The role of anthropogenic litter as novel habitat for macroinvertebrates living in urban streams

With Hazel Wilson, University of Nottingham.

All seminars online. Please contact sue.davis@nottingham.ac.uk for the link. Subject to change.

Part of the Geosciences Seminar Series.

Despite strong evidence showing the pervasive and persistent nature of anthropogenic litter (manufactured waste) in urban rivers, its impacts on habitats and organisms are poorly understood. We aim to assess how anthropogenic litter affects river ecology, focusing on macroinvertebrates. Macroinvertebrates readily colonise anthropogenic litter, which has implications for patterns of local communities as different materials are inhabited by differing macroinvertebrate taxa. Large litter can influence habitats in the surrounding riverbed, creating otherwise scarce habitat types in some rivers. This presentation will cover these findings in more detail and discuss the implications for this on anthropogenic litter management in rivers.