| Title | A biological tool to assess flow connectivity in reference temporary streams from the Mediterranean Basin |
| Abstract | Many streams in the Mediterranean Basin have temporary flow regimes. While timing for seasonal drought is predictable, they undergo strong inter-annual variability in flow intensity. This high hydrological variability and associated ecological responses challenge the ecological status assessment of temporary streams, particularly when setting reference conditions. This study examined the effects of flow connectivity in aquatic macroinvertebrates from seven reference temporary streams across the Mediterranean Basin where hydrological variability and flow conditions are well studied. We tested for the effect of flow cessation on two streamflow indices and on community composition, and, by performing random forest and classification tree analyses we identified important biological predictors for classifying the aquatic state either as flowing or disconnected pools. Flow cessation was critical for one of the streamflow indices studied and for community composition. Macroinvertebrate families found to be important for classifying the aquatic state were Hydrophilidae, Simuliidae, Hydropsychidae, Planorbiidae, Heptageniidae and Gerridae. For biological traits, trait categories associated to feeding habits, food, locomotion and substrate relation were the most important and provided more accurate predictions compared to taxonomy. A combination of selected metrics and associated thresholds based on the most important biological predictors (i.e. Bio-AS Tool) were proposed in order to assess the aquatic state in reference temporary streams, especially in the absence of hydrological data. Although further development is needed, the tool can be of particular interest for monitoring, restoration, and conservation purposes, representing an important step towards an adequate management of temporary rivers not only in the Mediterranean Basin but also in other regions vulnerable to the effects of climate change. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. |
| Source | Science of the total environment 540, pp. 178–190 |
| Keywords | Biological traitsMacroinvertebratesMediterranean BasinHydrological variabilityReference conditionsEcological status |
| Journal | Science of the total environment |
| Editor | Elsevier, Lausanne ;, Paesi Bassi |
| Year | 2016 |
| Type | Articolo in rivista |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.scitotenv2015.06.086 |
| Authors | Cid, N.; Verkaik, I.; Garcia-Roger, E. M.; Rieradevall, M.; Bonada, N.; Sanchez-Montoya, M. M.; Gomez, R.; Suarez, M. L.; Vidal-Abarca, M. R.; Demartini, D.; Buffagni, A.; Erba, S.; Karaouzas, I.; Skoulikidis, N.; Prat, N. |
| Text | 361263 2016 10.1016/j.scitotenv2015.06.086 ISI Web of Science WOS 000364731800018 Scopus 2 s2.0 84945494523 Biological traits Macroinvertebrates Mediterranean Basin Hydrological variability Reference conditions Ecological status A biological tool to assess flow connectivity in reference temporary streams from the Mediterranean Basin Cid, N.; Verkaik, I.; Garcia Roger, E. M.; Rieradevall, M.; Bonada, N.; Sanchez Montoya, M. M.; Gomez, R.; Suarez, M. L.; Vidal Abarca, M. R.; Demartini, D.; Buffagni, A.; Erba, S.; Karaouzas, I.; Skoulikidis, N.; Prat, N. Univ Barcelona; Univ Murcia; CNR; HCMR; Univ Valencia; Leibniz Inst Freshwater Ecol Inland Fisheries Many streams in the Mediterranean Basin have temporary flow regimes. While timing for seasonal drought is predictable, they undergo strong inter annual variability in flow intensity. This high hydrological variability and associated ecological responses challenge the ecological status assessment of temporary streams, particularly when setting reference conditions. This study examined the effects of flow connectivity in aquatic macroinvertebrates from seven reference temporary streams across the Mediterranean Basin where hydrological variability and flow conditions are well studied. We tested for the effect of flow cessation on two streamflow indices and on community composition, and, by performing random forest and classification tree analyses we identified important biological predictors for classifying the aquatic state either as flowing or disconnected pools. Flow cessation was critical for one of the streamflow indices studied and for community composition. Macroinvertebrate families found to be important for classifying the aquatic state were Hydrophilidae, Simuliidae, Hydropsychidae, Planorbiidae, Heptageniidae and Gerridae. For biological traits, trait categories associated to feeding habits, food, locomotion and substrate relation were the most important and provided more accurate predictions compared to taxonomy. A combination of selected metrics and associated thresholds based on the most important biological predictors i.e. Bio AS Tool were proposed in order to assess the aquatic state in reference temporary streams, especially in the absence of hydrological data. Although further development is needed, the tool can be of particular interest for monitoring, restoration, and conservation purposes, representing an important step towards an adequate management of temporary rivers not only in the Mediterranean Basin but also in other regions vulnerable to the effects of climate change. C 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 540 Published version A biological tool to assess flow connectivity in reference temporary streams from the Mediterranean Basin Articolo pubblicato in STOTEN protetto da copyright Cidetal_MIRAGE_BIOtool_STOTEN2016.pdf Articolo in rivista Elsevier 0048 9697 Science of the total environment Science of the total environment Sci. total environ. DEMARTINI DANIELE andreastefano.buffagni BUFFAGNI ANDREA STEFANO stefania.erba ERBA STEFANIA MIRAGE Mediterranean Intermittent River Management TA.P04.032.003 La risposta delle comunita acquatiche bioindicatori e WFD |
