Searching for the Wiggle Signal - using reference condition predictions to inform river restoration expectations

Dodd, Jennifer

Abstract

Macroinvertebrates are a commonly used group to invesgate the ecological response of a river to restoraon intervenon.
Reviews of the literature summarising the response of macroinvertebrates to river restoraon highlight variability in the strength
and direcon of the response. Disentangling whether this variability is a true reflecon of the system or a lack of consistent and
robust study design is difficult at best. The River Invertebrate Predicon and Classificaon System (RIVPACS) is a tool which uses
informaon collected from a suite of reference condion sites (sites of perceived high ecological quality) to predict
macroinvertebrate community composion, based on environmental condions, expected to be found at a site in the absence of
(human) stress. This tool presents an opportunity to invesgate the ‘response’ of the macroinvertebrate community to common
river restoraon acons (e.g. changing the channel slope through increased sinuosity or changing the riverbed composion
through substrate addion). By holding the simulated environment constant and adjusng the variable of interest (e.g. slope),
predicted macroinvertebrate community composion can be compared across a gradient of variable change. The results of this
simulaon study shows paerns of change in community composion in response to changes in slope (a response of increasing
channel sinuosity) and substrate change (changing riverbed roughness) across rivers of different size. Paerns are interpretated
within a river restoraon monitoring context.

Citation

Dodd, J. (2023, September). Searching for the Wiggle Signal - using reference condition predictions to inform river restoration expectations. Presented at Scientific Advances in River Restoration, Liverpool, UK

• Presentation Conference Type: Presentation / Talk
• Conference Name: Scientific Advances in River Restoration
• Start Date: Sep 6, 2023
• End Date: Sep 8, 2023
• Deposit Date: Oct 11, 2024
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed