BIOL3701 Lecture 3: Aquatic Restoration
26 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Aquatic Restoration
Aquatic Restoration
From fixing water quality to intricate manipulation of biota
Freshwater ecosystems:
oRestore environmental flows
E.g. murray-darling basin
oRe-snagging lowland rivers with coarse woody debris
oUs of riparian water to cleanse
oConstructed wetlands to strip nutrients from water sediments then act
as a sink
oManipulate sediment sizes to restore natural range e.g. larger rocks
Local example:
oEnvironmental flow
oBelow Clarendon Weir since 2012
Overflow into Onkaparinga river to attract fish to breed
Lake et al. (2007)
Linking ecological theory with (stream) restoration via:
oConsidering dispersal and other life-history impacts
oLooking at food webs
oPlaying up successional pathways and facilitation mechanisms
oConsidering spatial scales
oUnderstanding processes and systems of what they’re trying to restore
Marine or Estuarine Restoration
Focus on restoring key biota that are habitat formers or ecosystem engineers
oExamples
Transplant of portions of modular organisms to grow
Attaching reproductive portions or juveniles to “seed” areas with
baby kelps, mussels, algae
Seedlings directly transplanted for mangroves – some
seagrasses
Sometimes involves manipulating substrate type
oExamples
Nourish beaches by relocating sediments
Provide hard substrate for settlement sites
Artificial reeds or via oyster shell “hash”
Estuarine Restoration
Issue can be the amount of water flow, both from upstream riverine flows and
tidal input from sea
oRemoval of flood mitigations like dams, floodgates etc.
Hunter wetlands in NSW – increased fish and bird abundance
oRestore link to sea through artificial mouth opening via dredging to aid
flow
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
From fixing water quality to intricate manipulation of biota. Local example: environmental flow, below clarendon weir since 2012. Overflow into onkaparinga river to attract fish to breed. Linking ecological theory with (stream) restoration via: considering dispersal and other life-history impacts, looking at food webs, playing up successional pathways and facilitation mechanisms, considering spatial scales, understanding processes and systems of what they"re trying to restore. Focus on restoring key biota that are habitat formers or ecosystem engineers: examples. Transplant of portions of modular organisms to grow. Attaching reproductive portions or juveniles to seed areas with baby kelps, mussels, algae. Seedlings directly transplanted for mangroves some seagrasses. Sometimes involves manipulating substrate type: examples. Artificial reeds or via oyster shell hash . Issue can be the amount of water flow, both from upstream riverine flows and tidal input from sea: removal of flood mitigations like dams, floodgates etc.
