Professor Isabelle Durance
AE, PhD

Professor and Director of the Water Research Institute

School of Biosciences

: Durance@cardiff.ac.uk
: +44 29208 74484
: Sir Martin Evans Building, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX

: Media commentator

Freshwaters are hot spots of biodiversity and also vital natural resources on which human well-being depends. However, multiple and often conflicting uses of these waters and their catchments have significantly degraded freshwater ecosystems worldwide. Evidence and tools are urgently needed to guide the management of freshwaters and their catchments within safe environmental limits.

Using an ecosystem approach, my work blends large scale empirical analysis with smaller scale in-situ manipulations, to address pressing questions on:

The role of river biodiversity in sustaining key ecosystem services
The role of landscape processes in regulating freshwater biodiversity
The impact of global changes on freshwater ecosystems

Roles

Director, Water Research Institute

The Water Research Institute was launched in 2015 to address the grand challenge of sustainable water management for people and ecosystems in a changing world.

Our mission is to foster world-leading interdisciplinary research that will have strong impact and be used as evidence by decision makers. We do this by providing a creative environment where researchers from different disciplines co-design and co-deliver research with stakeholders and end-users to provide integrated understanding and solutions to tackle global water challenges.

Director, GW4 Water Security Alliance

Water security means making sure there is enough water of the right quality in the right place at the right time for people, farming, businesses and the environment.

With 200+ academics across four leading UK research institutions (Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter), the GW4 Water Security Alliance (WSA) is the largest UK water research group – and one of the largest worldwide. It brings together academics and stakeholders with a common vision of addressing regional, national and global water security challenges

Director, NERC FRESH Centre for Doctoral Training

The NERC Centre for Doctoral Training in Freshwater Biosciences and Sustainability (GW4 FRESH CDT) provides a world-class doctoral research and training environment, for the next generation of interdisciplinary freshwater scientists equipped to tackle future global water challenges.

The FRESH CDT harnesses freshwater scientists from four of the UK’s most research-intensive universities (Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter) plus world-class research organisations the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) and British Geological Survey (BGS). FRESH builds on established networks in place, with tried and tested collaboration agreements, and exceptional long-standing stakeholder support from a range of backgrounds.

Date
Type

2024

Perry, W. B. et al. 2024. Cross-continental comparative experiences of wastewater surveillance and a vision for the 21st century. Science of the Total Environment 919, article number: 170842. (10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170842)
Perry, W. B., Ahmadian, R., Munday, M., Jones, O., Ormerod, S. J. and Durance, I. 2024. Addressing the challenges of combined sewer overflows. Environmental Pollution 343, article number: 123225. (10.1016/j.envpol.2023.123225)
Larsen, S., Joyce, F., Vaughan, I. P., Durance, I., Walter, J. A. and Ormerod, S. J. 2024. Climatic effects on the synchrony and stability of temperate headwater invertebrates over four decades. Global Change Biology 30(1), article number: e17017. (10.1111/gcb.17017)
Tarring, E. C., Durance, I., Harbottle, M. J., Lucas, R., Read, D. S. and Ward, B. D. 2024. Water-soluble polymers: emerging contaminants detected, separated and quantified by a novel Gpc/Maldi-Tof method. Environmental Pollution 340(1), article number: 122888. (10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122888)

2020

Worthington, T. A., Worthington, I., Vaughan, I. P., Ormerod, S. J. and Durance, I. 2020. Testing the ecosystem service cascade framework for Atlantic salmon. Ecosystem Services 46, article number: 101196. (10.1016/j.ecoser.2020.101196)
Stone, C., Windsor, F. M., Munday, M. and Durance, I. 2020. Natural or synthetic – how global trends in textile usage threaten freshwater environments. Science of the Total Environment 718, article number: 134689. (10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134689)
Jams, I. B., Windsor, F. M., Poudevigne-Durance, T., Ormerod, S. J. and Durance, I. 2020. Estimating the size distribution of plastics ingested by animals. Nature Communications 11, article number: 1594. (10.1038/s41467-020-15406-6)

2019

Windsor, F. M., Durance, I., Horton, A. A., Thompson, R. C., Tyler, C. R. and Ormerod, S. J. 2019. A catchment-scale perspective of plastic pollution. Global Change Biology 25(4), pp. 1207-1221. (10.1111/gcb.14572)

2018

Perkins, D. M. et al. 2018. Bending the rules: exploitation of allochthonous resources by a top-predator modifies size-abundance scaling in stream food webs. Ecology Letters 21(12), pp. 1771-1780. (10.1111/ele.13147)
Larsen, S., Chase, J. M., Durance, I. and Ormerod, S. J. 2018. Lifting the veil: richness measurements fail to detect systematic biodiversity change over three decades. Ecology 99(6), pp. 1316-1326. (10.1002/ecy.2213)
Seymour, M. et al. 2018. Acidity promotes degradation of multi-species environmental DNA in lotic mesocosms. Communications Biology 1, article number: 4. (10.1038/s42003-017-0005-3)

2017

Small, N., Munday, M. and Durance, I. 2017. The challenge of valuing ecosystem services that have no material benefits. Global Environmental Change 44, pp. 57-67. (10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2017.03.005)
Hildrew, A. G., Durance, I. and Statzner, B. 2017. Persistence in the longitudinal distribution of lotic insects in a changing climate: a tale of two rivers. Science of the Total Environment 574, pp. 1294-1304. (10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.07.212)

2016

Jackson, M. et al. 2016. Recommendations for the next generation of global freshwater biological monitoring tools. Advances in Ecological Research 55, pp. 615-636. (10.1016/bs.aecr.2016.08.008)
Verberk, W. C. E. P., Durance, I., Vaughan, I. P. and Ormerod, S. J. 2016. Field and laboratory studies reveal interacting effects of stream oxygenation and warming on aquatic ectotherms. Global Change Biology 22(5), pp. 1769-1778. (10.1111/gcb.13240)
Woodward, G. et al. 2016. The effects of climatic fluctuations and extreme events on running water ecosystems. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B - Biological Sciences 371(1694), article number: 20150274. (10.1098/rstb.2015.0274)
Durance, I. et al. 2016. The challenges of linking ecosystem services to biodiversity. Advances in Ecological Research 54, pp. 87-134. (10.1016/bs.aecr.2015.10.003)

2015

Mulder, C. et al. 2015. 10 years later: revisiting priorities for science and society a decade after the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Advances in Ecological Research 53, pp. 1-53. (10.1016/bs.aecr.2015.10.005)
Watts, G. et al. 2015. Climate change and water in the UK - past changes and future prospects. Progress in Physical Geography 39(1), pp. 6-28. (10.1177/0309133314542957)

2014

Raffaelli, D. et al. 2014. Big Data and ecosystem research programmes. Advances in Ecological Research 51, pp. 41-77. (10.1016/B978-0-08-099970-8.00004-X)
Morrissey, C. A., Stanton, D. W., Tyler, C. R., Pereira, M. G., Newton, J., Durance, I. and Ormerod, S. J. 2014. Developmental impairment in eurasian dipper nestlings exposed to urban stream pollutants. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 33(6), pp. 1315-1323. (10.1002/etc.2555)

2013

Merrix-Jones, F. L., Thackeray, S. J., Durance, I. and Ormerod, S. J. 2013. Spatial structure in the zooplankton of a newly formed and heavily disturbed urban lake. Fundamental and Applied Limnology / Archiv fur Hydrobiologie 183(1), pp. 1-14. (10.1127/1863-9135/2013/0459)
Morrissey, C., Stanton, D. W. G., Pereira, M. G., Newton, J., Durance, I., Tyler, C. R. and Ormerod, S. J. 2013. Eurasian dipper eggs indicate elevated organohalogenated contaminants persist in urban rivers. Environmental Science & Technology 47(15), pp. 8931-8939. (10.1021/es402124z)

2012

Ormerod, S. J. and Durance, I. 2012. Understanding and managing climate change effects on river ecosystems. In: Boon, P. and Raven, P. eds. River Conservation and Management. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 107-121.

2011

Gaotlhobogwe, M., Laugharne, J. and Durance, I. 2011. The potential of multivariate analysis in assessing students' attitude to curriculum subjects. Educational Research 53(1), pp. 65-83. (10.1080/00131881.2011.552241)
Vaughan, I. P., Larsen, S., Durance, I. and Ormerod, S. J. 2011. Student-centred experiments with stream invertebrates. Journal of Biological Education 45(2), pp. 106-111. (10.1080/00219266.2010.546007)
Maltby, E. et al. 2011. Freshwaters – openwaters, wetlands and floodplains. In: UK National Ecosystem Assessment: Technical Report. Cambridge: United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), pp. 295-360.

2010

Clews, E., Durance, I., Vaughan, I. P. and Ormerod, S. J. 2010. Juvenile salmonid populations in a temperate river system track synoptic trends in climate. Global Change Biology 16(12), pp. 3271-3283. (10.1111/j.1365-2486.2010.02211.x)
Ormerod, S. J., Durance, I., Terrier, A. and Swanson, A. M. 2010. Priority wetland invertebrates as conservation surrogates. Conservation Biology 24(2), pp. 573-582. (10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01352.x)
Durance, I. and Ormerod, S. J. 2010. Evidence for the role of climate in the local extinction of a cool-water triclad. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 29(4), pp. 1367-1378. (10.1899/09-159.1)

2009

Ormerod, S. J. and Durance, I. 2009. Restoration and recovery from acidification in upland Welsh streams over 25 years. Journal of Applied Ecology 46(1), pp. 164-174. (10.1111/j.1365-2664.2008.01587.x)
Durance, I. and Ormerod, S. J. 2009. Trends in water quality and discharge confound long-term warming effects on river macroinvertebrates. Freshwater Biology 54(2), pp. 388-405. (10.1111/j.1365-2427.2008.02112.x)

2007

Niggebrugger, K., Durance, I., Watson, A. and Ormerod, S. J. 2007. Applying landscape ecology to conservation biology: Spatially explicit analysis reveals dispersal limits on threatened wetland gastropods. Biological Conservation 139(3-4), pp. 286-296. (10.1016/j.biocon.2007.07.003)
Durance, I. and Ormerod, S. J. 2007. Climate-change effects on upland stream macroinvertebrates over a 25-year period. Global Change Biology 13(5), pp. 942-957. (10.1111/j.1365-2486.2007.01340.x)

2006

Durance, I., Lepichon, C. and Ormerod, S. J. 2006. Recognizing the importance of scale in the ecology and management of riverine fish. River Research and Applications 22(10), pp. 1143-1152. (10.1002/rra.965)

2004

de Nooij, R. J. W. et al. 2004. BIO-SAFE: assessing the impact of physical reconstruction on protected and endangered species. River Research and Applications 20(3), pp. 299-315. (10.1002/rra.779)

2003

Ernoult, A., Bureau, F. and Durance, I. 2003. Patterns of organisation in changing landscapes: implications for the management of biodiversity. Landscape Ecology 18(3), pp. 239-251. (10.1023/A:1024457031235)
Durance, I. and Baudry, J. 2003. The implication of past and present landscape patterns for biodiversity research: Introduction and overview. Landscape Ecology 18(3), pp. 223-225. (10.1023/A:1024405014396)

2002

Durance, I., Alard, D., Leuven, R. S. E. W. and Nienhuis, P. H. 2002. A systems approach to river restoration: a case study in the lower Seine valley, France. River Research and Applications 18(3), pp. 239-247. (10.1002/rra.667)
Leuven, R. S. E. W. and Durance, I. 2002. Riverine landscape dynamics and ecological risk assessment. Freshwater Biology 47(4), pp. 845-865. (10.1046/j.1365-2427.2002.00918.x)

2001

Chabrerie, O. et al. 2001. Biodiversity and ecosystem functions in wetlands: A case study in the estuary of the Seine River, France. Estuaries 24(6), pp. 1088-1096. (10.2307/1353020)
Nebbache, S., Feeny, V., Durance, I. and Alard, D. 2001. Turbidity and nitrate transfer in karstic aquifers in rural areas: The Brionne Basin case-study. Journal of Environmental Management 62(4), pp. 389-398. (10.1006/jema.2001.0444)

2000

Alard, D. and Durance, I. 2000. Diversity patterns in grasslands along a landscape gradient in northwestern France. Journal of Vegetation Science 11(2), pp. 287-294. (10.2307/3236809)

1999

Alard, D. and Durance, I. 1999. Factors controlling plant diversity in a rural landscape: a functional approach. Landscape and Urban Planning 46(1-3), pp. 29-39. (10.1016/S0169-2046(99)00044-4)

1998

Alard, D., Durance, I., Dutoit, T. and Decaëns, T. 1998. Dynamique de la biodiversité dans un espace en mutation. Le cas des pelouses calcicoles de la basse vallée de Seine. Acta Oecologica 19(3), pp. 275-284. (10.1016/S1146-609X(98)80031-3)

1997

Durance, I., van Rooij, S., Morin, P. and Alard, D. 1997. Dynamics of rural landscapes and their main driving factors: A case study in the Seine Valley, Normandy, France. Landscape and Urban Planning 38(1-2), pp. 93-103. (10.1016/S0169-2046(97)00025-X)
Durance, I. and Alard, D. 1997. Landscape and agricultural patterns in rural areas: a case study in the Brionne basin, Normandy, France. Journal of Environmental Management 50(4), pp. 335-349. (10.1006/jema.1997.0134)
Durance, I. and Alard, D. 1997. Agricultural landscape dynamics: A case study in the Odessa region, the Ukraine and a comparative analysis with the Brionne basin case study, France. Ekologia Bratislava 16(3), pp. 295-308.

1996

Baudry, J., Alard, D., Thenail, C., Durance, I., Leconte, D., Bourcier, J. F. and Girard, C. M. 1996. Gestion de la biodiversite dans une reion d'elevage bovin: Les prairies permanentes du Pays d'Auge, France. Acta Botanica Gallica: Botany Letters 143(4-5), pp. 367-381. (10.1080/12538078.1996.10515733)

Research

My interests span a wide array of environmental challenges. From a background in agronomy, my research straddles the frontier between physical, ecological and social sciences, crossing disciplinary boundaries in a holistic perspective. My work is focused on freshwaters as an integrating lens through which environmental challenges are viewed. Freshwater is critical to life, the environment and economies, but its sustainable management worldwide is at risk through the whole water cycle from global change, burgeoning demand and inadequate control. Given the complexities of the problem, this is a prime example where sustainable solutions require a whole-systems approach that integrates multiple sectors at multiple scales.

This research has been funded over the past decade by a range of funders (UKRI, EU, industry, charities) and over the past 10 years I have been involved as PI or co-PI in environmental research endeavours totalling over £20m.

Following a degree in Natural Sciences and a Masters in Engineering (Ingenieur Agronome, Agrotech Paris), I worked in Research & Development in an industrial context (Danone Belgium). I then embarked on a PhD in Landscape Ecology working in Ukraine and France, and developed my research increasingly using freshwater ecosystems as a model during a 10 year lectureship in France (Rouen).

With the support of the Daphne Jackson charity, a charity established to help women back into science, I obtained 3 independent research fellowships after my career break, before being awarded a senior lectureship in Cardiff School of Biosceinces where I now hold a Chair in Integrated Water Sciences.

In turn, I now have the chance to contribute to academic and public life, for example through involvement with:

the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the UKRI, as panel member but also as part of advisory groups: Chair NERC ReFIT Steering Committee since Apr 2023 (Capital), NERC Water Quality programme Advisory group (since 2023), Chair NERC Strategic Needs Advisory Group (S&F, 2020-21), Chair NERC Deep Dive Working Group 2022, NERC Floods and Drought (FDRI) Steering committee since 2020 (2 terms), NERC Strategic Programme Advisory group (2016-2019, 2 terms), NERC Joint Capacity Advisory group (2016-2019, 2 terms).
the Education and Research sector more broadly, nationally and internationally, in advisory roles for: Centres for Doctoral Training boards (NERC FRESH CDT 2017-24, EPSRC Sustainable Plastics DTH 2020-28, NERC ECORISC CDT 2020-28), Cardiff University Directors of Research Board, H2O Doctoral Scheme (France) International Advisory Board since 2020, Brazil Water Research Centre International Advisory Board since 2020, Environment Platform Wales Advisory Board since 2022, Horizon 2020 panels (2014, 2018, 2022), EU Water4All programme 2023.
the Water and Environmental sector, for example in advisory roles as part of: DCWW – Welsh Water Independent Environment Advisory Panel since 2019, Spring Water Sector Innovation Co-leads team since 2021, WWF Impact committee since 2018 (3 terms)

Committees and reviewing

NERC Changing the Environment Scheme Assessment Panel, 27 and 28 October 2021 - Chaired by NERC Chief Executive, several £10m investments to support the UK research and innovation communities to not just articulate environmental problems, but to devise and develop the whole system solutions utilising interdisciplinary approaches.

NERC Community Diversity Town Hall invited workshop, 10 Nov 2021

Collaborative Inclusivity roundtable led by Susan Waldron, 24 June 2021 - Focused on Advocating and promoting environmental science to create an inclusive talent and skills pipeline

UKRI invited roundtable - a 'new deal' for postgraduate research,1 February 2021

NERC Fellowship workshop - invited workshop to shape the future development and improvement of NERC Fellowships, 4 June 2021

Chair of NERC Strategic Need Advisory Group, January 2021 - August 2021 - Chaired an independent group to give advice on the strategic direction of NERC's Scientific support and Facilities portfolio.

NERC Deep Dive Working Group on Earth and Terrestrial Scientific Support and Facilities (S&F), January - May 2022.

Floods and Droughts Resilience (FDR) steering committee member, July 2020 - December 2021

Spilling the dirt on Combined Sewer Overflows