MACROBENTOS OF VOZHE AND LACHA LAKES

The taxonomic composition of macrozoobenthos in lakes Vozhe and Lacha and in some sections in the Svid and Onega rivers is presented. The dominant complex in the lakes was formed by representatives of chironomids. Two species of oligochaetes and a gastropod were dominant in the rivers. The index of faunal similarity of macrobenthos between the lakes was rather high and amounted to 70%, while the similarity between the river and lake benthos was less than 30%. In the lakes, only two taxonomic groups were recorded, oligochaetes and chironomids that formed the basis of the benthos abundance: 87–93% of the average abundance and 92–95% of the average biomass in the lake. Oligochaetes and mollusks played a significant role in the river communities; in total, they formed 76% of the total abundance and 98% of the biomass. The trophic structure of macrobenthos in the lakes was almost similar, except the appearance of the group of phytodetritophages- filter-feeders in Lake Lacha. Detritophages-swallowers dominated in the river communities. In the previous studies of the lakes, the species richness of benthos both in Lake Vozhe and Lake Lacha was much higher. A decrease in the number of taxonomic groups and decrease in their abundance were observed in Lake Vozhe. At the same time, the role of chironomids in the formation of benthos in the lake was still significant. In general, changes in the taxonomic structure and abundance of benthos in lakes Vozhe and Lacha may be caused by a complex effect of environmental factors and long-term and intra-annual dynamics of dominant (cenose-forming) representatives of the main groups of macrobenthos. The simplification of the structure of the bottom communities, the inclusion of species with wide ecological spectra, the predominance of eurybionts among the dominants, may indicate pollution, eutrophication, and contamination of water bodies. According to the indicator species both lakes may be regarded as mesosaprobic water bodies.

Lessons Learned from River Communities in Peru

In November 2014, the government of Peru enacted a law declaring the resettlement emergency of the community of Bajo Belen due to constant flooding. In this photo essay, the author attempts to document life inside Bajo Belen during the relocation process.

A Novel Group of Promiscuous Podophages Infecting Diverse Gammaproteobacteria from River Communities Exhibits Dynamic Intergenus Host Adaptation

In natural environments, phages coexist and interact with a broad variety of bacteria, posing a conundrum for narrow-host-range phage maintenance in diverse communities. This context is rarely considered in the study of host-phage interactions, typically focused on narrow-host-range viruses and their infectivity in target bacteria isolated from sources distinct to where the phages were retrieved from.

The pluralism of river rights in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Colombia

In this article we interrogate the recognition of rivers as legal persons in Aotearoa New Zealand (Whanganui River) and Colombia (Ri'o Atrato). Although the legal, political, historical and cultural context for recognition is different in each country, an analysis of the cases presents some interesting conceptual correlations, which help us to understand this emerging (and sometimes controversial) transnational idea that a river can be a person. In both cases recognising that the river is a person is an attempt to accommodate diverse legal and cultural interests in the river, in order to establish a new collaborative relationship between the state and river communities. Whether either model results in improved river outcomes, or increased indigenous or community jurisdiction to govern, turns not on the fiction that the river is a person but on the surrounding institutional framework, which has been carefully designed to engender enforceability. Thus, we argue, traditional dichotomies that draw lines between human-centred and earth-centred laws, or nature as the object versus the subject of property or rights fail to capture what legal personality entails. Ahora es el momento de comenzar a to mar las primeras medidas para proteger de forma eficaz al planeta y a sus recursos antes de que sea demasiado tarde o el dano sea irreversible, no solo para las futuras generaciones sino para la especie humana.2 Now is the moment to begin to take the first steps effectively to protect the planet and its resources before it is too late or the damage is irreversible, not just for future generations but for the human species. This is the author-produced PDF of an article, accepted for publication in [Journal of Water Law], following peer review. The Version of Record [Macpherson, E. & Ospina, F.C. 2015, "The pluralism of river rights in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Colombia", Journal of Water Law, vol. 25, no. 6, pp. 283-293] is available in [Journal of Water Law, vol 25, issue 6 at 283-293]. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0.

“They Sold Us Illusions”: Informality, Redevelopment, and the Politics of Limpieza in the Dominican Republic

In the capital city of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, climate change and environmental concerns are used to justify massive redevelopment projects in informal settlements located along the rivers Ozama and Isabela. Residents in such river communities negotiate the uncertainty of state planning under a new socio-environmentalism that prioritizes the environment over social concerns, while continuing to pursue bottom-up neighborhood planning despite the powerful rationality of <em>limpieza</em> (cleanliness), the pervasive techniques of responsibilization, and the celebratory spectacles of megaprojects. The uncertainty resulting from governance under socio-environmentalism produces ambivalence towards environmentcentered projects among residents. Drawing on oral histories and interviews with long-time community members, we suggest that residents engage in three ‘sensemaking strategies’ to process their ambivalence in the face of daily precarity, in particular the ongoing threat of evictions. Residents ‘keep up’ with the state and strategically utilize planning language to advocate for community priorities. They engage in practices of storytelling that reproduce a deep sense of community and provide a longer historical understanding of planning interventions. Finally, through verbal speculation and other ‘unsanctioned speech acts’ they analyze disruptions caused by socio-environmentalism, build solidarity with other communities, and think ahead despite uncertainty.

Let the Rivers Speak

This article explores deep underlying assumptions about relationships between people and the planet, and how these translate into very different ways of relating to waterways in Aotearoa New Zealand. In te ao Mäori – ancestral Mäori ways of living – rivers and lakes are the tears of Ranginui, the sky father, mourning his separation from Papatüänuku, the earth mother, and people are their descendants, joined in complex whakapapa that link all forms of life together. In modern ways of thinking, on the other hand, ideas such as private property, resource management and ecosystem services can be traced back to the Genesis story of God’s gift of ‘dominion’ to Adam and Eve over fish, birds, plants and the earth itself, including waterways, in which all other life forms are created for human purposes. In successive Waitangi Tribunal claims, iwi have disputed these assumptions in relation to fisheries, tribal lands and rivers, and, in worldleading legislation, the Whanganui River has been declared a legal person with its own rights. In this article, the authors discuss different ways in which the rights of rivers as rivers might be understood in scientific terms, investigating the ‘geomorphic rights’ of the Whanganui River, for instance, and how rivers as living communities of land, water, plants, animals and people might be understood through ‘river ethnography’, an approach that aligns a wide range of natural and social sciences with mätauranga taiao – ancestral knowledge of other living systems. They also consider how current policy discussions might be informed by such framings, so that river communities across Aotearoa New Zealand may be restored to a state of ora – life, health, abundance and prosperity.

Diatoms in monitoring of the Vychegda River under the influence of pulp-paper mill (Russia)

The influence of the pulp-paper mill on the development of phytoplankton river communities in the wastewater discharge zones was studied. For the analysis, an indicator group of diatoms was used with data on species richness and structural diversity. The basis of the dominant complexes of the studied sections of the river were mainly species of the genus Aulacoseira. Saprobity indices vary by stations within 1.77–2.06, which corresponds to III class of water quality.