Freshwater Biological Diversity in Ireland

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Freshwater Biological Diversity in Ireland

• Dr Jim Bowman
• Programme Manager

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Outline of presentation

• 1 Overview of freshwater biological diversity
• 2 Protecting Legislation
• 3 Water Framework Directive
• 4 The Future

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Part 1

• 1 Overview of freshwater biological diversity
• 2 Protecting Legislation
• 3 Water Framework Directive
• 4 The Future

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What diversity is there here?
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You would be amazed by what you find in there!!
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Recording biological diversity in Ireland

• Recording information on the overall biological
  diversity in Ireland has not been done
  systematically in the past. Diversity maps
  frequently reflect the distribution of collectors
  rather than the true distribution of the species
  being described.
• Also such endeavours can reflect the area of
  expertise of the collector.
• The National Biodiversity Data Centre has now
  commenced this task and has an important Role to
  play in improving the situation.

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Impovrished Flora and Fauna

• As a result of Ireland being covered by ice
  during the period 100000 to 13000 years ago our
  floral and faunal communities were nearly, if
  not, completely eliminated.
• We are still in a re-colonisation phase and the
  Flora Fauna of the country are diminished in
  comparison with our neighbours. Being an island
  does not help.

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Glaciation 100,000 to 10,000 years ago
 
During the last ice age the entire country was
covered by ice except for possibly a small area
in west Limerick and north Kerry. The ice was up
to 1,000m thick in places.
Warren and Ashley, 1994
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The Principal Groups of Aquatic Organisms

• Planktonic algae and bacteria
• Macrophytes and macro-algae
• Zooplankton and invertebrates
• Fish
• Amphibians
• Birds
• Mammals
• All combine to form the Irish aquatic community

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How a Freshwater Community Interlinksor A
General Aquatic Energy Flow Diagram
Man Terrestrial Aquatic Animals
Birds
Big Fish
Amphibian
Little fish
Little fish
Zooplankton spp. Invertebrates spp.
Algae ssp. Bacteria ssp. Macrophytes ssp.
Water (H2O) Calcium Carbon Nutrients (N
P) trace elements
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Role of the species

• Each species has a specific and critical role to
  play in the correct functioning of the aquatic
  community.
• If even one species is missing the system is not
  operating effectively.
• Thus, in order for the aquatic community to
  function effectively it is necessary to have the
  full diversity of organisms present.

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Freshwater Phytoplankton and Bacteria

• Occur mostly in lakes.
• Planktonic forms 1000 ???
• True plankton lt500
• Maumwee 250 species 40 per sampling occasion
• Ramor 51 species 15-20 per sampling
  occasion
• Difficulties
• Uncertainty with Taxonomy
• Too few taxonomists

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Freshwater macrophytes

• Charaphytes 26 species
• Pteridophytes 5 species
• Mosses and Liverworts 24 species
• Angiosperms 123 species-
• 11 Floating-leaved forms,
• 8 Free Floating forms,
• 8 Isoetid forms,
• 45 Elodeid forms,
• 51 Emergent forms

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Freshwater Zooplankton
Rotifera 45 species Cladocera 52
species Copepoda 30 species Chydorids 41
species Ostracods 59 species
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Freshwater Invertebrates

• 1900 aquatic invertebrates species in Ireland
• Ephemeroptera 33 (48)
• Plecoptera 20 (34)
• Trichoptera 147 (195)
• Diptera 929 (1525)
• Mollusca 53 (65)

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Freshwater Fish

• Europe 215 species
• Britain 55 Species
• Ireland 29 Species
• Eleven native species

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Our Eleven Native Species

AllisTwaite shad local Lamprey local
Salmonids widespread Arctic Char
local Pollan local Smelt local 3 10 spined
stickleback Eel widespread
More tidal than fresh
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Irish Amphibians

• Three species of amphibian occur in Ireland
• Rana temporaria Common Frog Very common
• Bufo calamita Natterjack toad Limited
  distribution
• Triturus vulgaris Smooth newt Widespread

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Aquatic Birds
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Mammals

• Otter

Mink
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Introduced new species and invasive alien species

• Introduced new species
• Birds White-tailed Sea and Golden eagle
• Invasive alien species
• Fish 18 species Pike, Roach, Rudd, Dace and so
  on
• Macrophytes Lagarosiphon major
• Invertebrates Zebra mussel
• Mammals Mink
• Climate change?
• Little egret
• Most likely a natural extension of their
  distribution

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Aquatic Communities

• These organisms combine to form communities in
  our various water categories.
• These communities are not casual collections of
  organisms.
• The community composition will depend on
• The waterbody category river, lake estuary
• The depth, size and altitude of waterbody
• The waterbody hardness
• The waterbody background nutrient status

Waterbody types
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General Observation on freshwater diversity

• Good Quality Water Degraded Water
• Good diversity of taxa Reduced diversity
• Low density of organism within taxa High density
  of organism
• (Low number of organisms (High number of
  organisms
• per taxa) per taxa). In extreme cases you
  can have a monoculture (e.g. Proules R.)

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Outline of presentation

• 1 Overview of freshwater biological diversity
• 2 Protecting Legislation
• 3 Water Framework Directive
• 4 The Future

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Protecting Freshwater Diversity - Legislation

• Some limited improvement in water quality and
  species protection was achieved during the 1970s
  by the setting of quality objectives through
• Dangerous Substances Directive (76/464/EEC),
• Fresh Water Fish Directive (78/659/EEC)
• Quality of Shellfish Waters Directive
  (79/923/EEC)
• And later
• Groundwater Directive (80/68/EC),
• IPPC Directive (91/61/EC),
• Urban Waste-water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC
  )
• Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC)
• Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC)
• Integrated Pollution Prevention Control Directive
  (96/61/EC).
• However, conspicuous gaps still remained in the
  legislation enacted to protect Europes water and
  the quality standard approach proved to be
  inadequate in protecting Community waters.
•      

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A New Approach

• The European Commission encouraged by the
  European Parliament and Council of Environment
  Ministers and acknowledging the increasing
  concerns of its citizens about water quality,
  commenced a process of widespread consultation on
  water matters.
• This process culminated with the proposal for a
  Water Framework Directive (WFD), which was
  adopted in 2000, to establish a legal framework
  to protect and restore water quality.

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Outline of presentation

• 1 Overview of freshwater biological diversity
• 2 Protecting Legislation
• 3 Water Framework Directive
• 4 The Future

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What is different about the Water Framework
Directive?

• EU Directives in the past have required the
  achievement of chemical standards in surface
  waters that were calculated to ensure that a
  healthy fauna and flora was sustained in our
  surface waters.
• The Water Framework Directive has now put the
  emphasis on clearly demonstrating the presence of
  a healthy fauna and flora in these waters.

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Is it important?

• The most significant piece of legislation to date
  
• or that we are likely to see in our lifetime
  dealing with water quality and quantity.

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What is the Water Framwork Directive

• It is a Framework for the protection of the
  chemistry, biology and natural form of all
  surface and groundwaters and dependent
  waterbodies.

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Objective of the Directive

• Prevent deterioration of and to protect high
  status where it exists.
• Restore the status of bodies of water with the
  aim of achieving good surface water status and
  good groundwater status by 2015.
• No deterioration in existing biological/ecologica
  l, physico-chemical and hydromorphological
  status.
• There are provisions for derrogations and
  deferred objectives

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Ecoregions
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The Strategic Process

• Mapping of River Basin Districts in GIS Format
  
• Characterisation of water bodies
• Mapping of water bodies
• Listing of pressures
• Detailed risks that may cause failure to meet
  objectives by 2015
• Economic analysis of water use Data
  Gathering
• Monitoring programme
• Implement monitoring programme
• Establish chemical standards and Biological
• classification systems
• Determine Water Body Status Linking
  
• Set Objectives Measures for Water bodies
  
• Management Plans Actions Planning
• Implementing Plans

• ACHIEVE OBJECTIVES

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Status Assessment Surface Waters

• Large amounts of Chemical and Biological data
  gathered.
• Ecological Status Chemical Status
• Biology Phytoplankton List of 41
  Chemicals
• Macrophytes
• Invertebrates
• Fish
• Physico-Chemistry Nutrients
• Oxygen Temp
• Acidification
• Relevant Pollutants
• Other pollutants
• Hydromorphology Continuity
• Hydrology
• Morphology

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BIOLOGICAL Element Descriptor (parameter)

• Biological Element Element Descriptors
• Phytoplankton Composition Abundance
  Biomass (3)
• Macrophytes/
• Phytobenthos Composition Abundance (2)
• Invertebrates Composition Abundance (2)
• Fish Composition Abundance Age structure
  (3)

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Reference Conditions

• The highest quality unimpacted sites for each
  waterbody type in each water category, where
  there are no pressure influences, have been
  chosen and their biology examined.
• These sites are referred to as being in Reference
  condition.
• The status of waterbodies in the monitoring
  programme will be determined by expressing
  deviation from the particular Reference condition
  for that waterbody

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Biological Classification
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Ecological Status for Surface Waters
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Objective

• The objective of the WFD is to achieve good or
  high status biological communities.
• Means achieving a high level of biological
  diversity
• Preservation of the aquatic community is the
  preservation of its biological diversity

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Outline of presentation

• 1 Overview of freshwater biological diversity
• 2 Protecting Legislation
• 3 Water Framework Directive
• 4 The Future

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Future Actions

• Making the First River Basin Management Plans
• Purpose to meet objectives of WFD
• Who is doing it Local Authorities and Public
  Authorities
• Draft plans completed 2008
• Final plan to be ready Autumn 2009
• Implement in period 2009 - 2015

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Climate Change

• Prediction increased temperature, wetter
  winters, drier summers and more extreme weather
  events.
• Response is species dependent and complex
• Opportunities for invasive species may increase.
• Many ecological systems may suffer increased
  stresses in heat waves.
• Vulnerability of native species, e.g. Arctic
  char, smelt and salmon, and Atlantic salmon.
• There is evidence of mismatches or asynchrony
  between plants, birds and insects.

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Strictly Enforced

• The strategy that will implement the Directive
  has milestones and dates for achieving them.
• If we fail the EU Commission will imediately
  initiate legal action against the Member State.
  Actions have already commenced against some
  states.
• But most importantly
• If we fail it will be a great opportunity lost to
  protect our aquatic biology in a meaningful way.

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The end

• Thanks

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(No Transcript)
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Ecological Status Classification Process
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Incorporates existing legislation

• The Bathing Water Directive (76/160/EEC)
• The Birds Directive (79/409/EEC)
• The Drinking Water Directive (80/778/EEC) as
  amended by Directive (98/83/EC)
• The Major Accidents (Seveso) Directive
  (96/82/EC)
• The Environmental Impact Assessment Directive
  (85/337/EEC)
• The Sewage Sludge Directive (86/278/EEC)
• The Urban Waste-water Treatment Directive
  (91/271/EEC)
• The Plant Protection Products Directive
  (91/414/EEC)
• The Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC)
• The Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC)
• The Integrated Pollution Prevention Control
  Directive (96/61/EC).

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River Basin Districts (RBD)

• RBD comprises of the river catchments lying
  within specified Hydrometric Areas and lakes,
  estuaries coastal waters and groundwaters
  associated with all these areas.
• An International River Basin District (IRBD) is
  the combined RBD areas in the State in Northern
  Ireland.
• The island of Ireland has been divided into 8
  RBDs
• 4 entirely in the Republic,
• 3 IRBDs, and
• 1 entirely in Northern Ireland.
• e.g. The SERBD comprises HAs 11-17
• Slaney, Barrow, Nore and Suir.
• It involves 13 relevant LAs.

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Involving the Public

• EU Commission putting great emphasis on
• Public participation
• Public consultation
• Transparency