Floodplains : the forgotten and abused component of the fluvial system

River restoration is strongly focussed on in-channel initiatives driven by fisheries interests and a continued desire for river stability. This contrasts greatly with the inherently mobile nature of watercourses. What is often overlooked is the fact that many rivers have developed floodplain units that would naturally operate as integrated functional systems, moderating the effects of extreme floods by distributing flow energy and sediment transport capacity through out of bank flooding. Floodplain utilisation for farming activities and landowner intransigence when it comes to acknowledging that the floodplain is part of the river system, has resulted in floodplains being the most degraded fluvial morphologic unit, both in terms of loss of form and function and sheer levels of spatial impact. The degradation has been facilitated by the failure of regulatory mechanisms to adequately acknowledge floodplain form and function. This is testament to the ‘inward looking’ thinking behind national assessment strategies. This paper reviews the state of floodplain systems drawing on quantitative data from England and Wales to argue for greater consideration of the floodplain in relation to river management. The database is poor and must be improved, however it does reveal significant loss of watercourse-floodplain connectivity linked to direct flood alleviation measures and also to altered flood frequency as a result of river downcutting following river engineering. These latter effects have persisted along many watercourses despite the historic nature of the engineering interventions and will continue to exacerbate the risk of flooding to downstream communities. We also present several examples of the local and wider values of reinstating floodplain form and function, demonstrating major ecological gains, improvement to downstream flood reduction, elevation of water quality status and reductions in overall fine sediment loss from farmland. A re-think is required regarding our approach to managing floodplains and funding floodplain restoration, arguing for greater recognition of the natural role of the floodplain as a resource for upstream flood management and as an agent for overall biotic improvement in line with restoration objectives

Deadwood Biodiversity

Deadwood is a key component for biodiversity and ecosystem services in boreal forests; however, the abundance of this critical element is declining worldwide. In natural forests, deadwood is produced by tree death due to physical disturbances, senescence, or pathogens. Timber harvesting, fire suppression, and salvage logging reduce deadwood abundance and diversity, and climate change is expected to bring further modifications. Although the effects of these changes are not yet fully understood, restoring a continuous supply of deadwood in boreal forest ecosystems is vital to reverse the negative trends in species richness and distribution. Increasing the availability of deadwood offers a path to building resilient forest ecosystems for the future

The Relevance of Martin Buber’s Theory of Dialogue in Contemporary Religious Organization Leadership in Tanzania

In intention of this paper is to outline Martin Buber’s ontological turning to the other through the development of his dialogical theory. This outline substantiates dialogue as an important element of religious leadership. Dialogue fosters the development of genuine relationships with others and with the world. It is the uncovering and creation of meaning through awareness of what is sacred in us, others, and the world. Buber’s theory provides us with the specific details of the art of turning to the other which can help us navigate our ways into dialogue. Human being must accept the fact of the existence of broken leadership which is caused by human beings themselves. Hence, the solution goes back to human being’s relationship. Since, society is grounded through relationships; therefore, human relationship must be restored to heal the broken religious leadership. I-Thou or subject to subject is the kind of relationship which can restore unity in an organization. The crisis of organization is caused by I-It or subject to object relationship, in which another person is treated as an object, and hence conflicts, mistrust, self-centred are caused to the organization. The peace of an advice which Martin Buber gives to all leaders is that the dignity of human person should be respected by being open to one another and by being treated equally as human being. Therefore, honest and sincere dialogue between man and man is a prerequisite to build an organization or society for the common good

Frequent discordance between morphology and mitochondrial DNA in a species group of European water beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae).

The Hydroporus memnonius species group includes both widespread and range restricted diving beetle taxa in the western Palaearctic, some of which have been divided into a number of geographical subspecies. Of these, Hydroporus necopinatus is distributed in the far west of Europe, from central Spain to southern Britain, and has been split into three subspecies, occurring in Iberia (necopinatus sst.), France (robertorum) and England (roni) respectively—the last of these being a rare example of an insect taxon apparently endemic to northern Europe. Here we explore inter-relationships between populations and subspecies of H. necopinatus and related members of the Hydroporus melanarius subgroup, using mitochondrial COI sequence data. We reveal widespread discordance between mitochondrial DNA sequence variation and morphology in areas where H. necopinatus and H. melanarius come into contact, consistent with historical introgressive hybridization between these taxa. In light of this discordance, the lack of clear genetic divergence between H. necopinatus subspecies, and the fact that both robertorum and roni are morphologically intermediate between H. necopinatus sstr. and H. melanarius, we suggest that these taxa may be of hybridogenic origin, rather than representing discrete evolutionary lineages

The Synthesis of “Ujamaaism” of Nyerere and Habermas’ Critical Social Theory

The main aim of this paper was to demonstrate the synthesis of “Ujamaaism” of Nyerere and Habermas’s critical social theory. However, the study used critical and analytical methods. “Ujamaaism” is a new term coined by the author to explain the socialist theory of Nyerere. The study found that critical social theory elements were in a good position to correct the “Ujamaaism” of Nyerere to be a more useful theory because it failed to realise its expectations. It follows that the critical social theory of Habermas was in a good position to have the best correction for reinstating “Ujamaaism” praxis in Tanzania because of its nature of critical consciousness, critical reflection, enlightenment, autonomy as well as emancipation, which help human being to come out from all social restrictions and conditionalities that hinder them from reaching self-awareness. These values were not much reflected by Nyerere, as a result, the study aimed to re-create the “Ujamaaism” of Nyerer

Thermal refugia and the survival of species in changing environments: new evidence from a nationally extinct freshwater fish

Variation in global climate during the Quaternary has helped shape current species distributions. The stenohaline fish fauna of the British Isles is generally thought to have colonised eastern England via a landbridge following the last glacial maximum. This theory is investigated using the nationally extinct burbot, Lota lota, as a model species. Samples were collected from 15 museum specimens of known English provenance and analysed for differences in the mitochondrial DNA control region. The DNA analysis produced eight sequences of 270 base pairs, with one sample reaching 420 base pairs in length. Genetic analysis suggests the extinct English population of the burbot was a distinct lineage, differing from those previously described from across the species’ global distribution. Despite this, network analysis suggests that the English lineage is closely related to populations in western Europe, supporting colonisation via a postglacial landbridge. The rate of genetic divergence suggests that the timing of L. lota's colonisation of English rivers was prior to the last glacial maximum. Lota lota appears to have survived the last glacial maximum in refugia within the British Isles. This study adds to the evidence for a British freshwater refugia and furthers our understanding of the colonisation history of British freshwater fishes. These results also provide valuable information for conservation strategies for L. lota indicating the western European clade as most genetically appropriate for potential future reintroductions to English rivers

Benefits Transfer and the Aquatic Environment: An Investigation into the Context of Fish Passage Improvement

We present findings from a choice experiment investigating improvements in the aquatic environment from mitigation of barriers to fish passage. Implemented at a local and national level, results reveal positive preferences for increased numbers of fish species as well as fish abundance. In addition, we examine if in this case the willingness to pay estimates are suitable for direct transfer between national and local settings. For both samples, we consider the extent to which stated attribute non-attendance impacts estimates of willingness to pay and the potential ability of researchers to transfer values between contexts. Implications of the use of benefit transfer within this policy context are discussed in light of our findings

The European palaeoecological record of Swedish red-listed beetles

Recent global changes have triggered a biodiversity crisis. However, climate fluctuations have always influenced biodiversity and humans have affected species distributions since prehistoric times. Conservation palaeobiology is a developing field that aims to understand the long-term dynamics of such interactions by studying the geohistorical records in a conservation perspective. Case studies exist for vertebrates and plants, but insects have largely been overlooked so far. Here, we analysed the current red-listed beetle species (Coleoptera) in Sweden and investigated their occurrence and representation in the European Quaternary fossil record. Fossil data currently exist for one third of the Swedish red-listed beetle species. All the red-list conservation classes are represented in the fossil record, which may allow for comparative studies. We found significantly different representations in the fossil records among taxonomic groups and ecological traits, which may depend on the fossil depositional and sampling environments and variation in how difficult species are to identify. Species that are today associated with modern urban environments were mostly found in Quaternary sites with archaeological human settlements, reflecting early human-driven environmental change. Combining modern and fossil insect species data for biodiversity conservation needs to be undertaken with care, and attention paid to biases in both modern and palaeo-data. Nevertheless, this approach opens new opportunities for conservation biology by providing a millennial-scale perspective on biodiversity change, including consideration of the long-term dynamics of species range shifts, species invasions and regional extinctions under changing climates

Plants as river system engineers

I would like to acknowledge three research grants/contracts that are supporting my current research on this theme: Grant F/07 040/AP from the Leverhulme Trust; Grant NE/F014597/1 from the Natural Environment Research Council, UK, and the REFORM collaborative project funded by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement 282656

The influence of hydrological regimes on sex ratios and spatial segregation of the sexes in two dioecious riparian shrub species in northern Sweden

River management practices have altered the hydrological regimes of many rivers and also altered the availability of regeneration niches for riparian species. We investigated the impact of changed hydrological regimes on the sex ratios and the Spatial Segregation of the Sexes (SSS) in the dioecious species Salix myrsinifolia Salisb.–phylicifolia L. and S. lapponum L. by studying the free-flowing Vindel River and the regulated Ume River in northern Sweden. We surveyed sex ratios of these species in 12 river reaches on the Vindel River and in 17 reaches on the Ume River. In addition, we surveyed the sex and location above mean river stage of 1,002 individuals across both river systems to investigate the SSS of both species. Cuttings were collected from male and female individuals of S. myrsinifolia–phylicifolia from both rivers and subjected to four different water table regimes in a greenhouse experiment to investigate growth response between the sexes. We found an M/F sex ratio in both river systems similar to the regional norm of 0.62 for S. myrsinifolia–phylicifolia and of 0.42 for S. lapponum. We found no evidence of SSS in either the free-flowing Vindel River or the regulated Ume River. In the greenhouse experiment, hydrological regime had a significant effect on shoot and root dry weight and on root length. Significantly higher shoot dry weights were found in females than in males and significantly different shoot and root dry weights were found between cuttings taken from the two rivers. We concluded that changed hydrological regimes are likely to alter dimensions of the regeneration niche and therefore to influence sex ratios and SSS at an early successional stage, making it difficult to find clear spatial patterns once these species reach maturity and can be sexed