Sedimentation and invasive species in rivers: Investigation in trialling of mitigation options relevant to invasive non-native species sediment inputs

入侵的非本地物种（INNS），如喜马拉雅香脂和信号小龙虾，已知会增加河流生态系统的沉积物侵蚀。泥沙的增加对河流生物群造成了负面影响，威胁到《水框架指令》状态的恶化，同时也增加了河流管理者和水务公司的成本，他们必须清除多余的泥沙，将水处理到饮用标准，并稳定河岸，以限制进一步的影响。由于这些物种的流行和缺乏适当的控制措施，目前的管理在很大程度上是无效的。这项研究将尝试一些不同的管理技术，旨在减轻因INNS引起的沉积影响，以及改善河岸生物多样性、美化价值和生态恢复力。成功的候选人将进行实地和可能的实验室实验，以确定INNS在河流沉积中的作用，确定哪种管理技术最适合防止INNS相关的沉积，并量化INNS缓解措施可能带来的任何额外的生物多样性、洪水风险和环境效益，这些措施将有助于实现欧盟水框架指令的要求。

Invasive non-native species (INNS) such as Himalayan Balsam and Signal Crayfish are known to cause increased sediment erosion in river ecosystems. This increased sediment causes a negative impact on instream biota and threatens Water Framework Directive status deterioration, as well as increased cost to river managers and water companies who must remove excess sediment to treat water to drinking standards and stabilise stream banks to limit further impact. Present management is largely ineffective due to the prevalence of these species and the lack of suitable control measures. This research will trial a number of different management techniques aimed at mitigating the impact of sedimentation due to INNS, in addition to improving riparian biodiversity, amenity value and ecological resilience. The successful candidate will undertake field and possibly laboratory experiments to determine the role of INNS in river sedimentation, identify which management techniques are best suited to prevent INNS related sedimentation, and quantify any additional biodiversity, flood risk and amenity benefits INNS mitigation measures may have which will help deliver EU Water Framework Directive requirements.