No abstract

Understanding and predicting the likely consequences of anthropogenic disturbance on species and ecosystems is a major prerequisite of achieving the sustainable use of natural resources. It is also a key element in the management of sites with statutory designation. During planning and decision-making processes involving potential disturbance issues, land managers and responsible authorities are often required to take account of the needs and views of a diversity of site user groups. The effects and impacts of disturbance can occur over a range of spatial and temporal scales, and research into these consequences must address this problem. This paper provides (1) an overview of the field and analytical methodologies contributing to the development of an integrated method for collecting multi-scale bird, resource and disturbance data in freshwater systems, and (2) an overview of the drivers and need for such data in sustainable resource management. Whilst the results of the bird-habitat-disturbance modelling arising from these data will be published elsewhere, the types of information that will be generated are illustrated and their potential use within planning and decision-making processes discussed.Compared with much of northern and central continental Europe, the UK has a relatively mild winter climate, and a broad range of normally ice-free aquatic habitats. These conditions attract large numbers of wintering waterbirds, and more than 200 sites in the UK are currently of international importance for one or more species of waterbirds, and over 50 regularly hold more than 20 000 birds (Collier et al . 2005). Some waterbird groups, particularly diving and dabbling ducks, extensively utilize freshwater habitats during the winter, including lakes, rivers, canals, ponds and gravel pits. The vast majority of these sites have been (or are currently) subjected to some degree of anthropogenic modification, and indeed many are entirely artificial (Yallop et al . 2004). As well as being used by wintering waterbirds, UK freshwater sites are also utilized by humans for an extremely wide range of recreational activities. A survey in England and Wales showed that 14% of all countryside visits are made to inland waters, over 3 million people participate in angling, and over 5 million participate in sailing, motor boating, windsurfing or rowing (Brighton

DisclaimerThe University of Gloucestershire has obtained warranties from all depositors as to their title in the material deposited and as to their right to deposit such material.The University of Gloucestershire makes no representation or warranties of commercial utility, title, or fitness for a particular purpose or any other warranty, express or implied in respect of any material deposited.The University of Gloucestershire makes no representation that the use of the materials will not infringe any patent, copyright, trademark or other property or proprietary rights.The University of Gloucestershire accepts no liability for any infringement of intellectual property rights in any material deposited but will remove such material from public view pending investigation in the event of an allegation of any such infringement. PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR TEXT. This technique, which is also spatially referenced by input from a global positioning system, has many potential applications in macrophyte studies in shallow lakes, although it has not yet been extensively tested in such habitats using systems of lower sound frequency. This paper reports such a test in two shallow (maxi-mum depth c. 5.9 m) lakes of the Cotswold Water Park, U.K., using a 200 kHz digital echo sounder (BioSonics DT6000 and DT-X upgrade) and post-processing analysis using the now commercially available software EcoSAV, which incorporates the algorithms of Sabol et al. (2002). Hydroacou-stic assessment of the coverage by macrophytes, mainly Nuttall's pondweed (Elodea nuttallii) and charophytes (Chara spp.), showed high agreement with those recorded during a simultaneous visual survey by underwater video recording (r 2 = 0.8478, n = 74, P < 0.001). Assessment of macrophyte height was also apparently consistent between the two

DisclaimerThe University of Gloucestershire has obtained warranties from all depositors as to their title in the material deposited and as to their right to deposit such material.The University of Gloucestershire makes no representation or warranties of commercial utility, title, or fitness for a particular purpose or any other warranty, express or implied in respect of any material deposited.The University of Gloucestershire makes no representation that the use of the materials will not infringe any patent, copyright, trademark or other property or proprietary rights.The University of Gloucestershire accepts no liability for any infringement of intellectual property rights in any material deposited but will remove such material from public view pending investigation in the event of an allegation of any such infringement. PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR TEXT. This technique, which is also spatially referenced by input from a global positioning system, has many potential applications in macrophyte studies in shallow lakes, although it has not yet been extensively tested in such habitats using systems of lower sound frequency. This paper reports such a test in two shallow (maxi-mum depth c. 5.9 m) lakes of the Cotswold Water Park, U.K., using a 200 kHz digital echo sounder (BioSonics DT6000 and DT-X upgrade) and post-processing analysis using the now commercially available software EcoSAV, which incorporates the algorithms of Sabol et al. (2002). Hydroacou-stic assessment of the coverage by macrophytes, mainly Nuttall's pondweed (Elodea nuttallii) and charophytes (Chara spp.), showed high agreement with those recorded during a simultaneous visual survey by underwater video recording (r 2 = 0.8478, n = 74, P < 0.001). Assessment of macrophyte height was also apparently consistent between the two