Research by Cardiff University has shown that the warmer, wetter winters in the UK caused by climate change are likely to impact the stability of insect populations in streams.
The research, spanning four decades, has demonstrated that stream insects are affected by warmer, wetter winters caused by fluctuating climate over the Atlantic Ocean. The consequences are felt by insect populations even in the smallest Welsh river sources.
"UK winters are becoming warmer and wetter on average, and we wanted to understand how this might impact our rivers. Streams and rivers are profoundly affected by climate through changes in global air temperatures and precipitation which affect flow patterns and water temperature.
"Over the years, we've noticed increasingly that changes in our rivers also track global climatic patterns over the Atlantic and these provide important clues about climate change" said Professor Steve Ormerod, the Water Research Institute at Cardiff University.
The research is based on samples from the Llyn Brianne Stream Observatory in Central Wales, which is one of the longest-running catchment projects anywhere in the world. The headwaters that form the Llyn Brianne Stream Observatory were first sampled in 1981, allowing scientists to investigate changes to streams and rivers for over forty years.
By tracking changes in the water quality, flow patterns, temperature and river species since the 1980s, the researchers have been able to track how climate changes are impacting Welsh waters. But their work also highlights how climatic fluctuations in other areas – including the Atlantic Ocean – impacts UK river quality and wildlife.
