RiuNet 'El Manual' para consultar los contenidos de la app y poder hacer una evaluación sin el uso del móvil

Podeu consultar la versió en català i anglès a recurs relacionatManual de utilización de la aplicación RiuNet para teléfonos móviles y tabletas, en el que se muestra todos los contenidos (textos, imágenes, metodologías y algoritmos) que contiene la app. RiuNet es un proyecto de ciencia ciudadana que permite evaluar el estado hidrológico y ecológico de los ríos de la Península Ibérica por cualquier persona siguiendo una adaptación de la metodología oficial que se utiliza a nivel de todo el estado. En la parte final del documento se ha incluido las hojas de campo que pueden ser utilizadas si no se dispone de un teléfono o tableta

RiuNet 'The Manual' to view the contents of the app and to make an assessment without the use of a smart device

Podeu consultar la versió en català i castellà a recurs relacionatManual for the utilisation of the RiuNet app for mobiles and tablets, which shows all the contents (texts, images, methodologies and algorithms) contained in the app. RiuNet is a citizen science project that allows assessing the hydrological and ecological status of the rivers of the Iberian Peninsula by any person following an adaptation of the official methodology that is used throughout the state. It also includes the field sheets that can be used if a phone or tablet is not available

What Do Students Know about Rivers and Their Management? Analysis by Educational Stages and Territories

The overall purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge that students have about the ecosystem concept of rivers and their sustainable management. A survey of nine questions gathered responses from 3447 students at three different Spanish education levels (Primary, Secondary, and bachelor’s degree in Primary Education) and six different geographic territories in the Iberian Peninsula. Respondents showed a limited understanding of rivers, much simpler than the ecosystem concept, which was related to proposals of unsustainable management of these ecosystems. Although the results were analogous among territories, undergraduate students had a more complex concept of rivers as well as more sustainable ideas regarding their management compared with Primary and Secondary Education students. This study demonstrates the lack of knowledge transfer between science and students regarding river ecosystems. Current educational programs should be adapted to address, even at early stages of education, the sustainability challenges around river ecosystems

RiuNet ‘El Manual’ per consultar els continguts de l’app i poder fer una avaluació sense l’ús del mòbil

Podeu consultar la versió en castellà i anglès a recurs relacionatManual d’utilització de la aplicació RiuNet per telèfons mòbils i tauletes, en el que es mostra tots els continguts (textos, imatges, metodologies i algoritmes) que conté l’app. RiuNet és un projecte de ciència ciutadana que permet avaluar l’estat hidrològic i ecològic dels rius de la Península Ibèrica per qualsevol persona seguint una adaptació de la metodologia oficial que s’utilitza a nivell de tot l’estat. A la part final del document s’hi ha inclòs les fulles de camp que poden ser utilitzades si no es disposa d’un telèfon o tauleta

A trait-based approach reveals the feeding selectivity of a small endangered Mediterranean fish

Functional traits are growing in popularity in modern ecology, but feeding studies remain primarily rooted in a taxonomic-based perspective. However, consumers do not have any reason to select their prey using a taxonomic criterion, and prey assemblages are variable in space and time, which makes taxon-based studies assemblage-specific. To illustrate the benefits of the trait-based approach to assessing food choice, we studied the feeding ecology of the endangered freshwater fish Barbus meridionalis. We hypothesized that B. meridionalis is a selective predator which food choice depends on several prey morphological and behavioral traits, and thus, its top-down pressure may lead to changes in the functional composition of in-stream macroinvertebrate communities. Feeding selectivity was inferred by comparing taxonomic and functional composition (13 traits) between ingested and free-living potential prey using the Jacob's electivity index. Our results showed that the fish diet was influenced by 10 of the 13 traits tested. Barbus meridionalis preferred prey with a potential size of 5-10 mm, with a medium-high drift tendency, and that drift during daylight. Potential prey with no body flexibility, conical shape, concealment traits (presence of nets and/or cases, or patterned coloration), and high aggregation tendency had a low predation risk. Similarly, surface swimmers and interstitial taxa were low vulnerable to predation. Feeding selectivity altered the functional composition of the macroinvertebrate communities. Fish absence favored taxa with weak aggregation tendency, weak flexibility, and a relatively large size (10-20 mm of potential size). Besides, predatory invertebrates may increase in fish absence. In conclusion, our study shows that the incorporation of the trait-based approach in diet studies is a promising avenue to improve our mechanistic understanding of predator-prey interactions and to help predict the ecological outcomes of predator invasions and extinctions

Spatial scale effects on taxonomic and biological trait diversity of aquatic macroinvertebrates in Mediterranean streams

We examined the effect of spatial scale on aquatic macroinvertebrate communities in Mediterranean streams from six basins distributed across southern Europe, including Spain, France, Italy, and Greece. We classified the studied streams according to their long-term aquatic regime into the three following types: (i) permanent (P), (ii) intermittent with summer pools (I-P), and (iii) intermittent with summer dry channels (I-D). For each stream type, we analyzed taxonomic and trait diversity, as well as the composition of the macroinvertebrate community, following a spatially nested design at three spatial scales of analysis: microhabitat (substratum patches), mesohabitat (pools vs. riffles), and macrohabitat (streams). In order to assess intrinsic seasonal variability in streams from the Mediterranean region, 20 Surber samples were taken from each stream according to meso- and microhabitat frequency in the wet and the dry season during 2010. Given the need for adaptation to specific hydrological conditions and the fact that microhabitats should encompass the niche requirements of particular taxa, we hypothesized that this spatial scale would have a greater influence on macroinvertebrate taxa composition and biological traits than the other two larger spatial scales in intermittent streams. We observed that patterns in the relative importance of variance components across hierarchical spatial scales changed with time because low flow or droughts altered both mesohabitat preva - lence and microhabitat composition. Our results confirm the importance of the microhabitat scale in I-P streams in the wet season but not in the dry one, when a loss of microhabitat diversity occurred. Stream-to-stream variability was more important in P and I-D streams. Our study also explored the relationships between traits and aquatic regimes. We found that aquatic macroinvertebrates inhabiting permanent streams exhibited traits related to the longer duration of life cycles in these rivers (e.g. large size of adult stages) and adaptations to flowing conditions (e.g. modes of aquatic dispersal), whereas aquatic macroinvertebrates inhabiting intermittent streams with summer pools had traits adapted to depositional conditions and ecological preferences for confined habitats (i.e. disconnected pools without flow). Finally, aquatic macroinvertebrates from intermittent streams with summer dry channels had adaptations conferring ability to survive periods with no water (e.g. modes of aerial dispersal, resistant stages). These results indicate that microhabitat conditions should not be neglected as they can play an important role in certain situations

Adapting participatory processes in temporary rivers management.

The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) mandates to incorporate the participation of stakeholders and the general public in the development and updating of the river basin management plans. So far, the WFD implementation has been mainly focused on perennial rivers without considering temporary rivers properly, neither in biomonitoring programs nor participatory processes. This paper aims at adapting participatory processes in river basin management to enhance the inclusion of ecosystems with poor or no social recognition such as temporary rivers. To do so, we examined previous experiences of participatory processes conducted in the WFD and adapted them to propose and implement an approach for promoting stakeholders' engagement in temporary rivers. The approach is based on a collaborative leadership, includes multiple participatory engagement mechanisms, uses future global change scenarios and the concept of ecosystem services at different stages of the process, and aims at involving stakeholders not only in the proposal of measures stage but in the diagnosis of the ecological status. It also includes an evaluation of participants' satisfaction on the process. We tested our approach in temporary rivers from the Mediterranean region. We found that the combination of environmental education and citizen science activities, together with the inclusion of the ecosystem services concept, was the most useful way to raise awareness on the biodiversity and ecological value of temporary rivers and to promote stakeholders' engagement. Workshops conducted during the diagnosis stage played an important role in both including stakeholders' suggestions and increasing their knowledge on temporary rivers. Further, envisaging climate-related future scenarios allowed participants to incorporate measures that could tackle new and emerging pressures on these ecosystems. As future environmental changes will increase the proportion of rivers with temporary flow regimes, our approach can contribute to adapt current participatory processes to future needs

A biological tool to assess flow connectivity in reference temporary streams from the Mediterranean Basin

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

Wildfire effects on macroinvertebrate communities in Mediterranean streams / Efectes dels incendis forestals sobre las comunitats de macroinvertebrats en rius Mediterranis

[eng] Wildfire effects on macroinvertebrate communities have not been intensively studied in other areas than the Western US, and the results in fire prone areas like NE Mediterranean and SE Australia are scarce. In this study, Mediterranean streams (both fire affected and control) presented the highest dominance of r-strategy taxa, which are characterized by their high resilience. However, three years after fire, the indirect effects of the riparian canopy removal was still significant in these streams. Located in the same burned catchment, severely canopy affected area of the Vall d'Horta stream showed high aquatic vegetation cover compared to intact canopy cover, which showed, in turn, a high leaf litter cover percentage. Although differences in organic cover were significant in the macroinvertebrate community structure and turnover, hydrology was also a very important factor that marked the succession of communities along the year in both reaches. In the Mediterranean region, our studies conclude that midterm effects of fire on macroinvertebrate communities (up to 5 years) showed the importance of yearly precipitation in their response, and important differences in macroinvertebrate community dynamics were found depending if the year was wet or dry. We conclude that macroinvertebrate communities that live in Mediterranean climate streams showed in general high resilience to fire, because they usually have to cope with other severe disturbances like flooding and drought. The results obtained in this study indicate that other disturbances like droughts and floods can modulate the severity of the responses of the macroinvertebrate communities. In general, as in other biomes, post-fire precipitations are the most severe indirect effects where a large input of nutrients and dramatic habitat change takes place. In the Mediterranean catchments usually the big flood occurs few weeks after the wildfire, while in the other studied biomes the effects could be delayed by drought (SE Australia) or by the hydrologic characteristics from the stream itself (NW USA). Furthermore, if all these disturbances will come more often and together in the future, the presence of many species may be compromised, especially those that now are not found or found in low numbers in the dry years.[cat] Los efectos de los incendios forestales en las comunidades de macroinvertebrados han sido intensamente estudiados en el oeste de los Estados Unidos. Otras áreas donde el fuego es también un factor recurrente, como por ejemplo en el noreste del Mediterráneo y sureste de Australia, los estudios son muy escasos. En este contexto, el principal objetivo de este trabajo fue estudiar los efectos a mediano plazo de los incendios forestales sobre las comunidades de macroinvertebrados de los ríos mediterráneos y comparar los resultados con los de otros biomas. Después del incendio del 2003 que afectó el Parque Natural de Sant Llorenç en Cataluña se estudiaron las respuestas a corto y mediano plazo de las comunidades de macroinvertebrados de ríos en cuencas quemadas y cuencas establecidas como control. En general, las comunidades de macroinvertebrados (tanto de los ríos afectados por el fuego como los ríos control) presentaron un dominio de los taxones de estrategia "r", que caracteriza la frecuencia de perturbaciones de estos ríos y asimismo su alta resiliencia. Tres años después del incendio, los efectos indirectos del fuego se compararon en dos localidades de la Vall d'Horta afectadas de manera diferente en la cobertura de ribera. La eliminación del bosque de ribera generó diferencias significativas en la cobertura orgánica que a su vez fueron importantes para la estructura y temporalidad de la comunidad de macroinvertebrados. Sin embargo, la hidrología también fue un factor muy importante que marcó la sucesión de comunidades a lo largo del año. En este sentido, los efectos a mediano plazo después de un incendio forestal en las comunidades de macroinvertebrados (hasta 5 años) mostraron la importancia de la precipitación anual en su respuesta, y las mayores diferencias en la dinámica de la comunidad de macroinvertebrados se encontraron dependiendo de si el año había sido húmedo o seco. En conclusión, las comunidades de macroinvertebrados que estos ríos mediterráneos mostraron en general una alta resistencia al fuego, ya que por lo general tienen que hacer frente a otras perturbaciones comunes como las inundaciones y las sequías. La comparación de estos resultados con otros biomas indica que otras alteraciones como las sequías y las inundaciones pueden modular la severidad de las respuestas de las comunidades de macroinvertebrados. En general, como en otros biomas, las precipitaciones después de un incendio son los efectos indirectos más graves en un gran aporte de nutrientes y con el aumento de la erosión se genera un cambio dramático del hábitat. En las cuencas del mediterráneo por lo general la gran inundación post-incendio se produce pocas semanas después del incendio, mientras que en comparación con los otros biomas estudiados los respuestas podrían ser retrasadas por la sequía (sureste Australia) o por las características hidrológicas de los ríos (noroeste de los Estados Unidos). Se prevé que estas perturbaciones incrementarán tanto la recurrencia como la intensidad ya que ocurrirán al mismo tiempo, en este contexto la presencia de muchas especies y la resiliencia puede verse comprometida, sobre todo las que ahora no se encuentran o se encuentran en baja abundancia en los años secos