Oral Presentation Society for Freshwater Science 2025 Annual Meeting

Characterising macroinvertebrate responses to river restoration in England.  (117561)

Molly Bridger 1 , Kate Mathers 1 , James C White 2 , Judy England 3 , Marc Naura 4 , David M Hannah 2 , Paul Wood 1
  1. Geography and Environment, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom
  2. School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
  3. Environment Agency, Exeter, United Kingdom
  4. River Restoration Centre, Cranfield, United Kingdom

Declines in freshwater biodiversity globally have prompted an increase in river restoration projects. For ecological benefits to be realised, restoration schemes need to assess the ecological responses to such projects with data collected in a timely and appropriate manner (i.e. spatial and temporal replication). This paper examines the ecological responses of macroinvertebrate communities to multiple restoration projects across England by employing a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) design. Both multivariate and univariate statistical analyses (comprising taxon, diversity and biomonitoring measures) were used to examine ecological responses, with the selected restoration projects being examined independently and combined to identify specific and generalizable outcomes. This paper seeks to inform our understanding of macroinvertebrate community response to river restoration practices and assess the effectiveness of restoration for macroinvertebrate communities.