Analysing the contribution of intermittent rivers to beta diversity can improve freshwater conservation in Mediterranean rivers
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Author
Soria, Maria
Ortega, Jean
Bini, Luis Mauricio
Acosta, Raúl
Gutiérrez-Cánovas, Cayetano
Rodríguez-Lozano, Pablo
Fortuño, Pau
Vinyoles, Dolors
Gallart, Francesc
Prat, Narcís
Bonada, Núria
Publication date
2024-04-25ISSN
1015-1621
Abstract
In Mediterranean climate regions, intermittent rivers (IRs) harbor highly dynamic communities with species and trait composition changing over time and space. Simultaneously considering multiple biodiversity facets and a spatiotemporal perspective is, therefore, key to developing effective conservation strategies for these ecosystems. We studied the spatiotemporal dynamics of aquatic macroinvertebrates in rivers of the western Mediterranean Basin by analysing (1) the taxonomic and functional richness and the local contribution to beta diversity (LCBD; measured considering taxonomic and functional facets) of perennial rivers and IRs over five sampling times, and (2) their relation with flow intermittence, local environmental uniqueness, and the number of anthropogenic impacts. Both analyses were also conducted for the subset of data including only IRs to compare values between their flowing and disconnected pool phases. According to our results, taxonomic and functional richness tended to be higher in perennial rivers than in IRs, while taxonomic and functional LCBD tended to be higher in IRs than in perennial rivers. When comparing IR sites over time, higher values of taxonomic and functional LCBD corresponded mostly to their disconnected pool phase. Flow intermittence, the number of anthropogenic impacts and the environmental uniqueness were significant predictors of taxonomic and functional richness, but only flow intermittence was an important predictor of taxonomic LCBD. For the IR-only data subset, disconnected pool permanence was the main predictor explaining spatiotemporal patterns. Our results highlight the importance of IRs to biodiversity conservation of Mediterranean climate rivers, especially during the disconnected pool phase, suggesting that these ecosystems cannot be ignored in conservation planning strategies.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Published version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
574 - General ecology and biodiversity
Pages
13
Publisher
Springer
Is part of
Aquatic Sciences
Citation
Soria, María, Núria Cid, Jean Carlo Gonçalves Ortega, Luis Maurício Bini, Raúl Acosta, Cayetano Gutiérrez‐Cánovas, Pablo Rodríguez‐Lozano, et al. 2024. “Analysing the Contribution of Intermittent Rivers to Beta Diversity Can Improve Freshwater Conservation in Mediterranean Rivers.” Aquatic Sciences 86 (3): 66. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-024-01074-x.
Grant agreement number
EC/LIFE/LIFE13 ENV-ES-000341/EU/Implementing the Water Framework Directive to temporary rivers: tools for the assessment of their ecological status/TRivers
Program
Aigües Marines i Continentals
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- ARTICLES CIENTÍFICS [2838]
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/