Wi h Imogen edwa ds
Ri e s a e i al, bu human ac i i ies ha e dis up ed
hei na u al low, ha ming ecosys ems and
wo sening loods. Res o a ion seeks o e e se hese
impac s o help i e s eco e .
Immy’s PhD s udies how es o ed i e s e ol e o e
ime. She s udies he Cole and Lyming on Ri e s in
he UK, using long- e m ecological and
hyd ological da a o assess he e ec i eness o
es o a ion so we can unde s and how o be e
p o ec i e s in a changing en i onmen .
C edi s :
SpongeScapes has ecei ed unding om he Eu opean Union’s Ho izon Eu ope esea ch and inno a ion
p og amme unde G an Ag eemen n°101112738 and om he UK Resea ch and Inno a ion/HM
Go e nmen . Views and opinions exp essed in his publica ion a e hose o he au ho (s) only and do no
necessa ily e lec hose o he Eu opean Union o he UK Resea ch and Inno a ion / HM Go e nmen .
© 2025 - In e na ional O ice o Wa e o he SpongeScapes p ojec . Sc ip , d awing and colou ing o he comics:
Élisa Bézie and Jean Combe e (OiEau)
Imogen Edwa ds PhD
hesis supe ised by:
P o . D . Da id Sea (Uni e si y o Sou hamp on),
P o . D . Pe e Shaw (Uni e si y o Sou hamp on),
D . Alejand o Dussaillan (UKCEH)
P oo eading :
Imogen Edwa ds, D . Alejand o
Dussaillan , D . Da id Sea
Tex be o e sc ip :
Chloé Déchele e
(OiEau)
long- e m impac o :
The Lyming on Ri e was a ec ed by o es y and
s aigh ening o s eams in he 19 h cen u y, d ying ou
he landscape, dis up ing seasonal looding and
deg ading woodlands.
The Cole Ri e was shaped by
human ac i i y o nea ly 900
yea s, mainly o milling and
ag icul u e.
Ri e s a e i al, bu human ac i i ies ha e dis up ed hei
na u al low, ha ming ecosys ems and wo sening loods.
These i e s ha e been hea ily modi ied o e cen u ies.
Wes o Ox o d, in he
Thames Ri e Basin Dis ic .
Cole i e
Nea Sou hamp on, in he New Fo es
Na ional Pa k, a p o ec ed a ea in he
Sou h-Eas Ri e Basin Dis ic .
Lyming on i e
While each es o a ion
was ailo ed o hei loca ion,
hey sha ed common goals :
imp o ing lood s o age,
enhancing habi a di e si y, and c ea ing
a mo e aes he ically pleasing i e
en i onmen .”
Bo h i e s we e es o ed
s a ing in he 1990s.
My esea ch looks
a how well hese e o s
wo ked. Bu how do I s udy
ha ? Th ough ecology and
hyd ology!
One hing I s udy is i e oughness -
how much esis ance he i e bed,
banks, ege a ion o a i icial
obs acles oppose o lowing wa e . Fo example, a smoo h,
s aigh , obs acle- ee
i e lows as .
I he e a e small s ones in
he i e bed, hey will exe
a coun e o ce, and he
i e will hen be slowe
And i he i e bed is ull o ocks, plan s
and allen b anches, hen he wa e
encoun e s a lo o esis ance, i s speed
is ‘b oken’ by all hese obs acles.
Time plays a c ucial ole he e, al hough we as humans
a e caugh up in ou daily ou ines, we don’ o en
no ice he slow na u al p ocesses. While woody deb is
and ocks may slow wa e o now, o e decades o
cen u ies, he cons an low o wa e will wea hem
down, allowing he i e o low as e .
Fo he Lyming on Ri e ,
I ocus on hyd ology and hyd aulics.
Wha ’s he di e ence?
Fo his si e,
we ha e o e 40 yea s o
hyd ological and hyd aulic da a,
which is a e. This will ce ainly
allow us o answe he ques ion:
has es o a ion changed he
i e ’s na u al hyd ology?
Hyd aulics is all abou he physics o mo ing
wa e , how wa e low in speci ic places,
whe he na u al o a i icial: in s eams,
lakes, i iga ion channels, land, u ban
pa emen , soils o aqui e s. I looks a
hings like wa e le els and low speed,
which a e closely linked o luid mechanics.
0,34 m/s
Hyd ology is abou he na u al wa e cycle, how wa e
mo es om one ‘compa men ’ o ano he on Ea h: he
oceans, he su ace o unde g ound on he con inen s.
I co e s ain all, uno , in il a ion in o he soil,
e apo a ion, and so on.
Now, ollow
me a he New
Fo es !
He e,
ieldwo k ocuses
on hyd ological
aspec s o i e
es o a ion.
I map and analyze
key hyd aulic ea u es o
e alua e changes in i e bed
oughness o e ime.
Desk wo k will also
in ol e syn hesizing indings
om he long- e m moni o ing
s udies, e iewing exis ing li e a u e
on es o a ion impac s,
and compiling he esul s
in o a cohe en analysis o he
es o a ion's e ec i eness.
And now, Desk wo k !
I o ganize and analyze he
mac oin e eb a e da a
collec ed du ing ieldwo k.
Bu his is no he only
case s udy I wo k on…
I spend a lo o ime
in he lab so ing he samples o
iden i y he mac oin e eb a e species,
I quan i y hei abundance and
di e si y a each si e.
Then, I compa e
species ichness, abundance,
and communi y composi ion as well
as eloci ies, and sedimen samples
be ween he es o ed and
un es o ed si es.
Fo he Cole Ri e ,
I ocus on ecology and biology.
Ecology is a b anch o biology.
Biology is a e y e y
b oad ield.
Fo example, woodlice a e decompose s ha
a e e y sensi i e o dehyd a ion, so i you ind
hem in soil, i is e y likely ha his soil is mois ,
cool and ich in o ganic ma e .
My wo k in ol es:
Fieldwo k - collec ing samples
(a un pa o my job, wi h lo s
o esh ai !)
Lab analysis - examining
samples o de e mine species
ichness and hei ela i e
abundance.
In his sample, I ound 5
di e en species. Tha ’s
he species ichness.
By analyzing hese bio-indica o s, I
can assess he heal h o he Cole
Ri e ’s ecosys em and he impac o
es o a ion e o s.
Wha is i , you may ask ? le ’s ake an example wi h he may lies!
Al oge he , he e a e 20
indi iduals - and 10 o hem
a e may lies. So may lies make
up 50% o he sample. Tha ’s
hei ela i e abundance.
I s udy mac oin e eb a es - in e eb a es la ge
enough o see wi hou a mic oscope ( hink
insec s and iny aqua ic c ea u es).
Why hem? Because hey’ e
abundan in all ypes o unning wa e , easy
o sample, and p o ide g ea insigh s in o
ecosys em heal h.
My esea ch uses bio-indica o s,
o ganisms - plan o animal - ha ell us
abou en i onmen al condi ions.
Res o a ion success isn’ jus abou
ecology o hyd ology - i ’s abou bo h.
We need bo h physical and biological
da a o e alua e a i e ’s heal h.
Hyd ology / Hyd aulics
ecology
And he e's he icky pa : how do we
measu e success o es o a ion?
O cou se, I ’s no jus abou
coun ing species, bu unde s anding
wha hey ell us and knowing which
ones indica e good ecological
heal h o hese kinds o s eams.
Should we compa e a es o ed i e o i s
p e- es o a ion s a e? o a heal hy i e in
simila condi ions ( e e ence ecosys em)?
O o how i migh change in he u u e unde
clima e change? The answe is no simple.
Na u e always su p ises us! Fo example, I ound
mo e mac oin e eb a es in un es o ed sec ions
o he Cole han in es o ed ones.
Why ? The es o ed
a eas a e dense wi h ege a ion and qui e
da k, while he un es o ed sec ions ha e
g azed banks, which c ea es a mix o ligh
and shade - and his is exac ly wha
mac oin e eb a es lo e !
Tha ’s wha makes
my esea ch exci ing! I highligh s he
need o long- e m moni o ing and
well-documen ed me hods so
ha u u e scien is s can
build on pas wo k.
Ri e es o a ion doesn’
always go exac ly as planned. We y
o educe looding, imp o e wa e quali y, and
es o e habi a s, bu na u e has i s own way o
esponding, some imes in unexpec ed ways.
Tha ’s a humbling lesson!
Tha doesn’ mean we
should gi e up on i e es o a ion.
We jus need o s udy i e s o e a long
pe iod o ime o unde s and hese
complexi ies be e .
