The effects of run-of-river hydroelectric power schemes on invertebrate community composition in temperate streams and rivers.
Run-of-river (ROR) hydroelectric power (HEP) schemes are often presumed to be less ecologically damaging than large-scale storage HEP schemes. However, there is currently limited scientific evidence on their ecological impact. The aim of this article is to investigate the effects of ROR HEP schemes...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2017-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5291416?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1818499657930637312 |
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| author | Gary S Bilotta Niall G Burnside Matthew D Turley Jeremy C Gray Harriet G Orr |
| author_facet | Gary S Bilotta Niall G Burnside Matthew D Turley Jeremy C Gray Harriet G Orr |
| author_sort | Gary S Bilotta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Run-of-river (ROR) hydroelectric power (HEP) schemes are often presumed to be less ecologically damaging than large-scale storage HEP schemes. However, there is currently limited scientific evidence on their ecological impact. The aim of this article is to investigate the effects of ROR HEP schemes on communities of invertebrates in temperate streams and rivers, using a multi-site Before-After, Control-Impact (BACI) study design. The study makes use of routine environmental surveillance data collected as part of long-term national and international monitoring programmes at 22 systematically-selected ROR HEP schemes and 22 systematically-selected paired control sites. Five widely-used family-level invertebrate metrics (richness, evenness, LIFE, E-PSI, WHPT) were analysed using a linear mixed effects model. The analyses showed that there was a statistically significant effect (p<0.05) of ROR HEP construction and operation on the evenness of the invertebrate community. However, no statistically significant effects were detected on the four other metrics of community composition. The implications of these findings are discussed in this article and recommendations are made for best-practice study design for future invertebrate community impact studies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T20:32:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6fc01ee1fe234f32a1ffd68cb326be26 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T20:32:27Z |
| publishDate | 2017-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-6fc01ee1fe234f32a1ffd68cb326be262022-12-22T01:34:38ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032017-01-01122e017163410.1371/journal.pone.0171634The effects of run-of-river hydroelectric power schemes on invertebrate community composition in temperate streams and rivers.Gary S BilottaNiall G BurnsideMatthew D TurleyJeremy C GrayHarriet G OrrRun-of-river (ROR) hydroelectric power (HEP) schemes are often presumed to be less ecologically damaging than large-scale storage HEP schemes. However, there is currently limited scientific evidence on their ecological impact. The aim of this article is to investigate the effects of ROR HEP schemes on communities of invertebrates in temperate streams and rivers, using a multi-site Before-After, Control-Impact (BACI) study design. The study makes use of routine environmental surveillance data collected as part of long-term national and international monitoring programmes at 22 systematically-selected ROR HEP schemes and 22 systematically-selected paired control sites. Five widely-used family-level invertebrate metrics (richness, evenness, LIFE, E-PSI, WHPT) were analysed using a linear mixed effects model. The analyses showed that there was a statistically significant effect (p<0.05) of ROR HEP construction and operation on the evenness of the invertebrate community. However, no statistically significant effects were detected on the four other metrics of community composition. The implications of these findings are discussed in this article and recommendations are made for best-practice study design for future invertebrate community impact studies.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5291416?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Gary S Bilotta Niall G Burnside Matthew D Turley Jeremy C Gray Harriet G Orr The effects of run-of-river hydroelectric power schemes on invertebrate community composition in temperate streams and rivers. PLoS ONE |
| title | The effects of run-of-river hydroelectric power schemes on invertebrate community composition in temperate streams and rivers. |
| title_full | The effects of run-of-river hydroelectric power schemes on invertebrate community composition in temperate streams and rivers. |
| title_fullStr | The effects of run-of-river hydroelectric power schemes on invertebrate community composition in temperate streams and rivers. |
| title_full_unstemmed | The effects of run-of-river hydroelectric power schemes on invertebrate community composition in temperate streams and rivers. |
| title_short | The effects of run-of-river hydroelectric power schemes on invertebrate community composition in temperate streams and rivers. |
| title_sort | effects of run of river hydroelectric power schemes on invertebrate community composition in temperate streams and rivers |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5291416?pdf=render |
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