Invasive Species in UK Waterways

American Mink

Populations of American mink in the United Kingdom were first established when individuals escaped or were released from fur farms. A voracious and adaptable predator, the American mink kills domestic poultry, causes damage to fisheries and predates native species. The American mink can act as a vector of disease, which it may spread to native species.



Floating Pennywort

Growing at a rate of up to 20cm per day, this plant may quickly dominate a water body forming thick mats and impeding water flow. May out-compete native species by blocking out light, causing deoxygenation, obstructing air breathing insects from reaching the water surface and reducing water temperatures.

 

Canada Goose

 

 

 

 

Large flocks of Canada geese create an enormous quantity of droppings, which foul parks and golf courses. The droppings can also pollute water bodies, causing health risks to humans. In areas where Canada geese are found in vast aggregations they can cause damage to riverbanks and waterside vegetation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Himalayan Balsam

 

 

 

 

The Himalayan balsam produces a large amount of nectar, which makes it much more attractive to pollen-spreading insects than neighbouring native species. Due to its large size, the Himalayan balsam outcompetes native species for light and space. The rapid growth of the Himalayan balsam and its tendency to grow around water can lead to flooding and other changes in the ecosystem’s water cycle.

American Bullfrog

It is thought that the American bullfrog was introduced to the UK through the release of unwanted pets or accidental importation with aquatic plants or fish. Classed as one of the 100 worst invasive species in the world by the IUCN, the American bullfrog threatens native species, through competition, predation and disease transmission. More than £100,000 has been spent on control and monitoring of the American bullfrog in the UK so far, with over 9,000 individuals having been removed from the wild.

Killer Shrimp

The freshwater Killer Shrimp kills a wide range of British species including young fish. It is rapidly spreading, is one of the most invasive species in Europe, and can survive for up to 15 days at a time. They are usually between 10-20mm in length but can grow up to 50mm. They have distinctive cone-shaped bumps on their tale and usually have striped backs.

 

Zebra Mussels

 

Very small animals, from 30-50mm in length. They have a characteristic ‘D’ shape. They are found in rivers, canals and lakes, usually in large clusters and can affect lock gates and block pipe work. They rapidly take nutrients from the water, negatively altering ecosystems and suffocating native species.

 

Nuttall's Waterweed

Nuttall's Waterweed is commonly found in more nutrient-rich water. The waterweed produces dense growth in slow flowing rivers, drainage channels and canals can impede flow and exacerbate flooding. It can replace native aquatic plant species and reduce biodiversity in lakes and ponds and interfere with recreational activities such as angling and boating.



Signal Crayfish

Their small lobster-like appearance makes crayfish easy to recognise. Distinguishing non-native species from the threatened native white-clawed crayfish is essential. Compared to the native species, the signal crayfish is much larger and its claws are red underneath with a small turquoise / white blotch on the surface. Negative impacts include the almost complete loss of the native crayfish through the spread of disease and direct competition. Also undermines riverbanks through burrowing and can predate on native fish eggs and aquatic invertebrates.

If you see any of these species, please report it to iRecord at http://www.brc.ac.uk/irecord/. They can be very harmful to the local ecology. Thank-you.

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The Next Steps...

Less work is being done on livestock farms, but the work that has been carried out includes fencing animals away from streams, and diverting storm water away from slurry storage tanks. A waste water treatment reedbed is being reinstated for a group of eight houses, and guidance on septic tank management (http://www.wellandriverstrust.org.uk/?p=3803) has been been issued to the more isolated houses in the catchments. Some septic tanks have also been properly emptied.

 

Although most steps are now completed, we still have some work to do to introduce various management options across the two catchments. We will be supporting farmers to continue their Environmental Stewardship agreements, when the latest changes come into force next year. We also hope to provide more support for farmers to improve the efficiency of soil and nutrient management. And of course, we will keep montoring.

 

Soil sampler mounted on a quad bike.

We will continue to share our results so that future catchment management policy and practice can be practically grounded as well as scientifically based. For a more in-depth analysis of the developments, visit the Allerton Project research blog at www.allertonresearch.blogspot.co.uk, alternatively keep an eye peeled here for a more concise breakdown.

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Bringing In The Changes

 

The project funding enables a wide range of measures to be

introduced on farms that would otherwise be unable to

implement them. The Barkby catchment remains unchanged,

while in the Eye Brook and Stonton Brook catchment several

approaches to reducing the impact of farming on water are

being implemented. Having identified additional discharges

of nutrients from domestic septic tanks and sewage

treatment works, most notably at Tilton, we are also

addressing this issues as far as possible. In the Stonton Brook

catchment, additional habitat is being created for aquatic

wildlife.



Field drain interceptor ponds trap sediment and nutrients before they enter the stream.

Ditch dams, flood water ponds and field drain interceptor

ponds are designed to act as silt traps to capture sediment

and nutrients once they have left fields. Surveys of soil

structure result in targeted advice to farmers on soil

management to prevent soil leaving fields in the first place.



A ditch dam holds back water and traps soil from arable fields.

Mapping of variation in soil type and soil nutrients across

fields enables farmers to plan their soil management and

fertiliser applications according to the varying needs of

different parts of the farm. These last two measures help to

ensure that soils and fertilisers are managed more efficiently,

with benefits to food production and farm businesses as well

as to watercourses. We hope to develop this work in future.

As well as improving water quality we also expect silt traps

and better soil management to help reduce future flood risk
in the lower catchments.

 

Reducing soil disturbance improves soil structure and function.

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The Experiment

The Experiment

The Water Friendly Farming project covers an area of nearly 30Km2, including the headwaters of the Eye Brook and neighbouring Stonton Brook, and an adjacent catchment, the Barkby Brook, which is part of the Soar river basin. The Barkby Brook forms the ‘control’ for the experiment, with no changes in management, while we are currently introducing a range of measures in the Eye and Stonton catchments. In the past three years, comprehensive data have been gathered at the base of each of the three catchments, and at about 250 sites across the study area. These represent a valuable baseline against which to monitor future change in response to the measures being introduced. The aim of the project is to find out to what extent it is possible to move towards government targets for water quality by applying a range of measures at the landscape scale. Although research at Loddington and elsewhere provides evidence of the performance of individual measures, remarkably little is known about what can be achieved if they are applied together at the landscape scale.

 

Soil research at Loddington

 

What are we measuring?

We are gathering detailed data on stream flow, sediment, nutrients and pesticides at the base of each of the three catchments. This provides a reliable measure of the amount and quality of the water discharged from each of the three areas of farmland. We are also carrying out less intensive monitoring of water quality in each of the small tributaries in each catchment. Then, at about 250 sites across the study area, we are surveying the aquatic invertebrates and plants in ditches, ponds and streams. Some water quality data are also available for these sites. This provides exceptionally detailed information on the variation in water quality and ecology within each of the three catchments. For example the data highlights the importance of ponds for wetland plants, and the increase in sediment in the stream when it rains. Fish have also been surveyed across thirty sites.

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Exciting Additions to The Trust

We are proud to have recently welcomed five new members of staff into the Welland Rivers Trust this summer on a temporary basis to offer their skills across a wide range of roles. Humanities students Joe Franklin and Alex Leaver are focusing on promoting the online status of the Trust via our social media accounts and blogs (listed below) and updating the website: www.wellandriverstrust.org.uk so as to keep everyone across the Welland catchment who is interested in our work in the loop.

Working on the Stamford Mill Stream project we have two Zoology students; Nikki Warden and Cameron Grundy, and a Sixth Form student Leon Nixon, a Nuffield Research Ambassador. Their aim is to gather data by mapping river habitats from consecutive stretches of the Welland River and the Mill Stream in Stamford. Their findings will be used to determine whether or not redistributing water flow from the river to the historic stream would provide an overall benefit to the local ecology.

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A Nationally Important Experiment

The Welland Rivers Trust - Water Friendly Farming

Flooding is at the forefront of many people's minds after the past two winters. Last winter was the wettest since records began. We have also had more than our fair share of warm summer weather in recent years and the average temperature for central England in the past decade has been consistently higher than the long-term average. Exceptions seem to be becoming the norm!



The Upper Eye Brook is one of the three agricultural headwater catchments involved in the Water Friendly Farming Project.

It is not just flooding that results from lots of rain. Even moderate rainfall results in soil and nutrients washing from fields into streams, clogging up ditches, reducing the quality of the water that is pumped into Rutland Water for our drinking water supply. In addition to this of course, soil is an important resource that needs to be kept in fields to support the production of our food, not just for us, but for the next generation and beyond. It is the most fundamental asset of any farm business.

 

But what can be done? In the home, and when travelling, we can all do our bit to reduce the use of fossil fuels and the associated greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

We aim to improve food production while also reducing its impact on water supplies.

 

As a result of research carried out by the Allerton Project at Loddington, and by other research organisations elsewhere, we also now have a suite of land management options at our disposal to apply on farmland to reduce the movement of soil and nutrients to water. What we don't know is how much improvement there would be if we applied these in combination at the landscape scale across several farms. So, in a nationally important experiment, that is what we are doing. The project will be a valuable reality check for researchers, farmers and policy makers alike.

 

 

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