International Association
of Hydrological Sciences

Hydro-ecology: Linking Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology

Edited by M. C. Acreman

IAHS Publication no. 266 (published October 2001) in the IAHS Series of Proceedings and Reports
ISBN 1-901502-41-4; 162 + xiv pp.; price £33.00

Hydro-ecology brings together hydrological, hydraulic, geomorphic and biological/ecological knowledge to understand and predict the response of freshwater biota and ecosystems to variation of abiotic factors such as flows and water quality. As demand for water rises, and concerns about our environment and man’s effects on it increase, interest in hydro-ecology has rapidly expanded.

The International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) recently held its first hydro-ecology workshop—Riverine Ecological Response to Changes in Hydrological Regime, Sediment Transport and Nutrient Loading—in Birmingham (UK), and this volume comprises a selection of the work presented there.

The papers cover topics from data collection, through mathematical analysis to the application of models, and include research from China, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, USA and parts of Europe. The main focus is on the physical aspects of hydro-ecology, primarily the impacts of changes in flow regime, although sediment transport and water quality feature in some papers. Three themes recur:

Surveying and monitoring reports of ongoing and completed programmes;
Approaches to the collection, analysis and modelling of hydro-ecological data and attendant problems;
Applications and the need to determine reference conditions, develop assessment techniques, and be able to predict. A variety of frameworks is used to establish what is an acceptable impact/desirable state.

An overview paper sets the studies in the broader hydro-ecology context and looks at the challenges and prospects for the twenty-first century.

Alphabetical List of Authors
Contents

Mike Acreman
Preface, v
M. J. Dunbar & M. C. Acreman
Applied hydro-ecological science for the twenty-first century (overview paper), 1
T. K. S. Abam
Modification of Niger Delta physical ecology: the role of dams and reservoirs, 19
Andrea Buffagni
The use of benthic invertebrate production for the definition of Ecologically Acceptable Flows in mountain rivers, 31
Elke Freistühler, Antje Giers, Gert A. Schultz & Hermann Josef Bauer
A technique to predict the hydro-ecological effects in an ecological assessment of water projects, 43
Elmar Fuchs
The flood-plain model INFORM for predicting ecological impacts caused by alterations in mean river stage, 51
Alfonso García, María Aurora Armienta & Olivia Cruz
Sources, distribution and fate of arsenic along the Tolimán River, Zimapán, Mexico, 57
Thomas B. Hardy & R. Craig Addley
Vertical integration of spatial and hydraulic data for improved habitat modelling using geographic information systems, 65
G. P. W. Jewitt, D. C. Weeks, G. L. Heritage & A. H. M. Görgens
Modelling abiotic–biotic links in the rivers of the Kruger National Park, Mpumulanga, South Africa, 77
Conor Linstead
The effects of large woody debris accumulations on river hydraulics and implications for physical habitat, 91
Lekan Oyebande
Streamflow regime change and ecological response in the Lake Chad basin in Nigeria, 101
M. W. Rountree, G. L. Heritage & K. H. Rogers
In-channel metamorphosis in a semiarid, mixed bedrock/alluvial river system: implications for Instream Flow Requirements, 113
J. V. Sutcliffe & Y. P. Parks
Upstream influence on the wetlands of the Bahr el Jebel, Sudan, 125
Xia Jun, Wang Zhonggen & Wang Fuyong
Eco-environment quality assessment: a quantifying method and case study in the Ning Xia arid and semiarid region, China, 139
Paul J. Wood, Maureen D. Agnew & Geoffrey E. Petts
Hydro-ecological variability within a groundwater dominated stream, 151
Key word index, 161

Hydro-ecology: Linking Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology

Edited by M. C. Acreman

Alphabetical List of Authors Contents

Alphabetical List of Authors
Contents