Publications

The Llyn Brianne Observatory is one of the longest-running catchment projects anywhere in the world. Scores of scientific papers and student projects, from undergraduate to PhD, have been based on research carried out at the Observatory.

Published papers

• Hayes, L. et al. 2023. The occurrence and zoonotic potential of Cryptosporidium species in freshwater biota. Parasites and Vectors 16, article number: 209. (10.1186/s13071-023-05827-9)
• Pharaoh, E., Diamond, M., Ormerod, S. J., Rutt, G. and Vaughan, I. P. 2023. Evidence of biological recovery from gross pollution in English and Welsh rivers over three decades. Science of the Total Environment 878, article number: 163107. (10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163107)
• Pye, M. C., Vaughan, I. P., Ormerod, S. J. and Durance, I. 2022. Organic litter dynamics in headwater streams draining contrasting land uses. Hydrobiologia (10.1007/s10750-022-05084-4)
• Whelan, M. J. et al. 2022. Is water quality in British rivers "better than at any time since the end of the Industrial Revolution"?. Science of the Total Environment 843, article number: 157014. (10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157014)
• Gutierrez-Canovas, C. et al. 2021. Populations of high-value predators reflect the traits of their prey. Ecography 44(5), pp. 690-702. (10.1111/ecog.05438)
• Perkins, D. M. et al. 2021. Systematic variation in food web body-size structure linked to external subsidies. Biology Letters 17(3), article number: 20200798. (10.1098/rsbl.2020.0798)
• Seymour, M. et al. 2018. Acidity promotes degradation of multi-species eDNA in lotic mesocosms. Communications Biology, 1(4), (10.1038/s42003-017-0005-3).
• Feld, C.K., 2018, Evaluating riparian solutions to multiple stressor problems in river ecosystems — a conceptual study. Water Research, 139, pp. 381-394 (10.1016/j.watres.2018.04.014).
• Larsen, S., et al. 2018. Lifting the veil: richness measurements fail to detect systematic biodiversity change over three decades. Ecology, 99, pp. 1316-1326 (10.1002/ecy.2213).
• Riley, W.D., et al. 2018. Small Water Bodies in Great Britain and Ireland: Ecosystem function, human-generated degradation, and options for restorative action. Science of the Total Environment, 645, pp. 1598-1616 (10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.243).
• Verberk, W. et al. 2016. Field and laboratory studies reveal interacting effects of stream oxygenation and warming on aquatic ectotherma. Global Change Biology 22(5), pp. 1769-1778. (10.1111/gcb.13240)
• Frame, J. et al. 2016. Biological barriers to restoration: testing the biotic resistance hypothesis in an upland stream recovering from acidification. Hydrobiologia 777(1), pp. 161-170. (10.1007/s10750-016-2772-0)
• Woodward, G. et al. 2016. The effects of climatic fluctuations and extreme events on running water ecosystems. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B - Biological Sciences 371(1694), article number: 20150274. (10.1098/rstb.2015.0274)
• Durance, I. et al. 2016. The challenges of linking ecosystem services to biodiversity. Advances in Ecological Research 54, pp. 87-134. (10.1016/bs.aecr.2015.10.003)
• Thomas, S. M. et al. 2016. Beyond cool: adapting upland streams for climate change using riparian woodlands. Global Change Biology 22(1), pp. 310-324. (10.1111/gcb.13103)
• Johnston, S. R. et al. 2015. Acid-base status mediates the selection of organic habitats by upland stream invertebrates. Hydrobiologia 745(1), pp. 97-109. (10.1007/s10750-014-2097-9)
• Watts, G.et al. 2015. Climate change and water in the UK - past changes and future prospects. Progress in Physical Geography 39(1), pp. 6-28. (10.1177/0309133314542957)
• Hering, D.et al. 2015. Managing aquatic ecosystems and water resources under multiple stress - An introduction to the MARS project. Science of the Total Environment 503, pp. 10-21. (10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.06.106)
• Thomas, S. M., Griffiths, S. W. and Ormerod, S. J. 2015. Adapting streams for climate change using riparian broadleaf trees and its consequences for stream salmonids. Freshwater Biology 60(1), pp. 64-77. (10.1111/fwb.12467)
• Raffaelli, D. et al. 2014. Big Data and ecosystem research programmes. Advances in Ecological Research 51, pp. 41-77. (10.1016/B978-0-08-099970-8.00004-X)
• Larsen, S. and Ormerod, S. J. 2014. Anthropogenic modification disrupts species co-occurrence in stream invertebrates. Global Change Biology 20(1), pp. 51-60. (10.1111/gcb.12355)
• Ormerod, S. J. 2014. Rebalancing the philosophy of river conservation. Aquatic Conservation-Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 24(2), pp. 147-152. (10.1002/aqc.2452)
• Dray M. et al. 2014. Effects of elevated CO2 on litter chemistry and subsequent invertebrate detritivore feeding responses. PLoS ONE 9(1), article number: e86246. (10.1371/journal.pone.0086246)
• Hails, R. S. and Ormerod, S. J. 2013. Ecological science for ecosystem services and the stewardship of Natural Capital [Editorial]. Journal of applied ecology 50(4), pp. 807-810. (10.1111/1365-2664.12127)
• Mant, R. et al. 2013. A systematic review of the effectiveness of liming to mitigate impacts of river acidification on fish and macro-invertebrates. Environmental Pollution 179, pp. 285-293. (10.1016/j.envpol.2013.04.019)
• Gutierrez-Casanovas, C. et al. 2013. Contrasting effects of natural and anthropogenic stressors on beta diversity in river organisms. Global Ecology and Biogeography 22(7), pp. 796-805. (10.1111/geb.12060)
• Murphy, J. et al. 2013. A diagnostic biotic index for assessing acidity in sensitive streams in Britain. Ecological Indicators 24, pp. 562-572. (10.1016/j.ecolind.2012.08.014)
• Stockdale, A.et al. 2013. Recovery of macroinvertebrate species richness in acidified upland waters assessed with a field toxicity model. Ecological Indicators 37(Part B), pp. 341-350. (10.1016/j.ecolind.2011.11.002)
• Pye, M. C. et al. 2012. Episodic acidification affects the breakdown and invertebrate colonisation of oak litter. Freshwater Biology 57(11), pp. 2318-2329. (10.1111/fwb.12007)
• Maltby, E. & Ormerod, S.J. 2011. Freshwaters – Openwaters, Wetlands and Floodplains. In: The UK National Ecosystem Assessment Technical Report, pp. 285 295-360. UNEP-WCMC, Cambridge.
• Durance, I. and Ormerod, S.J. 2010. Evidence for the role of climate in the local extinction of a cool-water triclad. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 29, 1367-1378
• Ormerod, S.J. and Durance, I. 2009. Restoration and recovery from acidification in upland Welsh streams over 25 years. Journal of Applied Ecology, 46, pp.164-174
• Kowalik, R.A. et al. 2007. Acid episodes retard the biological recovery of upland British streams from acidification. Global Change Biology. 13, pp. 2439–2452.
• Masters, Z. et al. 2007. Insect dispersal does not limit the biological recovery of streams from acidification. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 17, pp. 375-383
• Durance, I. and Ormerod, S.J. 2007.Climate change effects on upland stream invertebrates over a 25 year period. Global Change Biology, 13, pp. 942-957
• Williams, H.C. et al. 2006. Molecular Systematics and Phylogeography of the Cryptic Species Complex Baetisrhodani (Ephemeroptera, Baetidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 40, pp. 370-382,
• Kowalik, R. A. and Ormerod, S. J. 2006. Intensive sampling and transplantation experiments reveal continued effects of episodic acidification on sensitive stream invertebrates. Freshwater Biology 51(1), pp. 180-191. (10.1111/j.1365-2427.2005.01476.x)
• Petersen, I. et al. 2004. Dispersal of adult aquatic insects in catchments of differing land use. Journal of Applied Ecology, 41, pp. 934-950
• Bradley, D.C. and Ormerod, S.J. 2002. Long-term effects of catchment liming on invertebrates in upland streams. Freshwater Biology, 47, pp. 161-171
• Hirst, H. et al. 2002. Comparing the responses of diatoms and macroinvertebrates to metals in upland streams of Wales and Cornwall.  Freshwater Biology, 47, pp.1752-1765
• Bradley, D.C. and Ormerod, S.J. 2001. Community persistence among upland stream invertebrates tracks the North Atlantic Oscillation. Journal of Animal Ecology, 70, 987-996
• Buckton, S.T. et al. 1998. The distribution of dippers Cincluscinclus in the acid senstive region of upland Wales, 1984-1995.Freshwater Biology, 39, pp. 387-396
• Weatherley, N.S. and Ormerod S.J. 1990. Forests and the temperature of upland streams:   a  modelling study of the biological consequences. Freshwater Biology, 24, pp. 109-122.