Monthly update on news and research in freshwater biology

1. Freshwater Matters
What’s happening at the FBA?
Clear Waters Oral History Project: Exhibition Schedule
As part of the FBA Clear Waters Oral History project, which is funded by the
Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), a mobile exhibition of the project will run from May
2014 to May 2015 touring venues in Cumbria and one venue in Lancashire. The
exhibition schedule is listed below. If you would like further details please contact
info@fba.org.uk.
Schedule:
23rd May to 31st August 2014 - Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal
3rd September to 15th October 2014 - The Lakes Aquarium, Newby Bridge
18th October 2014 to 4th January 2015 – Lancaster Maritime Museum, Lancaster
7th January 2015 to 1st of March 2015 – Cumbria Archive Centre, Carlisle
4th March 2015 to 29th April 2015 – Whitehaven Archive Centre, Whitehaven
2nd May 2015 to 31st May 2015 – Kendal Library, Kendal
Latest issue of Inlands Waters now published
The latest issue of Inland Waters – Journal of the International Society of
Limnology (Vol 4(2)) 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 (contact the SIL
Business Services Coordinator, Denise Johnson by email siloffice1922@gmail.com)
or recommend the journal to your library at https://www.fba.org.uk/journals/
index.php/IW/user/recommendLibrary.
Upcoming FBA Training Courses
Identifying aquatic beetles
Date: Monday 2 - Tuesday 3 June; Tutor: Garth Foster; Cost: £220; FBA member £195; Location: FBA
Windermere, Cumbria
This two day course will concentrate on the collection and identification of water
beetles. The aim of the course is to increase confidence in beetle identification
and will include: beetle morphology as used for identification, field survey
techniques, the use of identification keys, microscope work, and some aspects of
conservation. There will also be the opportunity to try out the Royal Entomological
Society British water beetles handbook. Garth Foster is the coordinator for the
Aquatic Coleoptera Recording Scheme for Britain and Ireland and has done
nothing else for 47 years!
May 2014
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
Don’t move a mussel: Small freshwater biofoulers carry a big price tag
Water users can reduce risk of spreading invasive species
2014 ten most endangered rivers
Making dams safer for fish around the world
Fish exposed to antidepressants exhibit altered behavioural changes
Urban river pollutants suppress wild bird development
Snails with parasites more promiscuous
Salvation for sores lies in the bladders of freshwater carp
When dads go missing, frogs start hatching
AND FINALLY: It’s a whopper

2. Identifying caddis
Date: Wednesday 4 - Thursday 5 June; Tutor: Ian Wallace; Cost: £220; FBA member £195;
Location: FBA Windermere, Cumbria;
Caddis (Trichoptera) are a fascinating and varied group of insects that are used
in water quality assessment. Participants will be shown various methods of
collecting larvae and at the end of the course they should be able to identify any
caddis larva to family and also identify a range of species. Caddis adults are also
significant in fly fishing and for those students who so wish, there will be training
in collecting and identifying that life stage. The course is aimed at biologists and
naturalists who want to develop their knowledge of this group of insects. Ian
Wallace is the national coordinator for the Trichoptera Recording Scheme, author
of many guides to caddis including the FBA key to case-bearing caddis, and an
Honorary Research Fellow of the FBA.
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
Don’t move a mussel: Small freshwater biofoulers carry a big price tag
A paper published this month in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
suggests that biofouling in the worlds freshwaters costs $277 million per year to
clean up. Most of this economic burden falls on utility companies where biofoulers
such as mussels colonise pipes restricting the flow of water.
http://phys.org/news/2014-04-dont-mussel-small-freshwater-biofoulers.html
Water users can reduce risk of spreading invasive species
A new report published by the University of Leeds and CEFAS suggests that
recreational users could be helping the spread of invasive species around Britain’s
waterways. The study found that a high proportion of anglers and canoeist used
their equipment in multiple waterways without cleaning or drying it in-between.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140409204429.htm
2014 ten most endangered rivers
This month saw the annual announcement of the top 10 most endangered rivers
in the US. Topping the list this year is the San Joaquin River in California, where a
combination of drought and poor management has put the river at breaking point.
The annual report aims to highlight rivers that are at a critical point, and where
upcoming decisions will determine their future.
http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/47277
Making dams safer for fish around the world
An article in the March issue of Fisheries details an international effort to protect
fish from the changes in pressure that they experience in the turbulent waters
round dams. Known as barotrauma, such changes in pressure can result in
death or serious injury for fish. But now a team of scientists have identified
modifications that can be made to dam design to help reduce the problem.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140414140802.htm
Fish exposed to antidepressants exhibit altered behavioural changes
A study published this month in Aquatic Toxicology reports that fish exposed to
the antidepressant Fluoxetine show significant of behavioural changes relating
to mating and aggression. The study adds to a growing body of evidence that
pharmaceuticals in our rivers are affecting aquatic organisms.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140416090534.htm
Urban river pollutants suppress wild bird development
Meanwhile research published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry shows
that hormone disrupting chemicals in urban rivers can have a significant effect
on the health of wild nesting birds. The study found that compared to their
rural counterparts chicks of the Eurasian dipper reared on urban rivers were
underweight with fewer female chicks hatching. This could have negative

3. implications for the populations’ long term success.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140428210420.htm
Snails with parasites more promiscuous
Research published in Biology Letters this month shows that New Zealand Mud
Snails become more promiscuous when infected with a parasite that makes them
sterile. It is thought the increase in mating frequency may be a way to ensure
some offspring are born before the snail becomes infertile.
http://news.msn.co.nz/technologynews/8833957/snails-with-parasites-more-
promiscuous
Salvation for sores lies in the bladders of freshwater carp
Powdered particles of the swimbladder of freshwater carp may offer an innovative
treatment to help wounds heal according to a pilot study currently being carried
out by the NHS.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/alternativemedicine/10763963/Salvation-for-
sores-lies-in-the-bladders-of-freshwater-carp.html
When dads go missing, frogs start hatching
The amount of parental care that a species of amphibian invests in its eggs has
a significant influence on the length of time they take to develop according to a
study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The eggs of the glass
frog, which are laid on plant leaves outside water, rely on their fathers to keep
them moist as they develop. But should their father abandon them the eggs
shorten their development time reducing the risk of desiccation.
http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2014/04/when-dads-go-missing-frogs-start-
hatching
AND FINALLY: It’s a whopper
After an epic 45 minute struggle a 14 year old school boy from Essex has
smashed the junior angling record by landing a 7ft long 122lb catfish, thought to
be the biggest living freshwater fish in Britain.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/473245/Schoolboy-14-catches-7ft-monster-
which-is-the-biggest-fish-in-Britain
Please forward this bulletin to any of your colleagues who may be
interested!