547

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…From an ecological point of view, a shift must be made from considering individual organisms and species to a consideration of population‐level effects, communities, and habitats, ideally focusing more on incorporating ecological functions into conservation decision making (Decker et al, 2017). For instance, a recent study by Gerke et al (2021) demonstrated that top‐down effects of nase ( Chondrostoma nasus ) and chub ( Squalius cephalus ) can mitigate the adverse effects of eutrophication and increase oxygen availability to the hyporheic zone, which are problems that typically arise in the headwater areas of dams. As populations of both species can be severely affected by hydropower dams, the consequences for other species, such as macroinvertebrates that depend on oxygenated stream beds, need to be better emphasized and considered in decision making.…”

Section: Challenges and Possible Solutions In Hydropower‐related Conservation Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Editorial: Green or red: Challenges for fish and freshwater biodiversity conservation related to hydropower

Geist

2021

Aquatic Conservation

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The global sustainable development goals of the United Nations (United Nations, 2015) and the associated necessary transformations, such as energy decarbonization (Sachs et al., 2019), have resulted in increased hydropower development around the world (Zarfl et al., 2015). Advocates of hydropower point to the important contributions of this form of energy to the reduction of CO 2 emissions, its low cost, and its use as a stable source of energy, justifying it as a 'green' energy that makes an important contribution to electricity supply compared with other forms of regenerative energy. For the year 2018, the International Energy Agency (IEA) lists a global energy supply from hydropower of 4,325,111 GWh, compared with 1,273,409 GWh for wind energy and 554,382 GWh for solar/photovoltaic energy (IEA, 2020). In contrast to wind or solar power, hydropower production is available at any time of day and is less dependent on current weather conditions.According to the Collins Dictionary (www.collinsdictionary.com, accessed 14 February 2021), 'green energy' is defined as 'power that comes from sources that do not harm the environment …'. The debate about how 'green' the green energies really are is controversial (Gibson, Wilman & Laurance, 2017). Opponents of hydropower production often refer to it as a 'red' energy because of the mortalities and injuries that fish face when passing turbines Mueller et al., 2020b), as well as other ecological harm to free-flowing rivers associated with habitat fragmentation and alteration.

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Section: Challenges and Possible Solutions In Hydropower‐related Conservation Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Editorial: Green or red: Challenges for fish and freshwater biodiversity conservation related to hydropower

Geist

2021

Aquatic Conservation

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“…Bioturbation by salmon can mitigate fine sedimentation of streambeds, which suggests an active role for salmon in restoring fish habitat in streams (Gottesfeld et al, 2008;Holtgrieve and Schindler, 2011;Buxton, 2018). In European rivers, it was projected that the enhancement of fish stocks would reduce biological congestion and boost oxygen availability in aquatic organisms via top-down managing periphyton through benthic grazing and increased bioturbation (Gerke et al, 2021).…”

Section: Regulating and Supporting Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fisheries as ecosystem services: A case study of the Cauvery river basin, India

Pownkumar

Ananthan

Ekka

et al. 2022

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Habitat alterations and fragmentation caused by anthropogenic modifications of the riverine landscape have affected fish biodiversity by reducing the number of fish species. Fish are a major element of the aquatic environment, and they play an important role in maintaining ecosystem resilience. However, an incomplete understanding of links between river ecosystem functions and processes with fisheries is one of the major reasons for the alarming rate of decline of fish species. Recognizing the ecosystem services generated by fish populations is essential and is one step toward comprehensive, ecosystem-based management of riverine fisheries. Therefore, this paper is motivated by the need to explore the dimensions of fisheries as an ecosystem service. The data was collected from primary field observations and checklist-based key informant interviews at the seventeen fishing sites selected across an 800 km river stretch of the river. In addition, two focused group discussions with fishers at two sampling sites were held to provide first-hand knowledge of ecosystem services generated by fisheries. At first, the role of fisheries in generating ecosystem services for riverine ecosystem functioning and human demands is outlined using the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment approach. Then, the findings of a survey carried out from the headwaters to the delta of the Cauvery river are presented detailing the fisheries provisioning services, livelihoods, and other ecosystem services. The findings showed that the provisioning and cultural services are highly represented among the four categories of ecosystem services identified by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. However, in the literature reviewed, supporting, and regulating services are not well-represented. Based on these findings, the applicability of the ecosystem service concept can be elaborated to inform researchers and policymakers to enhance conservation efforts for fisheries.

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“…The biomass overproduction problem has been attracting the attention of the scientific community for several decades, − which resulted in numerous studies, mainly on nitrogen and phosphorus compounds, and their mutual relationship implicating eutrophication processes. − Along with a better understanding of causes and effects behind this phenomenon, development of environmental models took place, enabling simulation of current and future changes in aquatic nutrient issues. − However, these modeling efforts have been mainly focused on lakes and reservoirs, − while neglecting, to a large extent, eutrophication processes in riverine ecosystems. − Numerical simulations of nutrient loads and concentrations of chlorophyll “a” in flowing surface waters are still very rare. Currently, the main source of information on this topic is comprehensive research conducted on river basins in South Korea, ,,− and individual publications from other regions of the world. ,− These studies clearly show that one of the promising methods to understand complex interactions influencing biomass production in rivers may be the use of environmental models, such as ANNs, QUALKO2, Hidden Markov Model (MHMM), or SWAT .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomass Production Potential in a River under Climate Change Scenarios

Orlińska-Woźniak

Szalińska

Jakusik

et al. 2021

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Excessive production of biomass, in times of intensification of agriculture and climate change, is again becoming one of the biggest environmental issues. Identification of sources and effects of this phenomenon in a river catchment in the space–time continuum has been supported by advanced environmental modules combined on a digital platform (Macromodel DNS/SWAT). This tool enabled the simulation of nutrient loads and chlorophyll “a” for the Nielba River catchment (central-western Poland) for the biomass production potential (defined here as a TN:TP ratio) analysis. Major differences have been observed between sections of the Nielba River with low biomass production in the upper part, controlled by TN:TP ratios over 65, and high chlorophyll “a” concentrations in the lower part, affected by biomass transport for the flow-through lakes. Under the long and short-term RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 climate change scenarios, this pattern will be emphasized. The obtained results showed that unfavorable biomass production potential will be maintained in the upper riverine sections due to a further increase in phosphorus loads induced by precipitation growth. Precipitation alone will increase biomass production, while precipitation combined with temperature can even enhance this production in the existing hot spots.

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Can top-down effects of cypriniform fish be used to mitigate eutrophication effects in medium-sized European rivers?

Cited by 9 publications

References 50 publications

Editorial: Green or red: Challenges for fish and freshwater biodiversity conservation related to hydropower

Editorial: Green or red: Challenges for fish and freshwater biodiversity conservation related to hydropower

Fisheries as ecosystem services: A case study of the Cauvery river basin, India

Biomass Production Potential in a River under Climate Change Scenarios

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