Explore research activities in the Biodiversity Challenges theme related to freshwater ecosystems. Names shown indicate authors or co-authors involved from the Centre of Conservation and Restoration Science.
Navigate to more Biodiversity Challenges research activities: All | Marine | Terrestrial
Habitat Degradation
Habitat degradation, including change, fragmentation and loss, is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity. Species and ecosystems respond differently to type and intensity of habitat degradation, which changes availability and quality of living space.
Projects
Evaluating the landscape-scale benefits of sustainable urban drainage systems for freshwater biodiversity
Easter Beltie Ecological Restoration Monitoring Research
The impact of flicker or pulsating shadow effects, caused by wind turbines, on Atlantic salmon
Tarland & Beltie Burn Restoration
Publications
A test of the cumulative effect of river weirs on downstream migration success, speed and mortality of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts: An empirical study (2019), Ecology of Freshwater Fish; (Dodd)
Pollution
The natural environment is exposed to multiple pollutants. Some of these have only recently been perceived as potential threats to species, for example plastic, noise and light.
Projects
Riparian noise and environmental quality in urban freshwater ecosystems
Effects of anthropogenic underwater noise on a keystone freshwater organism
Publications
Megasonic elution of waterborne protozoa enhances recovery rates (2018), Matters; (Kerrouche)
Climate Change
Human-caused climate change is driving both long-term and rapid changes in temperature, weather-patterns and the chemistry of aquatic and terrestrial environments. Biodiversity is susceptible to these changes and their consequences, but can also help deliver solutions at local and global scales.
Projects
Publications
Non-Native Species
Patterns of species’ dispersal and establishment around the globe have changed dramatically in recent history, caused by human activity. Receiving ecosystems may be disrupted in various ways by the introduction of novel species.
Projects
Publications
First genetic evidence that invasive bullhead (Cottus L. 1758) in Scotland is of English origin and the difficulty of resolving the European Cottus species taxonomy (2020), Journal of Fish Biology; (Rueckert)
Over-Exploitation
In the last 50 years, the human population has more than doubled, increasing the pressure on the environment to provide food and materials. Over-exploitation happens when more individuals are removed from a population than are replaced naturally, risking species’ current viability and their benefits for future generations.
Projects
Publications
Antimicrobial Resistance
Pharmaceutical pollution contaminates the environment and can result in resistance to antimicrobials used for the control of microorganisms (including bacteria and viruses). The pathways that pharmaceuticals take to enter the environment and cause antimicrobial resistance are not sufficiently well understood.
Projects
The prevalence, sources and diversity of antibiotic resistant E. coli in Scottish surface waters: a baseline for risk assessment and intervention targets
Quantifying Antimicobial Resistance in the River Almond Catchment Area
Scotland-India Antimicrobial Resistance in the Environment Network (SIAMREN)
Publications
A global multinational survey of cefotaxime-resistant coliforms in urban wastewater treatment plants (2020), Environment International; (Morrison)
Zoonosis
Zoonosis is any disease that is transmitted from vertebrate animals to humans, for example rabies infection. Habitat degradation and human encroachment into wild landscapes increases the contact between wild animals and people and the spread of zoonotic diseases.
Projects
Publications
Top-Down Characterisation of an Antimicrobial Sanitiser, Leading from Quenchers of Efficacy to Mode of Action (2020), Frontiers in Microbiology; (Singleton)