Eutrofització dels rius d'Andorra

8 páginas, 4 figures.An analysis of the phosphorus increase in the watersheds of Andorra as a result of the increase of human population in the river banks is made. The greater concentrations in phosphorus are found in relation to the increase of population and also in some sampling stations in the highlands of this country. In high altitude the phosphorus concentrations are related to hotel and sport facilities. Also the influence of water catchements to power works are analized. In August the major stream, the Valira river, is dried in this catchement process in station 22 and until the time of return of water (station 14) the main river receives only wastewaters of two villages and water of minor tributaires. This means a great increase in the phosphorus concentration in waters in stations 15 and 16 (figs. 1 and 2). A modification in the composition of animal communities can be stated examining the macrofauna, especially insects, of river stones. There is a relationship between phosphorus concentration and the modification of communities. As a result of human population increase the lower part of Andorra is higly enriched in nutrients in August, especially in phosporus. A great quantity of phosphorus, estimated between 4 and 8 MT/month, leaves the Valira river in the sampling station 1.Peer reviewe

Contribució al llistat faunístic dels macroinvertebrats aquàtics de la Garrotxa

15 páginas, 4 tablasLes publicacions adreçades a l’estudi de la fauna aquàtica invertebrada a la comarca de la Garrotxa són relativament escasses. En aquest estudi es contribueix al coneixement de les comunitats de macroinvertebrats aquàtics a la Garrotxa amb un llistat d’espècies a partir de mostres recollides a 29 punts de mostreig en els cursos fl uvials de la Garrotxa, corresponents a les conques dels rius Ter i Fluvià. En total es varen determinar 163 espècies, incloent 39 dípters quironòmids, 28 efemeròpters, 21 coleòpters, 19 tricòpters, 14 plecòpters, 14 odonats i 11 mol·luscs. Dues espècies de dípters chironomids (Diptera: Chironomidae) són cites noves per a la Península Ibèrica: Micropsectra logani (Edwards) i Stempellinella fl avidula (Johannsen). També es destaca la contribució d’aquest estudi al coneixement de la distribució d’algunes espècies, i es descriuen breument les condicions ambientals dels punts mostrejats.El fi nançament per dur a terme el present estudi va ser proporcionat per l’Ajuntament d’Olot a través de la beca Oriol de Bolòs de Ciències Naturals.Peer reviewe

Eliminación de peces introducidos como medida de restauración de lagos de alta montaña

E. Carrillo, J. Ninot, T. Buchaca and M. Ventura. Blanes, LIFE+ LIMNOPIRINEUS Technical OfficeEntre los objetivos del proyecto LIFE+ LimnoPirineus (2014-2019) figuraban la restauración ecológica de ocho lagos pirenaicos y la recuperación o mejora de las poblaciones de diversas especies de interés comunitario de estos lagos, mediante la erradicación o el control intensivo de peces introducidos de hasta cuatro especies. En la mayor parte de lagos el objetivo operativo ha sido la erradicación, mientras que tan solo en uno de ellos el objetivo pasaba simplemente por llevar a cabo un control intensivo hasta alcanzar al menos una reducción del 75 % de la población inicial. A finales de 2019, estos objetivos se han alcanzado completamente para cinco de los lagos de actuación, mientras que en los otros tres lagos están cerca de alcanzarse, cosa que sucederá probablemente antes de finales de 2020. Se han puesto a punto métodos de extracción de peces basados en la combinación de hasta tres técnicas de captura principales: redes, trampas y pesca eléctrica. Se demuestra que la erradicación de los peces es factible en muchos lagos de alta montaña con una inversión suficiente en medios materiales y humanos, y con una adecuada planificación de las operaciones. Cuando no es factible la erradicación, el control intensivo mediante un esfuerzo sostenible en el tiempo es también una alternativa que cabe considerar a medio plazo.Peer reviewe

An evaluation of freshwater monitoring programs in ILTER nodes and mountain national parks: identifying key variables to monitor global change effects

Este artículo contiene 30 páginas, 6 tablas, 4 figuras.Identifying and quantifying global change impacts on biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems is critical to promote an effective adaptation that increases the success of conservation strategies. To achieve this goal, global and regional assessment efforts require certain degree of harmonization on local monitoring programs to establish relevant comparisons at different spatio-temporal scales. Otherwise, the lack of harmonization might hinder the detection and assessment on the effects of human impacts. In this work we have compiled information on freshwater monitoring programs located in areas of intensive research and conservation interest: International Long Term Ecological Research (ILTER) nodes and mountain National Parks. We aimed at evaluating the quality and robustness of these programs to assess the impact of global change, addressing from the worldwide to the European and Spanish national scale. Results highlighted that freshwater monitoring programs lack a common strategy to monitor these ecosystems. Even at the continental and national scales, contrasting strategies and level of detail have been historically applied. Water quality, habitat and biodiversity are more commonly monitored than community structure and ecosystem functioning. Monitoring efforts on the Spanish Mountain National parks indicated differences on the targeted aquatic ecosystems. Rivers and lakes received a higher attention, while mires were rarely considered. Our results provide evidence that greater efforts should be directed towards constructing a coordinated strategy to monitor freshwater ecosystems at national, continental, and global scales. This strategy should involve a shared backbone of biophysical and biogeochemical variables for each habitat type on agreed protocols that are implemented across regions and administrative borders. Achieving this will support a substantial advance on the ecological research to further delineate proper conservation strategies to face the challenges imposed by global change.This study was carried out with the financial support of the EU LIFE programme, as part of the project LIFE-DIVAQUA (Proyecto LIFE18 NAT/ES/000121).Peer reviewe

Contribució a l'estudi de l'ecología comparada dels Plecòpters i Efemeròpters d'Andorra

11 páginas, 8 figuras, 3 tablas[FR]Selon nos appoints des mois de Juillet et Aot t de 1978, et d'apres le prelevement et echantillonnage sur 49 points, it reste etabli comme etant especes fondamentales de la communaute caracteristique des Ephemeropteres et Plecopteres du reseau hydrographique d'Andorre, les suivantes: Rhithrogena diaphana , Ecdyonurus forcipula , Baetis alpinus (Ephemeropteres ), Protonemura beatensis et P. vandeli (Plecopteres). Cette communaute typique se degrade graduellement, etant absente dans le Gran Valira, du principalment a I'acroissement graduel de la contamination d'origine urbaine des rivieres d'Andorre.Peer reviewe

New data on the presence of hemocyanin in Plecoptera: Recomposing a puzzle

20 páginas, 4 tablas, 5 figuras.The specific role of hemocyanin in Plecoptera (stoneflies) is still not completely understood, since none of the hypotheses advanced have proven fully convincing. Previous data show that mRNA hemocyanin sequences are not present in all Plecoptera, and that hemocyanin does not seem to be uniformly distributed within the order. All species possess hexamerins, which are multifunction proteins that probably originated from hemocyanin. In order to obtain an increasingly detailed picture on the presence and distribution of hemocyanin across the order, this study presents new data regarding nymphs and adults of selected Plecoptera species. Results confirm that the hemocyanin expression differs among nymphs in the studied stonefly species. Even though previous studies have found hemocyanin in adults of two stonefly species it was not detected in the present study, even in species where nymphs show hemocyanin, suggesting that the physiological need of this protein can change during life cycle. The phylogenetic pattern obtained using hemocyanin sequences matches the accepted scheme of traditional phylogeny based on morphology, anatomy, and biology. It is remarkable to note that the hemocyanin conserved region acts like a phylogenetic molecular marker within Plecoptera.This research was supported by the Autonomous Organism of National Parks of "Medio Ambiente" Ministry (MARM), MAYSTONS projects (10/2007), and by the Spanish Ministry of Research and Innovation (MICIIN), GRACCIE project (CSD2007- 00067).Peer reviewe

Life cycles and growth patterns of Trichoptera in the Matarraña, a Karstic river

Some papers have shown the importance of temperature in the life cycles and growth patterns of caddis flies (Butler 1984), but there is little information on rivers with a small range of thermal variation. This is the case of the River Matarrana (Ebro basin) where the life cycles of the most abundant Trichoptera species have been studied. The possibility of a growth pattern related to the first instar weight and the number of instars and/or moults is demonstrated.Peer reviewe

Microcystin production in Rivularia colonies of calcareous streams from Mediterranean Spanish basins

The communities of Rivularia in Mediterranean Spanish calcareous streams were surveyed during a year in an attempt to understand the factors promoting or inhibiting their production of microcystins in nature. The hydrological variables seemed to be more important than chemical factors in controlling the synthesis. No relation was found with nitrate or orthophosphate but there was a clear positive correlation of total intracellular microcystin contents and of dominant microcystins with total phosphorus, while the dissolved microcystins were inversely correlated with it. The concentration of microcystins dissolved in water remained most of the time below the legal limits (except in summer), but, due to the carcinogenic character of the toxins in low concentrations and in a scenario of global warming probably leading to an increase of these communities, greater control is recommended especially in areas where water treatment is inadequate.Peer reviewe

Els tricòpters, friganies

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Labiobaetis tricolor (Tshernova, 1928) (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae) erróneamente citado en la Península Ibérica

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