1. Freshwater Matters
What’s happening at the FBA?
New key to European freshwater Diptera families
Find it difficult to identify Diptera to family level? The use of mouthparts at the
beginning of many keys to Diptera, as well as an unclear distinction between
aquatic and terrestrial habits for many species, can cause problems for non-
specialists identifying Diptera, even at family level. To address these, former FBA
Director Mike Dobson has reviewed the existing keys to Diptera and developed
a new key to European families, based on external morphology. Published in
Freshwater Reviews (as reported in the last issue of Freshwater Matters), this
review article is now available as a print copy, price £15 plus postage. For further
details, visit the FBA online shop or FBA Publications webpage. Subscribers to
Freshwater Reviews can view this article online here.
A date for your diary - FBA AGM, 8 November 2013
This year, we are pleased to hold the FBA’s Annual General Meeting as part of the
London Freshwater Group meeting on 8 November. The day’s proceedings will
be held in The Flett Lecture Theatre at the Natural History Museum, London, with
the FBA AGM scheduled for 12:15. Details of the FBA AGM will be circulated to
FBA members later this month and available on the FBA website. There are still a
small number of slots available for speakers in the scientific programme: if you are
interested in giving a talk, please contact Carl Sayer (c.sayer@ucl.ac.uk). The full
programme, once finalised, will be advertised on the FBA website (www.fba.org.uk)
and via Freshwater Matters. There will be a modest attendance fee (£20 standard,
£10 students, including lunch), payable on arrival. To help with planning, if you
wish to attend this meeting please email Sarah Lynch (sfl161@bham.ac.uk); please
also let Sarah know if you wish to present a poster.
Clear Waters Oral History Project: Programme of Talks
As part of the FBA Clear Waters Oral History project, which is funded by the Heritage
Lottery Fund (HLF), a series of free talks will be held for the public to attend. The
talks relate to the themes of the project and are intended to provide information
specific to Windermere. A talk titled ‘An overview of the fish of Windermere’ will be
given by Dr Roger Sweeting on Tuesday 3rd September, 6.30pm at the FBA. Future
talks will include oral history and bluegreen algae. Booking is required for all talks.
Further details about the talks can be found on the Clear Waters Oral History project
website: www.clearwaters.org.uk/events-and-training.
Project Update: Interviewing has begun in earnest and we are hearing some
interesting stories and memories from local people, anglers and former FBA staff.
Our volunteer researchers are finding historic photographs and information related
to our themes and our volunteer photographers are also out and about in the Lake
District, taking fantastic photos of people, wildlife and landscapes.
August 2013
Freshwater Matters is a monthly electronic bulletin of the most recent
freshwater news from around the world, compiled by the Freshwater Biological
Association (FBA). It includes updates of what is happening at the FBA and ways
to get involved.
Contents
What’s happening at the FBA?
This month’s articles
Ice above Lake Vostok includes DNA from animals
It smells fishy: Copper prevents fish from avoiding danger
About 21,000 Species Face Extinction, IUCN Updates Red List
World’s largest freshwater turtle nearly extinct
High carbon dioxide spurs wetlands to absorb more carbon
Robotic frogs help turn a boring mating call into a serenade
Beef to fish: historic shift in food production
Traitorous fish throw friends to the wolves
Health of US streams reduced by stream flow modifications and contaminants
And Finally: Wild beaver sited for the first time in England

2. Latest issue of Inlands Waters now published
The latest issue of Inland Waters – Journal of the International Society of
Limnology (Vol 3(3)) has now been published. A list of contents and abstracts can
be viewed online at: https://www.fba.org.uk/journals/index.php/IW/issue/current/
showToc. Full-text articles can be downloaded by subscribers and SIL members.
If you do not currently subscribe or are not a SIL member and wish to have
access to the journal, please either take out an individual subscription (complete
the subscription leaflet at https://www.fba.org.uk/journals/GuidanceDocs/IWS
ubscriptionLeaflet_2013ForWebsite.pdf and return to the SIL Business Services
Coordinator) or recommend the journal to your library at https://www.fba.org.uk/
journals/index.php/IW/user/recommendLibrary.
Upcoming FBA Training Courses
River InVertebrate Prediction And Classification System (RIVPACS)/River
Invertebrate Classifi cation Tool (RICT) bioassessment training
Date: Tuesday 1 - Wednesday 2 October; Tutor: John Davy-Bowker; Cost: £350; early bird rate £335;
FBA member £325; Location: FBA River Laboratory, Dorset
During this two-day course delegates can expect to gain a thorough theoretical
and practical knowledge of the latest version of the RIVPACS/RICT bioassessment
tool. Delegates will be able to produce biological assessments to similar standards
as used by the regulatory authorities for Water Framework Directive compliance
monitoring. The course will provide an introductory background to bioassessment,
biotic indices, RIVPACS models and RICT, standardised RIVPACS kick/sweep
sampling, collection of time variant environmental predictor variables, principles
of standardised laboratory sample processing and enumeration to required
taxonomic level(s)*, collection of time invariant environmental predictor variables,
manual calculation of observed biotic index values (examples of major indices
currently in use in the UK), introduction to the latest web based RICT software
and RIVPACS IV models, preparation of data input files, running RICT in classify,
predict and compare modes, interpretation of RICT outputs, quality classes and
diagnosis of stress. Delegates will gain hands-on experience with RICT though
exercises on shared computers. John Davy-Bowker is a knowledgeable freshwater
biologist with considerable research and teaching experience, and part of the team
continuing to develop the RIVPACS/RICT bioassessment tool.
* Please note - this course does not cover invertebrate identification. Some prior knowledge of river
invertebrate sampling and the principles of invertebrate identification would be beneficial.
Freshwater fish: assessment of condition and ageing
Date: Tuesday 15 October; Tutor: Roger Sweeting; Cost: £120; early bird rate £105; FBA member
£95; Location: FBA Windermere, Cumbria
This course is aimed at fisheries managers, fishermen and naturalists who want
to know more about the fish that they see, catch or handle. Without recourse to
dissection or detailed microscopy it is quite staggering how much we can piece
together about a fish’s well-being and condition, its age and growth, life history
and sexual development. This course aims to provide an insight into the ways of
observing fish for these purposes. Roger Sweeting has spent many years studying
fish health and helping to develop an understanding of how to improve fisheries
for Thames Water, the National Rivers Authority (NRA), the Environment Agency
and the FBA.
Fish health, parasites and disease
Date: Wednesday 16 October; Tutor: Roger Sweeting; Cost: £120; early bird rate £105; FBA member
£95; Location: FBA Windermere, Cumbria
This is an introductory course for people wanting to understand more about the
parasites and diseases of freshwater fish. It will include general principles of
parasitology, fish physiology and some practical dissection and microscope work.
Roger Sweeting has spent many years studying fish health and has a particular
interest in fish parasitology.
Invertebrate identification for biotic assessment (including examination)
Date: Tuesday 22 - Thursday 24 October; Tutors: Mike Dobson, Melanie Fletcher, Simon Pawley; Cost:
£600; early bird rate £585; FBA member £575; Location: FBA Windermere, Cumbria
This three day course covers the identification of the freshwater macroinvertebrate
families used for biotic assessment (BMWP, etc.). It is aimed at professionals with
some experience of identification, who wish to consolidate their knowledge. At

3. the end of the course, participants will be examined on their identification skills
and, if the required standard is attained, a certificate of achievement in family-
level invertebrate identification will be awarded. This course is part of a series
of FBA accredited invertebrate identification courses; future courses will allow
participants to demonstrate their skills in taking individual groups of invertebrates
to species level.
Mike Dobson is the former Director of the FBA and has extensive experience
of teaching invertebrate identification at all levels. Simon Pawley and Melanie
Fletcher are FBA staff who have taught on a range of FBA invertebrate
identification courses. Mike, Simon and Melanie are authors of the FBA
publications SP67 Guide to British Freshwater Macroinvertebrates for Biotic
Assessment, and SP68 Guide to Freshwater Invertebrates. A copy of SP67 is
included in the course fee for each participant.
For further details or to book a place on a course, please visit www.fba.org.uk/
fba-training-courses or contact us at events@fba.org.uk or on 015394 42468.
This month’s articles
Ice above Lake Vostok includes DNA from animals
Though sealed from the surface for around 15 million years, scientists have found
traces of genetic material from a range of species in samples of ice taken from
Lake Vostock, Antarctica. The amounts suggest that life may be present in very
low numbers overall, but concentrated in areas of high biological activity within
the lake.
http://news.yahoo.com/ice-above-lake-vostok-includes-dna-animals-213622012.
html
It smells fishy: Copper prevents fish from avoiding danger
Copper pollution inhibits the ability of fish to detect danger signals in the water
according to research presented at a meeting of the Society for Experimental
Biology. The presence of copper in the water affects the fish’s olfactory organs
preventing them from picking up chemical cues indicating that another fish has
been injured by predation.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-07/sfeb-isf062813.php
About 21,000 Species Face Extinction, IUCN Updates Red List
The latest update to the IUCN Red List was released this month, and highlighted
a number of freshwater species threatened with extinction. Among the species
assessed, the latest update provides the first global picture of the conservation
status of freshwater shrimps revealing that 28% of carideans, which include some
economically important species, are threatened with extinction.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-02/nearly-212c000-species-at-risk-of-
extinction3a-conservationis/4793888
World’s largest freshwater turtle nearly extinct
With only four known individuals remaining the Yangtze giant soft-shell turtle
is one of the rarest animals on the plant and teeters on the brink of extinction.
However, there is a glimmer of hope for its survival as researcher at Suzhou Zoo
in China report that a captive pair have successfully mated. It now remains to be
seen whether the eggs will hatch although the age of the parents is against them.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/07/130703-china-yangtze-giant-
softshell-turtle-animal-science/
High carbon dioxide spurs wetlands to absorb more carbon
Results from a 19 year field study in the US suggest that as carbon dioxide levels
in the atmosphere rise, wetlands may absorb increasing amounts of the gas
helping to counteract man-made emissions. However, the study suggests that
unusual weather events such as droughts which may become more common
under a changing climate, could reduce many of the potential benefits as they
inhibit the wetlands ability to absorb the gas.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130715202443.htm

4. Robotic frogs help turn a boring mating call into a serenade
With the help of a robotic frog researchers from the University of Texas have shed
new light on the way that simple traits can link together to form more complex
behaviours. In an experiment published in Science this month biologists
demonstrate that different combinations of visual and auditory cues can provoke
the same behavioural response. The findings point to ways that complex traits
emerge, and the way animal brains have evolved to process signals.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130715114836.htm
Beef to fish: historic shift in food production
Statistics released this month show that 2012 represented a historic shift in food
production as farmed fish overtook beef production for the first time globally.
Beyond economic considerations it seems that both health and environmental
concerns are exerting a significant influence on people’s choices driving the
change.
http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/46198
Traitorous fish throw friends to the wolves
A small fish called the astyanax found in South American rivers causes big
problems when shoals swim into hydroelectric power plants. While studying ways
to deter the fish two researchers from Brazil and the UK made an interesting
discovery. When they tried to scare the fish away they found that the fish would
turn on each other, injuring one, before making their escape. Now the researchers
have examined this behaviour further and found the use of this strategy depends
on the threat the fish are facing.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23852-zoologger-traitorous-fish-throw-
friends-to-the-wolves.html
Health of US streams reduced by stream flow modifications and
contaminants
The US Geological Survey has this month released the most comprehensive
assessment of the health of the countries river systems ever undertaken. They
found that the vast majority of rivers in urban and agricultural landscapes
were impacted due to stream flow modifications and high levels of nutrient and
pesticides.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130712100413.htm
And Finally: Wild beaver sited for the first time in England
A clash of names as a dog walker spotted what is the first wild beaver seen in
England for 500 years, on the River Otter in Devon. At the moment its origin
remains a mystery but it is thought that it probably escaped from captivity
somewhere nearby.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/10187252/Wild-beaver-sighted-for-
first-time-in-500-years.html
Please forward this bulletin to any of your colleagues who may be
interested!