Search

River water temperature is known to be important for water quality and ecosystem processes. We quantified the degree to which lower river flows are associated with warmer river water, after accounting for seasonality and meteorological variability. We applied a systematic methodology to analyse observed mean daily river water temperature and mean daily river flow from 47 sites draining mountain, hill, and lowland catchments across the Canterbury region of Aotearoa New Zealand. We fitted regression models to remove seasonal patterns from all variables, then removed correlations between water temperature and each of three meteorological variables (solar radiation, air temperature, and earth temperature) before quantifying water temperature‐river flow relationships. Strong seasonal patterns were present in water temperature and each meteorological variable across all sites. Many sites also showed strong seasonal patterns in river flows. We demonstrated that seasonal patterns must be accounted for before day‐to‐day associations between water temperature and meteorological variables or river flow can be characterised. Higher water temperatures were associated with lower flows for 46 of 47 sites, even after having accounted for seasonality and associations with each meteorological variable. Increases in water temperature associated with a hypothetical reduction in river flow from the median to the fifth percentile varied with the site but were 0.5°C on average. This finding has important implications for river flow management because it indicates that increased river water temperatures would accompany reduced river flows regardless of site or catchment characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstractions and diversions are prevalent in river networks worldwide; however, specific mechanisms and measures reflecting changes in functional characteristics of aquatic assemblages in response to flow abstraction have not been well established. In particular, the influence of small takes on fish assemblages is poorly understood.Field surveys and stable‐isotope analyses were used to evaluate the impact of differing levels of flow abstraction on fish assemblage structure, and native–non‐native patterns of coexistence, associated with small surface water abstractions in four streams in New Zealand. Study design accounted for longitudinal processes (spatial autocorrelation) to isolate the effects of abstractions on fish assemblages.Reaches with reduced flows downstream of abstraction points had significantly lower fish abundances per metre of stream length, probably because of decreased habitat size, altered interspecific interactions and barriers to movement. The loss of larger fish in reaches with high abstraction resulted in shallower mass–abundance slopes and shorter stable isotope‐derived food‐chain lengths, likely to have been caused by fewer trophic links in the food web. The large fish absent from these reaches were flow‐sensitive introduced salmonids, resulting in higher relative abundances of small‐bodied native fish, probably as a result of predatory and competitive release.Quantification of metrics designed to characterize ecosystem functioning as well as abundance and species composition indicated that small water abstractions can alter both the structure and composition of stream fish assemblages and modify the outcomes of native–non‐native species interactions. Thus, a better understanding of the effects of small abstractions could be used to improve the strategic management of fish in invaded riverscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific research is often targeted towards predicting broad-scale patterns in biophysical variables, with spatial data traditionally communicated using static figures and written descriptions in scientific journals and reports. However, inaccessibility and lack of flexibility mean that these communication methods have often hindered research uptake by resource managers and decision-makers. We used R shiny to develop an interactive webtool that maps estimates of 109 biophysical variables, including hydrology, ecology and water quality metrics across the New Zealand digital river network. NZ River Maps is freely available online and can be used to visualise regional patterns, identify site-specific characteristics and overlay regional planning layers. Interactive webtools improve on traditional communication methods by allowing inspection of predictions for selected sites and plotting of spatial patterns. The ability to quickly visualise and quantify relevant spatial data has enabled better communication of research outputs to provide robust and transparent inputs into environmental management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regression models of mean and mean annual maximum ( MAM) cover were derived for two categories of periphyton cover (filaments and mats) using 22 years of monthly monitoring data from 78 river sites across New Zealand. Explanatory variables were derived from observations of water quality variables, hydrology, shade, bed sediment grain size, temperature, and solar radiation. The root mean square errors of these models were large (75-95% of the mean of the estimated values). The at-site frequency distributions of periphyton cover were approximated by the exponential distribution, which has the mean cover as its single parameter. Independent predictions of cover distributions at all sites were calculated using the mean predicted by the regression model and the theoretical exponential distribution. The probability that cover exceeds specified thresholds and estimates of MAM cover, based on the predicted distributions, had large uncertainties (~80-100%) at the site scale. However, predictions aggregated by classes of an environmental classification accurately predicted the proportion of sites for which cover exceeded nominated criteria in the classes. The models are useful for assessing broad-scale patterns in periphyton cover and for estimating changes in cover with changes in nutrients, hydrological regime, and light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flow variability structures freshwater fish community traits and life-history patterns such as migration patterns between fresh and saltwater (diadromy). Few studies, however, have explored relationships between diadromy and flow regime while accounting for other abiotic covariables. The present paper used canonical ordinations to remove the shared variation between groups of explanatory variables that explain variation in fish communities and examine two objectives with New Zealand fishes: (i) to compare the unique contributions of Hydrological Regime, Climate, Habitat and Spatial-Seasonal data sets to the variation of diadromous and nondiadromous fishes and (ii) to compare the relative contributions of a Hydrological Variability and Low-Flow data set to community structure of both life-history patterns. All explanatory variables explained a total of 20.15% and 29.58% of the variation in diadromous and nondiadromous fishes, respectively. Objective 1 analyses showed that the largest unique component of variation was explained by Hydrological Regime for nondiadromous fishes (12.17%), while Climate uniquely explained the most variation in diadromous fishes (4.3%), followed closely by Hydrological Regime (3.08%). Objective 2 analyses showed that Hydrological Variability uniquely explained five and 11 times more variation than the Low-Flow data set in diadromous and nondiadromous fishes, respectively. Findings illustrate the importance of hydrological regime to New Zealand freshwater fishes. Specifically, aspects of hydrological variability uniquely account for more variation than aspects of low flow. Differing relative influences of hydrology between life-history patterns suggest that diadromy may mediate the influence of flow regime. Results outline difficulties for environmental flow settings when biota display differing life histories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]