A volunteer from the Aire Rivers Trust, Robert Hellawell, was surprised to find an unwelcome new creature in his sample of river bugs from the River Aire.

Robert is one of a network of riverfly monitors who survey invertebrates in their local river as part of ARMI, the Anglers Riverfly Monitoring Initiative. These volunteers from environmental charities and angling clubs use the different species of bugs they find to tell them how healthy the river is. These creatures who live in the gravel at the bottom of the river are sensitive to pollution and tell a story of hidden pollution between monthly samples that occasional water samples would never reveal. They are excellent indicators of sewage and chemical spills, and their disappearances triggers further investigation by volunteers as well as the Environment Agency.

Robert is one of a number of citizen scientist that the Aire Rivers Trust supports. He often shares his finds on Facebook as the Urban Pollution Hunter.

An unwelcome discovery

Robert’s eye was caught by an unusual new creature when he sampled the river in Baildon, so he contacted the Environment Agency. They confirm that it is a Demon shrimp, Dikerogammarus haemobaphes. Originally from the Black Sea it was probably brought here by accident in water brought as ballast by ships. Although it has been found in the River below Swillington in 2016. This is the first sighting of it this far up the Aire. Demon shrimp are aggressive predators that will hunt other river bugs causing problems for the wildlife in the river that rely on them for food. They are not a risk to humans or dogs.

“If you see things that concern you along our river, like pollution, we encourage you to ring the Environment Agency on 0800 807060. This is a great example of the power of citizen scientists in helping us understand our river and preventing harm to it.”

Simon Watts, from the Aire River’s Trust.

Your actions can make a difference

Experts from the Environment Agency and the Aire Rivers Trust are urging river users to help stop the spread of invasive non-native plants and animals.

“At the Environment Agency we really value the contribution of citizen scientists who share our passion for the environment, and this is a great example of how they are providing really important and valuable data.

“Demon shrimp were already known to be prolific in the canal system, and have previously been found at one site lower down the River Aire. Robert’s findings add to our knowledge base of the movements of Demon shrimp in the catchment and will alert other river users and samplers to also look out for this species in neighbouring areas.”

Rachel Spry, an Environment Officer for the Environment Agency in Yorkshire.

The Environment Agency is urging people to ‘Check, Clean, Dry’ their clothing and equipment after visiting local rivers to avoid transferring the Demons shrimp between watercourses.  

 

Why we are asking all river users to Check, Clean, Dry

“Invasive and non-native species such as these can have a damaging impact on native plants, animals and ecosystems by spreading disease, competing for habitat and food and by direct predation. We’d urge people to help prevent the spread of invasives between watercourses by following the simple ‘Check, Clean, Dry’ to thoroughly clean and dry clothes and equipment that has been in contact with the water.”

Anything that has contact with the water and riverbank needs to be cleaned thoroughly and dried until it has been dry for 48 hours. If this is not possible, cleaning and the use of an environmentally friendly aquatic disinfectant is recommended. This will make sure all aquatic diseases and invasive species are killed. More information can be found on the Invasive non-native species website