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In terms of how the concept of resilience applies to a European freshwater river, we can consider the different stages and states that exist as a free flowing and naturally variable system gradually becomes a more regulated and exploited river - and the associated impacts due to such anthropogenic regulation. As the freshwater system becomes over exploited and regulated to meet anthropogenic demands the natural variability is removed, flow is reduced, and pollution events become more regular and less diluted. Such changes erode the systems resilience to further disturbance and ecological research has shown that faced with a sudden event, such as a flood or prolonged drought, a threshold can be reached causing the system to slide into a reduced state of functioning (Scheffer et al. 2001) – reflected in reduced species diversity and loss of habitat.