In this Issue

Abstract

i DOI: https://doi.org/10.3318/BIOE.2019.05 Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy,Vol. 119, No. 1, i–ii (2019). © Royal Irish Academy Cite as follows: Osborne, B. 2019 Editorial / In this Issue. Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 2019. DOI: 10.33318/ BIOE.2019.05 EDITORIAL Bruce Osborne Despite the challenging times we live in with an­ ever-increasing number of journals plying for ­ papers in the biological and environmental areas,I am pleased to say that Biology and Environment is maintaining our impact factor above 0.65 (0.676). Whilst this is the good news,maintaining or even increasing our impact factor in the future is a significant challenge so we need to continue to ensure that we receive high-quality submissions.As editor a particular onus is placed on me, together with the other members of the editorial board, to ensure that this happens. We are, however, always open to new ideas and new publication initiatives that will increase the journal’s impact and readership and I would encourage, in particular, suggestions for new Praeger Reviews and special issues. In terms of new initiatives this issue contains the first of what I hope will be a series of so-called ‘data papers’.This initiative is based on the increasing body of numerical information that is often not suitable for more conventional publications as it is not specifically hypothesis-driven research. Nevertheless , well-documented metadata is an important and often essential resource for informing current and future research as well as providing the basis for wider collaborative initiatives. Moreover, these publications provide a way of recognising all those who contributed to the collection, management and curation of the data sets. I hope, therefore, that this is a publication opportunity that a number of you can take advantage of in the future. I would like finally to recognise all the Royal Irish Academy staff, editorial board members and reviewers who have contributed to Biology and Environment over the past year. Bruce Osborne IN THIS ISSUE Limestone lake crusts Limestone lakes are often characterised by a benthos consisting of charophyte algae and a microbial crust comprising of a range of microbes intermixed with inorganic minerals.Whilst the more visible charophyte beds have received considerable attention much less is known about the functional significance and formation of the microbial crusts. Doddy et al., in this issue point out that although these crusts are sometimes considered as largely inert inorganic minerals,they are complex substrates containing a diverse assemblage of living microorganisms. Both filamentous and coccoid cyanobacteria are present as are chlorophytes and diatoms that reflect, in part, the organisms present in the water column.As expected the crusts contain a high proportion of mineral particles that may be cemented together through the actions of filamentous cyanobacteria.In terms of the controls over crust formation Doddy et al. provide evidence that this is related to P availability, with crust deterioration evident at high water column P concentrations . Crusts may also act as a significant sink for P so that conservation of these habitats should consider any effects that impact on their functionality, including increased turbidity and modifications in water chemistry. Importantly, as improvements in water column quality may not be synonymous with improvements in the status of the microbial crusts, specific conservation measures are likely to be required that are targeted directly at the benthic community. Cattle impacts on the hyporheic zone The word hyporheic, from the Greek hypo (below) and rheos (flow), was first coined by the Romanian hydrobiologist Traian Orghidan in 1955 to denote the area below the stream bed where mixing of surface and ground water occurs.This is an important interface often characterised by a unique assemblage of organisms that control the exchange of organic material, water and nutrients between surface and ground water bodies. Importantly this zone can be strongly impacted by agricultural activity, as­ O’Sullivan et al., in this issue, show.The authors detail how cattle access to the shallow areas associated with headwater streams can increase downstream sediment flow and negatively impact on hyporheic invertebrate communities. In some cases this also resulted in a reduction...