Browsing by Author "Gill, Andrew"
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Item Open Access Best practices for monitoring and assessing the ecological response to river restoration(MDPI, 2021-11-26) England, Judy; Angelopoulos, Natalie; Cooksley, Susan; Dodd, Jennifer; Gill, Andrew; Gilvear, David; Johnson, Matthew; Naura, Marc; O’Hare, Matthew; Tree, Angus; Wheeldon, Jennifer; Wilkes, Martin A.Nature-based solutions are widely advocated for freshwater ecosystem conservation and restoration. As increasing amounts of river restoration are undertaken, the need to understand the ecological response to different measures and where measures are best applied becomes more pressing. It is essential that appraisal methods follow a sound scientific approach. Here, experienced restoration appraisal experts review current best practice and academic knowledge to make recommendations and provide guidance that will enable practitioners to gather and analyse meaningful data, using scientific rigor to appraise restoration success. What should be monitored depends on the river type and the type and scale of intervention. By understanding how habitats are likely to change we can anticipate what species, life stages, and communities are likely to be affected. Monitoring should therefore be integrated and include both environmental/habitat and biota assessments. A robust scientific approach to monitoring and appraisal is resource intensive. We recommend that appraisal efforts be directed to where they will provide the greatest evidence, including ‘flagship’ restoration schemes for detailed long-term monitoring. Such an approach will provide the evidence needed to understand which restoration measures work where and ensure that they can be applied with confidence elsewhere.Item Open Access The restoration of an urban still water fishery: monitoring for success at Tom Thumb Lake(Cranfield University, 2008-09) Hughes, Stephen; Gill, AndrewTom Thumb Lake is a former gravel pit and carp fishery situated in East London. In 2005 the Lake was restored as an accessible, self-sustaining fishery. The objectives of this study were to outline a monitoring plan to assess the success of the restoration, this included: monitoring water quality in relation to the requirements of fish, monitoring the macroinvertebrate communities in areas of the lake that will be newly vegetated, an angler survey to assess basic demographics (such as age, sex, ethnicity) and whether or not the priority groups identified by the Environment Agency were using the Lake. In addition, a basic topographic survey was conducted. Basic water quality parameters (temperature, pH, DO, N and P) were monitored at Impact sites (those to be vegetated) and Reference sites (an area of the Lake already well vegetated), macroinvertebrate samples were also taken at these locations. The water quality requirements of fish were based on Incipient Lethal Levels (ILL) taken from fish physiology publications. The survey was completed and handed out to anglers but numbers returned were not sufficient for inclusion in this report. The topographic survey identified a depth range of 0-2.4m, with shallow areas predominantly close to known gravel bars in the centre of the lake. Based on the monitoring data collected, water quality was generally well within the limits researched from literature, although temperature and pH were occasionally close to the upper limits. Macroinvertebrate samples showed some differences, particularly in total abundance, between the Impact and Reference sites. An outline set of monitoring guidelines were constructed for future managers of the Lake to follow, which should enable them to reliably gauge the success of the project. Recommendations for refining the ILL method and potential uses for other lakes were made.