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It is becoming extremely challenging to protect the structural and functional integrity of freshwater ecosystems, as many ecological systems face pressures from climate change, population growth and other environmental impacts. However, existing approaches of assessing impacts of external stressors to habitat conditions often neglect the long‐term hydrological changes. This study aimed to develop an integrated modelling framework to assess impacts of different stressors on reach‐scale habitat conditions for benthic macroinvertebrates in a temperate lowland river in central Poland. We coupled hydrological (SWAT+), hydraulic (HEC‐RAS 1D and SRH‐2D) and habitat (CASiMiR) models to predict the response of habitat suitability for the functional group of filter feeders to changes in the catchment for a 135‐m section of the Jeziorka river. Setting up and calibrating individual models required extensive field data collection (e.g., bathymetry field surveys, gauging water levels, discharge and flow velocity measurements and biological sampling). The performance of individual models in simulating discharge, water levels and depth/flow velocity was assessed as satisfactory according to literature. The modelling chain was then applied to compare the effects of three flow scenarios (average, low and high flows). The results showed an overall high value of hydraulic habitat suitability index for filter feeders, with moderately and severely lower values for low and high flow scenario, respectively. The implemented modelling framework performed well could be applied to examine the impacts of climate change and other anthropogenic stressors on reach‐scale habitat conditions. Its practical implementation could be beneficial towards sustainable water resources and environmental flow regime development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied distributions and abundances of macroinvertebrates in relation to hyporheic water exchange (HWE) patterns of the upper Biebrza − a small, lowland, low dynamic European river located in Northeast Poland. On a 6-km stretch of the river; we determined the variability of water exchange in the hyporheic zone by using direct field measurements of the pressure gradient to determine groundwater–surface water interactions. We identified locations with upwelling and downwelling fluxes of HWE as well as ambiguous hydraulic contact between groundwater and surface water along the river. In these locations, we sampled bottom-dwelling macroinvertebrates. In total, 627 individuals of benthic macroinvertebrates of 34 taxa were identified. We revealed that bottom-dwelling macroinvertebrate fauna is more abundant and diverse in river stretches where water from the river infiltrates the hyporheic zone. Results also show higher taxonomic richness and abundances of benthic macroinvertebrates in stretches with diagnosed infiltrating conditions (downwelling flux in a hyporheic zone) compared to in stretches where the river drained groundwater (upwelling flux in a hyporheic zone), but the recorded differences were not statistically significant.

Climate change is expected to affect the flow regime, cause loss of habitat, change community composition and behavioural habits of fish. This study assessed the impact of climate change on ecologically relevant streamflow conditions for fish migration and spawning in the Vistula and the Odra river basins. Streamflow simulations obtained with the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) for the historical period and two future horizons were driven by nine bias‐corrected EURO‐CORDEX Regional Climate Models under two greenhouse gas concentration trajectories. This study identified a subset of Indicators of Hydrological Alteration (IHA) that are relevant for pike, Esox lucius L., chub, Squalius cephalus (L.), and Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L. IHA indicators were calculated and compared for different scenarios. An index‐based framework identified that all considered species will be impacted by climate change, with Atlantic salmon facing the largest impact. The model's uncertainty was addressed through an aggregation method that assessed inconsistencies in the model's response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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