From landscapes to freshwater invertebrates: understanding the effects of peatland restoration on Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) habitat in the Flow Co

该项目将通过非生物因素(如物理结构、水流状况和水化学(DOC、营养物质和金属))和生物因素(如无脊椎动物猎物基地的丰度和多样性)来调查土地利用变化对鲑鱼栖息地质量的影响。河流的水化学受到许多因素的影响，特别是水的储存和流动路径，其中水量和水质都是气候、地质、土壤类型和集水区土地利用之间相互作用的函数(Likens，2013)。河流的水化学还与更广泛的景观和河流生态有重要关系，包括对无脊椎动物群落以及以河流为食的鱼类和鸟类的直接影响(Harrison等人，2014年)。在泥炭地集水区，河水化学成分通常含有高溶解有机碳(DOC)但低营养物质，为独特的河流生态系统创造了环境，以标志性的顶级捕食者大西洋鲑鱼为标志，大西洋鲑鱼是一种高度保护和经济重要性的物种。这些集水区的大规模变化，如泥炭地恢复，可能会改变鲑鱼赖以生存的溪流的水化学，从而产生超越泥炭地本身的影响(O‘Driscoll等人，2013年)。苏格兰休闲捕捞大西洋鲑鱼的经济价值在5,000-1亿GB之间(McLay和Gordon-Rodgers，1997)。一些最重要的鲑鱼河流位于苏格兰北部的流动区，这是一个农村地区，捕捞鲑鱼是当地经济的重要组成部分(Mainstone等人，2012年)。流动国是欧洲最大的毛毯沼泽区域，具有特殊的自然保护重要性(Lindsay等人，1988年)。该地区的五条河流被指定为SASA，完全或部分是因为认识到它们的鲑鱼种群的重要性。在1980年代，人们广泛植树造林(通过排水和建立非本地针叶树)(Stroud等人，1987年)。在过去的20年里，随着对该地区自然保护和更广泛价值的更好认识(Hancock等人，2009；Bain等人，2011；Wilson等人，2014)，许多种植园被砍伐，以恢复为毯子沼泽。虽然泥炭地恢复对陆地的影响有较好的记录，但对泥炭地恢复对邻近淡水生物多样性的影响知之甚少。修复过程可以改变水文和水质(Gaffney，2016；Gaffney等人，2018)。这些影响可能会改变幼鲑鱼的栖息地质量，需要进一步研究(Andersen等人，2018年)。特别是，对河边无脊椎动物的影响鲜为人知，幼年鲑鱼和其他河边物种以此为食。

The project will investigate the effects of land-use change on salmon habitat quality via abiotic factors such as physical structure, flow regime and water chemistry (DOC, nutrients and metals), and biotic factors, such as the abundance and diversity of the invertebrate prey base. The hydrochemistry of rivers is affected by many factors, notably water storage and flow pathways, where both water quantity and quality are a function of the interplay between climate, geology, soil types and land use in the catchment (Likens, 2013). The hydrochemistry of rivers also has important relations with the wider landscape and in-stream ecology, including direct impacts on invertebrate communities, and the fish and birds that feed on them (Harrison et al., 2014). In peatland catchments, river water chemistry is typically high in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) but low in nutrients, creating the environment for a distinctive riverine ecosystem, symbolised by the iconic top predator, Atlantic salmon, a species of high conservation and economic importance. Large-scale changes in these catchment, such as peatland restoration, could alter the hydrochemistry of streams that salmon depend on and thus have effects beyond the peatlands themselves (O'Driscoll et al., 2013). The economic value of recreational fishing of Atlantic salmon in Scotland is between £50-100 million (McLay and Gordon-Rodgers, 1997). Some of the most important salmon rivers are in the Flow Country of northern Scotland a rural area, where salmon fishing is a vital element of the local economy (Mainstone et al., 2012). The Flow Country is the largest area of blanket bog in Europe, and of exceptional nature conservation importance (Lindsay et al., 1988). Five of the area's rivers are designated as SACs wholly or partly in recognition of the importance of their salmon populations. In the 1980s, there was extensive afforestation (via drainage and the establishment of non-native conifers) of Flow Country blanket bogs (Stroud et al., 1987). In the last 20 years, with better recognition of the nature conservation and wider values of the area (Hancock et al., 2009; Bain et al., 2011; Wilson et al., 2014), many of these plantations were felled for restoration back to blanket bog. Whilst the terrestrial effects of peatland restoration are relatively well documented, much less is known about the effects of peatland restoration on adjacent freshwater biodiversity. The restoration process can alter the hydrology and water quality (Gaffney, 2016; Gaffney et al., 2018). These effects are likely to alter habitat quality for juvenile salmon and need further investigation (Andersen et al., 2018). In particular, the effects on the riverine invertebrate fauna, on which young salmon, and other riverine species feed, are poorly known.