How your dog is harming the river you love ...Middle East

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As a very amateur birdwatcher, I’ve been exploring a recently created wetland nature reserve near my house to see some of the bird life it is attracting, like cormorants, little grebes, and magnificent, dazzling kingfishers.

But it has brought home the potential conflicts between dog owners and biodiversity efforts, particularly around bodies of water.

I should start by stressing that I’ve nothing against dogs. I’ve owned a dog in the past and plan to get another. Dogs can bring much joy to our lives.

But there are several steps that dog owners can take that would mean their animal has less of an impact on the environment, which some people may be unaware of.

One of dogs’ biggest environmental impacts is on animals and plant life around ponds, streams and rivers.

It is hard to begrudge the dogs their fun as some of them clearly love a dip in the water, either to cool off on hot days or just to play and swim. For us, it can be adorable to watch Fido galloping through the shallows, splashing water everywhere.

But for the birds, small mammals and insect life, a dog’s arrival is as alarming and destructive as we would find an elephant charging through a campsite.

One of the volunteers at my local wetland area (which I’m not naming to avoid further inflaming hostilities on its Facebook page) told me that the site has far more waterfowl present in the early morning. But as the first dogs of the day arrive, the birds scatter in fear.

Obviously, my own pleasure in birdwatching doesn’t outweigh someone else’s pleasure from walking their dog.

But dogs also have a clear impact on delicate freshwater ecosystems. As well as trampling down plants, they can erode the banks and stir up mud, which makes the water more cloudy. Sediment then settles on underwater plants, blocking their light.

A second effect comes from dogs’ flea treatments, which are often applied directly to their skin, and so can run off into the water, killing insect life. “Residues of drugs found in many of these treatments have been detected in water in several studies,” said Will Wilkinson, a lecturer at the University of Surrey.

“Even small amounts can cause sub-lethal effects, where residues don’t kill bugs outright but reduce how effectively they feed and breed, causing numbers to decline.”

Fewer insects and other invertebrates will then have knock-on effects up the food chain, reducing the number of wildfowl and other animals that the water body can support.

Smaller ponds can be especially vulnerable as any chemicals are likely to linger. Also, as their water catchment area is relatively small, they are less likely to be contaminated by other pollution sources.

It’s not clear which causes the greater harm, the flea treatments or the physical damage. That matters, because it affects which steps we should take to limit the damage, said Dr Naomi Ewald, a freshwater biologist at the Freshwater Habitats Trust.

How dog owners can help

The Trust is about to begin a research project to investigate. It involves creating barriers at some ponds where one half is closed off to dogs, and taking various measurements of the ecosystems in the two halves. These will be compared with other ponds where all access to dogs is prevented.

If flea treatments are the main problem, then dog owners could do a lot to help by switching to tablets instead of skin ointment. Dog owners can also discuss with their vet if they could switch to treating their pet only if needed, rather than constant monthly treatments, said Wilkinson.

Or it may be more helpful to focus on asking dog owners to keep their animals out of vulnerable water bodies.

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That doesn’t mean dogs should be barred from all water, said Dr Ewald. The Trust advises public bodies to make “sacrificial ponds”, where possible, designed for dogs to have fun in.

At other places, such as the River Mole near Leatherhead, conservationists have chosen spots where biodiversity was already low, to site “dog dips”, building in wooden steps, so the river banks aren’t further eroded.

At my local wetlands, the compromise is a fence around the new ponds, but the rest of the stream is still available for dogs to swim in.

Unfortunately, dog owners have sometimes been spotted entering through the gate, despite signs pleading that they stay out – but then so have local teenagers who fancied a paddle.

I really don’t believe in demonising dog ownership (as long as people pick up their dog poo!) and if the new wetlands are to thrive, they need broad community support. That means encouraging as many people as possible to start appreciating the new resource.

As David Attenborough turns 99 this week, he is releasing his latest documentary film, Ocean with David Attenborough. His impressive stamina is enough to make you wonder what his secret is for staying active into his later years. Here’s what science has to say.

I’ve been reading

High finance is area of life I feel very underinformed about, so I’ve been enjoying a book called The Trading Game by Gary Stevenson, a former financial trader who has a YouTube channel called Garys Economics.

Stevenson started out from the bottom, so as he describes his education in the world of finance, it is helping me learn too.

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