Global climate change affects productivity and species composition of freshwater and marine aquatic ecosystems by raising temperatures, ocean acidification, excessive solar UV and visible radiation. Effects on bacterioplankton and viruses, phytoplankton and macroalgae have farreaching consequences for primary consumers such as zooplankton, invertebrates and vertebrates, as well as on human consumption of fish, crustaceans and mollusks. It has affected the habitation of the Arctic and Antarctic oceans the most so far. Increasing pollution from terrestrial runoff, industrial, municipal and household wastes as well as marine transportation and plastic debris also affect aquatic ecosystems.

This text examines the impact of climate change on freshwater ecosystems, past, present and future. It especially considers the interactions between climate change and other drivers of change including hydromorphological modification, nutrient loading, acid deposition and contamination by toxic substances using evidence from palaeolimnology, time-series analysis, space-for-time substitution, laboratory and field experiments and process modelling. The book evaluates these processes in relation to extreme events, seasonal changes in ecosystems, trends over decadal-scale time periods, mitigation strategies and ecosystem recovery. The book is also concerned with how aspects of hydrophysical, hydrochemical and ecological change can be used as early indicators of climate change in aquatic ecosystems and it addresses the implications of future climate change for freshwater ecosystem management at the catchment scale. This is an ideal book for the scientific research community, but is also accessible to Masters and senior undergraduate students.

Stream Ecosystems in a Changing Environment synthesizes the current understanding of stream ecosystem ecology, emphasizing nutrient cycling and carbon dynamics, and providing a forward-looking perspective regarding the response of stream ecosystems to environmental change. Each chapter includes a section focusing on anticipated and ongoing dynamics in stream ecosystems in a changing environment, along with hypotheses regarding controls on stream ecosystem functioning. The book, with its innovative sections, provides a bridge between papers published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and the findings of researchers in new areas of study. Presents a forward-looking perspective regarding the response of stream ecosystems to environmental change Provides a synthesis of the latest findings on stream ecosystems ecology in one concise volume Includes thought exercises and discussion activities throughout, providing valuable tools for learning Offers conceptual models and hypotheses to stimulate conversation and advance research

Global climate change affects productivity and species composition of freshwater and marine aquatic ecosystems by raising temperatures, ocean acidification, excessive solar UV and visible radiation. Effects on bacterioplankton and viruses, phytoplankton and macroalgae have farreaching consequences for primary consumers such as zooplankton, invertebrates and vertebrates, as well as on human consumption of fish, crustaceans and mollusks. It has affected the habitation of the Arctic and Antarctic oceans the most so far. Increasing pollution from terrestrial runoff, industrial, municipal and household wastes as well as marine transportation and plastic debris also affect aquatic ecosystems.

Global climate change is a certainty. The Earth's climate has never remained static for long and the prospect for human-accelerated climate change in the near future appears likely. Freshwater systems are intimately connected to climate in several ways: they may influence global atmospheric processes affecting climate; they may be sensitive early indicators of climate change because they integrate the atmospheric and terrestrial events occurring in their catchments; and, of course, they will be affected by climate change. An improved predictive understanding of environmental effects on pattern and process in freshwater ecosystems will be invaluable as a baseline upon which to build sound protection and management policies for fresh waters. This book represents an early step towards this improved understanding. The contributors accepted the challenge to assume global warming of 2-5oC in the next century. They then explored the implications of this scenario on various freshwater ecosystems and processes. To provide a broader perspective, Firth and Fisher included several chapters which do not deal expressly with freshwater ecosystems, but rather discuss climate change in terms of causes and mechanisms, implications for water resources, and the use of remote sensing as a tool for expanding studies from local to global scale.

This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. Water from forested watersheds provides irreplaceable habitat for aquatic and riparian species and supports our homes, farms, industries, and energy production. Yet population pressures, land uses, and rapid climate change combine to seriously threaten these waters and the resilience of watersheds in most places. Forest land managers are expected to anticipate and respond to these threats and steward forested watersheds to ensure the sustained protection and provision of water and the services it provides. Contents of this report: (1) Intro.; (2) Background: Forests and Water; Climate Change: Hydrologic Responses and Ecosystem Services; (3) Moving Forward: Think; Collaborate; Act; (4) Closing; (5) Examples of Watershed Stewardship. Illus.