Estado de condición de los juveniles de Gobius cobitis (Pallas, 1811) en la laguna costera del Mar Menos (SE Península Ibérica): efectos de la competencia inter- e intraespecífica en peces

We investigated the relationships, at a local level, between fish condition and environmental variables in Gobius cobitis juveniles. The relationships between 14 ecological variables of shallow areas of the Mar Menor coastal lagoon (water temperature, water salinity, depth, submerged vegetation richness, submerged vegetation cover, submerged vegetation volume, substrate size, substrate heterogeneity, fish species richness, potential competitor fish species abundance and biomass, G. cobitis abundance and biomass, G. cobitis biomass/abundance ratio) and fish condition were analysed. The mass-length relationship of juveniles was used to test differences in fish condition between 12 sampling sites. The ecological variables that accounted for most of the variation in fish condition were related to both inter- and intraspecific fish competition.Se investigaron las relaciones, a nivel de localidad, entre el estado de condición de los juveniles de Gobius cobitis y las variables del hábitat. Fueron analizadas las relaciones entre 14 variables del habitat de las zonas someras de la laguna costera del Mar Menor (temperatura del agua, salinidad, profundidad, riqueza de especies de vegetación subacuática, cobertura de la vegetación subacuática, volumen de la vegetación subacuática, granulometría del sustrato, heterogeneidad del sustrato, riqueza de especies de peces, abundancia y biomasa de especies potencialmente competidoras, abundancia y biomasa de G. cobitis, relación biomasa/abundancia de G. cobitis) y el estado de condición de los peces. Las relaciones peso-longitud de los juveniles fueron utilizadas para testar las diferencias en el estado de condición de los peces entre las 12 localidades de muestreo. Las variables del habitat que explicaron la mayor variación en la condición fueron variables relacionadas con la competencia inter- e intraespecífica en peces.

Biología trófica de los juveniles del género Liza (Pisces : Mugilidae) en la laguna costera del Mar Menor (SE Península Ibérica)

En el presente trabajo se presentan datos sobre la alimentación de juveniles de tres especies de mugílidos presentes en la laguna costera del Mar Menor: Liza saliens (Risso, 1810), L. aurata (Risso, 1810) y L. ramado (Risso, 1810). La dieta fue omnívora para las tres especies, consumiendo una gran variedad de presas, tanto de origen animal como vegetal. Se encontraron diferencias interespecíficas en la composición de la misma, así como diferencias intraespecíficas en función de la campaña de muestreo. Además, se observaron cambios en la dieta en función de la talla de los ejemplares, situación probablemente relacionada con cambios ontogénicos en la dieta de las especies estudiadas.In this work data is presented concerning the food and feeding habits of three species of mullet juveniles that are present in the Mar Menor coastal lagoon: Liza saliens (Risso, 1810), L. aurata (Risso, 1810) and L. ramado (Risso, 1810). Diet of of the three species was omnivorous; they fed on numerous prey items, both animal and vegetal preys. Interspecific differences on diet composition were found, as well as intraspecific differences from sampling periods. Moreover, size-related differences in their feeding habits were found, suggesting the existence of ontogenic changes in the diet of the studied species

Biología poblacional y asociaciones con el hábitat de las especies de peces bentónicas en las áreas someras de una laguna costera mediterránea (SE Península Ibérica)

The present study investigates the seasonal variation in fish abundance, fish biomass, reproductive status and population structure of four dominant benthic fish species, Salaria pavo, Pomatoschistus marmoratus, Gobius cobitis and Gobius niger, in the shallow and littoral areas of the Mar Menor coastal lagoon. In addition, the seasonal habitat associations of each species were studied by assessing environmental variables related to the habitat structure: submerged vegetation cover, submerged vegetation density, water depth and substrate composition. The temporal variations in fish density, standing stock and size frequency distributions of these species can largely be attributed to the seasonality of their breeding and juvenile recruitment periods. Moreover, habitat associations for these species were similar to those obtained in other Mediterranean and Atlantic coastal lagoons.En el presente estudio se investigaron las variaciones estacionales de la abundancia, la biomasa, status reproductor y la estructura de la población de cuatro especies de peces bentónicos dominantes, Salaria pavo, Pomatoschistus marmoratus, Gobius cobitis y Gobius niger, en las zonas someras y litorales de la laguna costera del Mar Menor. Además, se estudiaron las asociaciones con las variables del hábitat: cobertura y densidad de la vegetación subacuática, profundidad y tipo de sustrato, para cada una de las especies y en cada estación del año. Las variaciones estacionales en la abundancia, la biomasa y la estructura por tallas de estas especies pueden ser atribuidas a sus periodos de reproducción y el reclutamiento de juveniles. Las asociaciones con las variables del hábitat para todas las especies fueron similares a las encontradas en otras lagunas costeras Mediterráneas y Atlánticas

INVENTARIO FAUNÍSTICO DE LOS QUIRONÓMIDOS (DIPTERA, CHIRONOMIDAE) DE EL RÍO MUNDO (ALBACETE). ESPAÑA

For each season of one year, a drift data sample was taken from a single locality of the Mundo River (Segura Basin, Albacete province). 43 chironomid species were identified. All species are new for Albacete province and two species (Orthocladius pedestris and Virgatanytarsus albisutus) are new for Spain.Por primera vez se presenta un listado de 43 especies de quironómidos para el Río Mundo (Cuenca del Río Segura en Albacete) obtenido a partir de muestras de deriva tomadas en las cuatro estaciones del año. Las 43 especies de quironómidos citadas son nuevas para esta provincia y dos de ellas (Orthocladius pedestris y Virgatanytarsus albisutus) son nuevas citas para España

Small ponds support high terrestrial bird species richness in a Mediterranean semiarid region

©2021. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This document is the Accepted version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Hydrobiologia. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-021-04552-7Ponds are among the world’s most endan gered freshwater ecosystems. A comprehensive knowledge of pond biodiversity is urgently required to inform effective pond management and conserva tion actions. Most studies about pond biodiversity focus on aquatic taxa, while the terrestrial biodiver sity, especially of birds, has been little studied. Moreover, the few studies existing on pond biodiver sity do not account for different detection rates of species, thus yielding biased results. Here, we apply a hierarchical Bayesian modelling technique to data obtained from visual censuses to estimate bird species richness associated with small ponds in a semiarid region, considering the imperfect detection of species. The model incorporates specific responses to site characteristics (pond typology), landscape (environ mental heterogeneity) and at regional scale (mean annual precipitation). The studied ponds were used by two thirds of the terrestrial breeding bird community of the study region. Our modelling approach increased by an average of 7.5 species the observed site-specific richness. Drinking troughs supported a greater rich ness than other pond types. Environmental hetero geneity was positively related with species richness, whereas no clear relation was observed between richness and precipitation. In addition to ecosystem services provided by ponds to human welfare, our results suggest these small isolated habitats may act as key landscape elements for terrestrial birds in semiarid regions

Edad y crecimiento de Gobio lozanoi Doadrio & Madeira, 2004 (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae) en sectores fluviales de la cuenca del río Segura (SE península ibérica)

El trabajo estudia la estructura de edad, longitud retrocalculada y tasa de crecimiento en poblaciones de Gobio lozanoi a lo largo de los principales ejes fluviales de la cuenca del río Segura (ríos Se- gura y Mundo). Se analizaron estos parámetros con individuos capturados en otoño de 2009 y en 19 localidades, así como su re- lación con variables ambientales (altitud, estado ecológico y con- ductividad). Las poblaciones reflejaron seis clases de edad (0+ a 5+) con escasas diferencias entre sexos y dominancia de edades intermedias (2+ y 3+). La estructura de edades mostró variaciones significativas en el gradiente con tendencia a presentar menor nú- mero de clases en localidades a menor altitud. La tasa de creci- miento se relacionó negativamente con la longevidad y mostró di- ferencias entre sectores fluviales. La tasa de crecimiento en la fase de transición a la madurez mostró tendencia a disminuir con el gra- diente, pero también conforme decrece el estado ecológico y au- menta la conductividad

Perceptions and risk behaviors regarding biological invasions in inland aquatic ecosystems

Public engagement is vital to effectively manage Invasive Alien Species (IAS) and biosecurity campaigns directed to stakeholders are decisive to raise awareness regarding IAS regulations and problems. To design and implement adequate communication plans, stakeholders’ perceptions and risk behaviors regarding IAS need to be monitored by surveys. IAS do not recognize borders and most countries are not biogeographically isolated. Therefore, in ternational information and consensus are necessary when applying measures at a biogeographic scale. Our bilingual survey was performed at the Iberian Peninsula, targeting the general public, decision-makers and other stakeholders, covering all taxa associated to inland aquatic ecosystems. We found differences in IAS’ awareness between countries, and between different stakeholder groups. Results showed that the awareness of socioeco nomic and human health impacts is substantially lower when compared with impacts on biodiversity. We found that the perception regarding the predation impacts is consistent across groups and countries, while other per ceptions differ. The negative socioeconomic impact on angling due to IAS introductions is widely recognized. However, angling is also the activity most referred as positively impacted by IAS due to fish introductions. Most responders knew what IAS are, providing correct species examples. For all three awareness types (Biodiversity, Socio-economic and Human health) the model regressions showed that the most important predictor was the country of provenance of the respondent, followed by Education level for the socio-economic and biodiversity regressions and the stakeholder group in the Human health regression. We can conclude that in Portugal and Spain the general public and other key target-groups have reduced understanding of some threats posed by IAS. We highlight that raising awareness about IAS impacts on humans, namely on socio-economic aspects and human health, may be more effective and it is certainly needed in education campaigns towards IAS

Fish morphological and parasitological traits as ecological indicators of habitat quality in a Mediterranean coastal lagoon

1. Coastal lagoons are key ‘transitional’ aquatic environments for biodiversity conservation. Ecological indicators are useful tools for the management of water resources in the European Union. Among different biological communities, fish are a very sensitive tool to assess environmental integrity. Indeed, their parasites can be used as complementary indicators of habitat quality. Yet there is still a deep lack of information on ecological assessment using fish (along with their parasites) for coastal lagoons, particularly for the Iberian Peninsula. 2. The aim of the present study was to assess the use of fish morphology and their parasite communities as ecological indicators of anthropogenic impact within the Mar Menor coastal lagoon (SE Spain), a Mediterranean area of special conservation concern for European/Iberian biodiversity. 3. Fish samples (black-striped pipefish Syngnathus abaster and marbled goby Pomatoschistus marmoratus) were collected in August 2022 from the Littoral (high level of nutrient enrichment) and Barrier habitats. Physical status (both external and internal indices), asymmetry (level of developmental instability), parasite load, diversity and life-cycle complexity were compared between habitat types. 4. Body condition and mainly the health assessment index were better in the Barrier habitat. Except for pectoral fins in pipefish, the fluctuating asymmetry was statistically greater in the Littoral habitat (i.e. with eutrophication leading to poorer fish development). The parasite load was higher in the Littoral habitat for both host fish species. However, the diversity and life-cycle complexity of parasite communities were statistically lower in the Barrier habitat (a structurally simpler environment) only for gobies. 5. This study demonstrates an elevated potential for certain fish morphological and parasitological traits to be considered as good ecological indicators of environmental health. This could help environmental managers and policy makers to design effective monitoring programmes to detect impacts within valuable areas for conservation, such as the Mar Menor coastal lagoon