Environmental Sciences Research Institute

  1. Introduction
  2. Staff and Students
  3. Recent Publications

Freshwater Sciences

The broad aim of research in the Freshwater Sciences Research Group is to understand the behaviour of rivers and lakes in catchments in order to model their important physicochemical and biological properties. We emphasise the use of models to manage rivers and lakes.

There are three research themes: catchments and river quality, including groundwaters; fate of chemicals in lakes and; lake ecology. The group co-operates with UK and Irish end-users of the research; one member (Phil Jordan) is currently on secondment, to share with Tegasc, the agriculture and food development authority in Ireland, his experience on managing nutrient losses from agricultural land to freshwaters. Our research in all the three areas supports the management of rivers and lakes, particularly the implementation of the Water Framework Directive and the effects of climate change on water resources

Catchments and river quality, including groundwaters.

This research focusses on the loss of nutrients from agricultural land and the changes in chemical and biological quality of rivers that result. The sources and pathways of phosphorus loss have been identified and ways that they can be controlled evaluated; the CHASM (Catchment Hydrology And Sustainable Management) and Backwater TRACE (Trans-boundary River-basin Action for Community and Environment) projects have been particularly important in developing this work. A new methodology for assessing the quality of rivers using biological characteristics, CBAS (Canonical Correspondence Based Assessment System), was developed using macrophytes in rivers and supported by the NS Share (North South Shared Aquatic Resource) project. Work on groundwaters has just started and a survey of the fauna in groundwaters in Ireland is underway.

Fate of chemicals in lakes.

The focus has been on models for nutrients, particularly new methodologies, and on one of the main responses of lakes to increased nutrient concentrations, oxygen depletion in deeper waters. While nutrient models were a big topic in lakes over twenty years ago, they perform poorly in nutrient rich lakes and so this has been an area of emphasis. A model for de-oxygenation in lakes has been developed and it has highlighted that our understanding of oxygen consumption in sediment is poor and so this is priority for further work. All this work has increased relevance because of the additional pressures on lakes as a result of climate change.

Lake Ecology.

This research theme has two active areas, bioassessment methodologies and lake models. The CBAS methodology has been extended from rivers to macrophytes and macroinvertebrates in lakes and a review of the approaches to bioassessment in the context of the Water Framework Directive has been completed; the latter was undertaken to contribute to the review of the Directive that is to take place. The ECOPATH model has been widely used to integrate understanding and model biological properties in estuaries and parts of the ocean, but much less so for lakes. In order to evaluate the usefulness of this methodology for lakes, an ECOPATH model was created for Lough Neagh. This was a substantial piece of work and it required careful collation and collection of a wide range of biological information for the lake. The model was then used to identify the changes in the ecology of the lake that may result from the recent arrival of the invasive Zebra Mussel to the lake.

The Freshwater Sciences Research Group examines the following areas of research:

Staff and Students

Academic Staff

Joerg Arnsheidt - Lecturer in Earth Systems

Richard Douglas - Senior Lecturer in Freshwater Science

David Griffiths - Reader Emeritus

Phil Jordan - Professor of Catchment Science

Brian Rippey - Professor of Environmental Science

Research Staff

Eimear Egan - Project Assistant

Caitriona McInerney - Research Assistant

Katrina McIntosh - Research Associate

Research Students

Julie Campbell - PhD Student

Brian Foley - PhD Student

Louise Grieve - PhD Student

Shijie Li - PhD Student

Catherine McGavigan - PhD Student

Publications

Number of items: 75.

Mellander, Per-Erik, Jordan, Philip, Wall, David P., Melland, Alice R., Meehan, Robert, Kelly, Coran and Shortle, Ger (2012) Delivery and impact bypass in a karst aquifer with high phosphorus source and pathway potential. Water Research, 46 (7). pp. 2225 - 2236.

Jordan, Philip, Melland, A.R., Mellander, P.-E., Shortle, G. and Wall, D. (2012) The seasonality of phosphorus transfers from land to water: Implications for trophic impacts and policy evaluation. Science of The Total Environment, in press (0). pp. - .

Macintosh, Katrina, Jordan, Philip, Cassidy, R., Arnscheidt, Joerg and Ward, C. (2011) Low flow water quality in rivers; septic tank systems and high-resolution phosphorus signals. SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, 412. pp. 58-65.

Wall, D., Jordan, Philip, Melland, A. R., Mellander, P. -E., Buckley, C., Reaney, S. M. and Shortle, G. (2011) Using the nutrient transfer continuum concept to evaluate the European Union Nitrates Directive National Action Programme. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY, 14 (6). pp. 664-674.

Cassidy, R. and Jordan, Philip (2011) Limitations of instantaneous water quality sampling in surface-water catchments: Comparison with near-continuous phosphorus time-series data. JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY, 405 (1-2). pp. 182-193.

Fenton, O, Schulte, RPO, Jordan, Philip, Lalor, STJ and Richards, KG (2011) Time lag: a methodology for the estimation of vertical and horizontal travel and flushing timescales to nitrate threshold concentrations in Irish aquifers. Environmental Science & Policy, 14. pp. 419-431.

Greene, S., Taylor, D., McElarney, Y.R., Foy, R.H. and Jordan, Philip (2011) An evaluation of catchment-scale phosphorus mitigation using load apportionment modelling. Science of The Total Environment, 409 (11). pp. 2211 - 2221.

Jordan, Philip and Cassidy, R. (2011) Technical Note: Assessing a 24/7 solution for monitoring water quality loads in small river catchments. HYDROLOGY AND EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCES, 15 (10). pp. 3093-3100.

Schulte, R. P. O., Melland, A. R., Fenton, O., Herlihy, M., Richards, K. and Jordan, P. (2010) Modelling soil phosphorus decline: Expectations of Water Framework Directive policies. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY, 13 (6). pp. 472-484.

Fealy, R. M., Buckley, C., Mechan, S., Melland, A., Mellander, P. E., Shortle, G., Wall, D. and Jordan, Philip (2010) The Irish Agricultural Catchments Programme: catchment selection using spatial multi-criteria decision analysis. SOIL USE AND MANAGEMENT, 26 (3). pp. 225-236.

Griffiths, David (2010) Pattern and process in the distribution of North American freshwater fish. BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY, 100 (1). pp. 46-61.

Inger, Richard, McDonald, Robbie A., Rogowski, David, Jackson, Andrew L., Parnell, Andrew, Preston, S. Jane, Harrod, Chris, Goodwin, Claire, Griffiths, David, Dick, Jaimie T. A., Elwood, Robert W., Newton, Jason and Bearhop, Stuart (2010) Do non-native invasive fish support elevated lamprey populations?. JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, 47 (1). pp. 121-129.

Rippey, Brian (2010) A model for the concentration of lead and polychlorinated biphenyls in lake sediment. Journal of Paleolimnology, 43. pp. 565-576.

Rippey, B and McSorley, C (2009) Oxygen depletion in lake hypolimnia. Limnology and Oceanography, 54. pp. 905-916.

McElarney, Y and Rippey, B (2009) A comparison of classifications of reference lakes using aquatic macrophytes and water body descriptors. Hydrobiologia, 625. pp. 195-206.

Sharpley, A.N., Kleinman, P.J.A., Jordan, P., Bergstrom, L. and Allen, A.L. (2009) Evaluating the Success of Phosphorus Management from Field to Watershed. Journal of Environmental Quality, 38. pp. 1981-1988.

Kelly, M, Juggins, S, Guthrie, R, Jamieson, J, Rippey, Brian, Hirst, H and Yallop, M (2008) Assessment of ecological status in UK rivers using diatoms. Freshwater Biology , 53. pp. 403-422.

Rippey, Brian, Anderson, N J, Renberg, I and Korsman, T (2008) The accuracy of methods used to estimate the whole-lake accumulation rate of organic carbon, major cations, phosphorus and heavy metals in sediment. Journal of Paleolimnology, 39. pp. 83-99.

Neale, M and Rippey, B (2008) A comparison of environmental and biological site classifications for the prediction of macroinvertebrate communities of lakes in Northern Ireland. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 18. pp. 729-741.

Arnscheidt, Joerg, Hahn, Hans-Juergen and Fuchs, Andreas (2008) Aquatic subterranean Crustacea in Ireland: results and new records from a pilot study. Cave and Karst Science, 35 (1). pp. 53-58.

Dodkins, Ian and Rippey, Brian (2008) Objectivity and confidence in biological assessment or rivers and lakes. In: Focus on Water Resource Research. Nova Science Publishers, New York, pp. 149-193. ISBN 978-1-60456-093-0

Griffiths, David (2007) Effects of climatic change and eutrophication on the glacial relict, Mysis relicta, in Lough Neagh. FRESHWATER BIOLOGY, 52 (10). pp. 1957-1967.

Arnscheidt, Joerg, Jordan, Philip, Li, S., McCormick, S., McFaul, R., McGrogan, H. J., Neal, M. and Sims, J. T. (2007) Defining the sources of low-flow phosphorus transfers in complex catchments. SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, 382 (1). pp. 1-13.

Douglas, Richard W., Menary, Wayne and Jordan, Philip (2007) Phosphorus and sediment transfers in a grassland river catchment. NUTRIENT CYCLING IN AGROECOSYSTEMS, 77 (3). pp. 199-212.

Nasr, Ahmed, Bruen, Michael, Jordan, Philip, Moles, Richard, Kiely, Gerard and Byrne, Paul (2007) A comparison of SWAT, HSPF and SHETRAN/GOPC for modelling phosphorus export from three catchments in Ireland. WATER RESEARCH, 41 (5). pp. 1065-1073.

Douglas, Richard, Menary, Wayne and Jordan, Philip (2007) Phosphorus and sediment transfers in a grassland river catchment. NUTRIENT CYCLING IN AGROECOSYSTEMS, 77 (3). pp. 199-212.

Griffiths, David and Harrod, Chris (2007) Natural mortality, growth parameters, and environmental temperature in fishes revisited. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES AND AQUATIC SCIENCES, 64 (2). pp. 249-255.

Rippey, Brian, Rose, N, Yang, H, Harrard, S, Robson, M and Travers, S (2007) An assessment of toxicity in profundal lake sediment due to deposition of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants from the atmosphere. Environment International, 34. pp. 345-356.

Jordan, Philip, Arnscheidt, Joerg, McGrogan, H. and McCormick, S. (2007) Characterising phosphorus transfers in rural catchments using a continuous bank-side analyser. HYDROLOGY AND EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCES, 11 (1). pp. 372-381.

Taylor, D., Dalton, C., Leira, M., Jordan, Philip, Chen, G., Leon-Vintro, L., Irvine, K., Bennion, H. and Nolan, T. (2006) Recent histories of six productive lakes in the Irish Ecoregion based on multiproxy palaeolimnological evidence. HYDROBIOLOGIA, 571. pp. 237-259.

Leira, Manel, Jordan, Philip, Taylor, David, Dalton, Catherine, Bennion, Helen, Rose, Neil and Irvine, Kenneth (2006) Assessing the ecological status of candidate reference lakes in Ireland using palaeolimnology. JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, 43 (4). pp. 816-827.

Griffiths, D (2006) Pattern and process in the ecological biogeography of European freshwater fish. JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, 75 (3). pp. 734-751.

Griffiths, D (2006) The direct contribution of fish to lake phosphorus cycles. ECOLOGY OF FRESHWATER FISH, 15 (1). pp. 86-95.

Goodwin, CE, Griffiths, D, Dick, JTA and Elwood, RW (2006) A freshwater-feeding Lampetra fluviatilis L. Population in Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, 68 (2). pp. 628-633.

Harrod, C and Griffiths, D (2005) Parasitism, space constraints, and gonad asymmetry in the pollan (Coregonus autumnalis). CANADIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES AND AQUATIC SCIENCES, 62 (12). pp. 2796-2801.

Harrod, C and Griffiths, D (2005) Ichthyocotylurus erraticus (Digenea : Strigeldae): factors affecting infection intensity and the effects of infection on pollan (Coregonus autumnalis), a glacial relict fish. PARASITOLOGY, 131 (Part 4). pp. 511-519.

Jordan, Philip, Menary, W, Daly, K, Kiely, G, Morgan, G, Byrne, P and Moles, R (2005) Patterns and processes of phosphorus transfer from Irish grassland soils to rivers - integration of laboratory and catchment studies. JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY, 304 (1-4). pp. 20-34.

Jordan, Philip, Arnscheidt, Joerg, McGrogan, H and McCormick, S (2005) High-resolution phosphorus transfers at the catchment scale: the hidden importance of non-storm transfers. HYDROLOGY AND EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCES, 9 (6). pp. 685-691.

Rippey, B and Douglas, RW (2004) Reconstructing regional-scale lead contamination of the atmosphere (1850-1980) in the United Kingdom and Ireland using lake sediments. GLOBAL BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES, 18 (4). pp. GB4026.

Rippey, B, Rose, CL and Douglas, RW (2004) A model for lead, zinc, and copper in lakes. LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY, 49 (6). pp. 2256-2264.

Harrod, C and Griffiths, D (2004) Reproduction and fecundity of the Irish pollan (Coregonus autumnalis Pallas, 1776), a threatened lake coregonid. ANNALES ZOOLOGICI FENNICI, 41 (1). pp. 117-124.

Douglas, RW, Rippey, B and Gibson, CE (2003) Estimation of the in-situ settling velocity of particles in lakes using a time series sediment trap. FRESHWATER BIOLOGY, 48 (3). pp. 512-518.

Jordan, P. and Rippey, Brian (2003) Lake sedimentary evidence of phosphorus, iron and manganese mobilisation from intensively fertilised soils. WATER RESEARCH, 37 (6). pp. 1426-1432.

Douglas, RW, Rippey, B and Gibson, CE (2002) Interpreting sediment trap data in relation to the dominant sediment redistribution process in a lake. ARCHIV FUR HYDROBIOLOGIE, 155 (4). pp. 529-539.

Jordan, Philip, Rippey, Brian and Anderson, NJ (2002) The 20th century whole-basin trophic history of an inter-drumlin lake in an agricultural catchment. SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, 297 (1-3). pp. 161-173.

Olson, PD, Littlewood, DTJ, Griffiths, D, Kennedy, CR and Arme, C (2002) Evidence for the co-existence of separate strains or species of Ligula in Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland. JOURNAL OF HELMINTHOLOGY, 76 (2). pp. 171-174.

Harrod, C, Griffiths, D, McCarthy, TK and Rosell, R (2001) The Irish pollan, Coregonus autumnalis: options for its conservation. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, 59 (Suppl. A). pp. 339-355.

Jordan, Philip, Rippey, Brian and Anderson, NJ (2001) Modeling diffuse phosphorus loads from land to freshwater using the sedimentary record. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, 35 (5). pp. 815-819.

Douglas, RW and Rippey, B (2000) The random redistribution of sediment by wind in a lak. LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY, 45 (3). pp. 686-694.

Griffiths, D (1999) On investigating local-regional species richness relationships. JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, 68 (5). pp. 1051-1055.

Griffiths, D (1998) Sampling effort, regression method, and the shape and slope of size-abundance relations. JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, 67 (5). pp. 795-804.

Scholz, T, Hanzelova, V, Kralova, I and Griffiths, D (1998) Synonymy of Proteocephalus pollanicola Gresson, 1952 (Cestoda : Proteocephalidae), a parasite of pollan, Coregonus autumnalis pollan, with P-exiguus La Rue, 1911. SYSTEMATIC PARASITOLOGY, 40 (1). pp. 35-41.

Griffiths, D (1997) The status of the Irish freshwater fish fauna: A review. JOURNAL OF APPLIED ICHTHYOLOGY-ZEITSCHRIFT FUR ANGEWANDTE ICHTHYOLOGIE, 13 (1). pp. 9-13.

Griffiths, D (1997) Local and regional species richness in north American lacustrine fish. JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, 66 (1). pp. 49-56.

Griffiths, D (1996) The ecology of resource polymorphism in vertebrates. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 11 (1). pp. 25.

Griffiths, D and KIRKWOOD, RC (1995) SEASONAL-VARIATION IN GROWTH, MORTALITY AND FAT STORES OF ROACH AND PERCH IN LOUGH-NEAGH, NORTHERN-IRELAND. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, 47 (3). pp. 537-554.

Griffiths, D (1994) THE SIZE STRUCTURE OF LACUSTRINE ARCTIC CHARR (PISCES, SALMONIDAE) POPULATIONS. BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY, 51 (3). pp. 337-357.

GRIFFITHS, D (1993) INTRASPECIFIC COMPETITION IN ANT-LION (MACROLEON-QUINQUEMACULATUS) LARVAE IN THE FIELD. OECOLOGIA, 93 (4). pp. 531-537.

Griffiths, D (1992) INTERFERENCE COMPETITION IN ANT-LION (MACROLEON-QUINQUEMACULATUS) LARVAE. ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, 17 (3). pp. 219-226.

GRIFFITHS, D (1992) SIZE, ABUNDANCE, AND ENERGY USE IN COMMUNITIES. JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, 61 (2). pp. 307-315.

Griffiths, D (1991) INTRASPECIFIC COMPETITION IN LARVAE OF THE ANT-LION MORTER SP AND INTERSPECIFIC INTERACTIONS WITH MACROLEON-QUINQUEMACULATUS. ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, 16 (2). pp. 193-201.

Griffiths, D (1991) FOOD AVAILABILITY AND THE USE AND STORAGE OF FAT BY ANT-LION LARVAE. OIKOS, 60 (2). pp. 162-172.

GRIFFITHS, D (1987) BODY SIZE, ENERGY USE AND ECOLOGICAL DOMINANCE. NATURE, 328 (6126). pp. 117-118.

Griffiths, D (1986) PIT CONSTRUCTION BY ANT-LION LARVAE - A COST-BENEFIT-ANALYSIS. JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, 55 (1). pp. 39-57.

Griffiths, D (1986) SIZE-ABUNDANCE RELATIONS IN COMMUNITIES. AMERICAN NATURALIST, 127 (2). pp. 140-166.

Griffiths, D (1985) PHENOLOGY AND LARVAL - ADULT SIZE RELATIONS IN THE ANT-LION MACROLEON-QUINQUEMACULATUS. JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, 54 (2). pp. 573-581.

Griffiths, D (1982) TESTS OF ALTERNATIVE MODELS OF PREY CONSUMPTION BY PREDATORS, USING ANT-LION LARVAE. JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, 51 (2). pp. 363-373.

Griffiths, D (1981) SUBOPTIMAL FORAGING IN THE ANT-LION MACROLEON-QUINQUEMACULATUS. JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, 50 (3). pp. 697-702.

Griffiths, D (1980) FORAGING COSTS AND RELATIVE PREY SIZE. AMERICAN NATURALIST, 116 (5). pp. 743-752.

Griffiths, D (1980) THE FEEDING BIOLOGY OF ANT-LION LARVAE - GROWTH AND SURVIVAL IN MORTER-OBSCURUS. OIKOS, 34 (3). pp. 364-370.

Griffiths, D (1980) FEEDING BIOLOGY OF ANT-LION LARVAE - PREY CAPTURE, HANDLING AND UTILIZATION. JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, 49 (1). pp. 99-125.

Griffiths, D (1977) CALORIC VARIATION IN CRUSTACEA AND OTHER ANIMALS. JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, 46 (2). pp. 593-605.

Griffiths, D (1975) PREY AVAILABILITY AND FOOD OF PREDATORS. ECOLOGY, 56 (5). pp. 1209-1214.

Griffiths, D (1973) FOOD OF ANIMALS IN AN ACID MOORLAND POND. JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, 42 (2). pp. 285-293.

Griffiths, D (1973) STRUCTURE OF AN ACID MOORLAND POND COMMUNITY. JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, 42 (2). pp. 263-283.

This list was generated on Thu May 17 04:16:54 2012 BST.