Rachel Stubbington
A5087604639- Fish Ecology and Management Studies
- Freshwater macroinvertebrate diversity and ecology
- Aquatic Invertebrate Ecology and Behavior
- Hydrology and Sediment Transport Processes
- Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies
- Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Environmental DNA in Biodiversity Studies
- Soil erosion and sediment transport
- Land Use and Ecosystem Services
- Transboundary Water Resource Management
- Data Analysis with R
- Environmental Conservation and Management
- Environmental and Biological Research in Conflict Zones
- Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
- Water Governance and Infrastructure
- Protist diversity and phylogeny
- Marine and fisheries research
- Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology
- Forest Ecology and Biodiversity Studies
- Subterranean biodiversity and taxonomy
- Wildlife-Road Interactions and Conservation
- Climate Change Communication and Perception
- Marine Ecology and Invasive Species
- Water Quality and Resources Studies
Nottingham Trent University
2016-2025
Loughborough University
2007-2010
Owing to a long history of anthropogenic pressures, freshwater ecosystems are among the most vulnerable biodiversity loss
Summary Aquatic macroinvertebrates inhabiting temporary rivers are typically described as having low resistance to riverbed drying. However, little research has examined the ‘seedbank’ within dry sediments, which comprises aquatic life stages that survive in dewatered sediments and from active organisms may develop only after surface water returns. We synthesised published unpublished data studies had experimentally rehydrated collected riverbeds, establish importance of seedbank promoting...
Temporary streams are defined by periodic flow cessation, and may experience partial or complete loss of surface water. The ecology hydrology these transitional aquatic‐terrestrial ecosystems have received unprecedented attention in recent years. Research has focussed on the arid, semi‐arid, Mediterranean regions which temporary systems dominant stream type, those cooler, wetter temperate with an oceanic climate influence also receiving increasing attention. These take diverse forms,...
Dispersal is an essential process in population and community dynamics, but difficult to measure the field. In freshwater ecosystems, information on biological traits related organisms' morphology, life history behaviour provides useful dispersal proxies, remains scattered or unpublished for many taxa. We compiled multiple dispersal-related of European aquatic macroinvertebrates a unique resource, DISPERSE database. includes nine subdivided into 39 trait categories 480 taxa, including...
Abstract Climate change and human pressures are changing the global distribution extent of intermittent rivers ephemeral streams (IRES), which comprise half river network area. IRES characterized by periods flow cessation, during channel substrates accumulate undergo physico‐chemical changes (preconditioning), resumption, when these rewetted release pulses dissolved nutrients organic matter (OM). However, there no estimates amounts quality leached substances, nor is information on underlying...
Rapid shifts in biotic communities due to environmental variability challenge the detection of anthropogenic impacts by current biomonitoring programs. Metacommunity ecology has potential inform such programs, because it combines dispersal processes with niche-based approaches and recognizes community composition. Using intermittent rivers-prevalent highly dynamic ecosystems that sometimes dry-we develop a conceptual model illustrate how limitation flow intermittence influence performance...
Abstract Rivers that do not flow year-round are the predominant type of running waters on Earth. Despite a burgeoning literature natural intermittence (NFI), knowledge about hydrological causes and ecological effects human-induced, anthropogenic (AFI) remains limited. NFI AFI could generate contrasting biological responses in rivers because distinct underlying drying evolutionary adaptations their biota. We first review show how different drivers alter timing, frequency duration drying,...
Globalization has led to the introduction of thousands alien species worldwide. With growing impacts by invasive species, understanding invasion process remains critical for predicting adverse effects and informing efficient management. Theoretically, dynamics have been assumed follow an "invasion curve" (S-shaped curve available area invaded over time), but this dynamic lacked empirical testing using large-scale data neglects consider invader abundances. We propose "impact describing...
Abstract As alien invasive species are a key driver of biodiversity loss, understanding patterns rapidly changing global compositions depends upon knowledge population dynamics and trends at large scales. Within this context, the Ponto-Caspian region is among most notable donor regions for aquatic in Europe. Using macroinvertebrate time series collected over 52 years (1968–2020) 265 sites across 11 central western European countries, we examined occurrences, invasion rates, abundances...
Abstract Despite the widely accepted importance of hyporheic zone as a habitat for stream macroinvertebrates during floods, few data exist regarding community composition and distribution periods low flow or drought in perennial streams. Integrating research on invertebrates with results from long‐term study UK river provided opportunity to examine how benthic macroinvertebrate communities respond inter‐annual variability groundwater drought. Changes riverine associated included reduction...
Summary The aquatic invertebrate ‘seedbank’ comprises life stages that remain viable in the bed sediments of temporary freshwaters during dry phases. This seedbank promotes persistence temporary‐stream macroinvertebrates, but how its inhabitants respond to extended phases or repeated transitions between wet and remains unknown. We rehydrated samples collected from a temperate‐zone stream supra‐seasonal drought, examine assemblage. Samples were first autumn, 12 sites along ephemeral (4...
Abstract Intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES) may represent over half the global stream network, but their contribution to respiration carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions is largely undetermined. In particular, little known about variability drivers of in IRES sediments upon rewetting, which could result large pulses CO . We present a study examining from 200 dry reaches spanning multiple biomes. Results standardized assays show that mean increased 32‐fold 66‐fold sediment...
Abstract Ecological communities can remain stable in the face of disturbance if their constituent species have different resistance and resilience strategies. In turn, local stability scales up regionally heterogeneous landscapes maintain spatial asynchrony across discrete populations—but not large‐scale stressors synchronize environmental conditions biological responses. Here, we hypothesized that droughts could drastically decrease invertebrate metapopulations both by filtering out poorly...
Nonperennial streams dominate global river networks and are increasing in occurrence across space time. When surface flow ceases or the water dries, moisture can be retained subsurface sediments of hyporheic zone, supporting aquatic communities ecosystem processes. However, hydrological ecological definitions zone have been developed perennial rivers emphasize mixing organisms from both stream groundwater. The adaptation such to include humid dry unsaturated conditions could promote...
Abstract Aim Invasive alien species are a growing problem worldwide due to their ecological, economic and human health impacts. The “killer shrimp” Dikerogammarus villosus is notorious invasive amphipod from the Ponto‐Caspian region that has invaded many fresh brackish waters across Europe. Understandings of large‐scale population dynamics highly impactful invaders such as D. lacking, inhibiting predictions impact efficient timing management strategies. Hence, our aim was assess trends well...
Abstract Trait‐based approaches have received increasing interest among freshwater scientists given their capacity to predict community structure and biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning. However, the inconsistent development use of trait concepts terms across scientific disciplines may limited realisation potential traits. Here, we reviewed definitions provide recommendations for consistent application in science. To do so, first literature identify established definitions,...
Surface and subsurface sediments in river ecosystems are recognized as refuges that may promote invertebrate survival during disturbances such floods streambed drying. Refuge use is spatiotemporally variable, with environmental factors including substrate composition, particular the proportion of fine sediment (FS), affecting ability organisms to move through interstitial spaces. We conducted a laboratory experiment examine effects FS on movement Gammarus pulex Linnaeus (Crustacea:...