Freshwater conservation planning informed and validated by public participation: The Ebro catchment,Spain, as a case study

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Identifying priority areas for surface water protection in data scarce regions: An integrated spatial analysis for Zambia

1. This study aimed to develop an integrated analytical framework to identify candidate sites for surface water protection that is applicable at broad scales and in data scarce regions, using Zambia as a case study.
2. In the Zambian Water Resources Management Act of 2011, Water Resource Protection Areas are defined as areas where special measures are necessary for the protection of a catchment, sub-catchment, aquifer, or geographical area. Three specific selection criteria are listed for the definition of Water Resource Protection Areas: (i) areas of high importance in providing water to users in a catchment; (ii) aquatic areas of high ecological importance; and (iii) areas that are particularly sensitive to human impact.
3. In this project, each sub-catchment and river reach of Zambia was characterized for their importance regarding these three criteria. ‘Water provisioning’ was assessed by analysing patterns of runoff generation and human water use; ‘aquatic ecological importance’ was determined by conducting a freshwater biodiversity and ecosystem assessment using a systematic conservation planning approach; and ‘sensitive areas’ were identified by quantifying erosion potential and sediment transport. The work was supported by an assessment of free-flowing rivers in Zambia, i.e., those rivers where aquatic ecosystem functions and services are largely unaffected by changes to fluvial connectivity through dams and other infrastructure.
4. Highly ranked sub-catchments were found in the Liuwa, Barotse, and Bangweulu floodplains and wetlands, and in the headwater regions of the upper Zambezi, Kafue, Chambeshi/Luapula, and Tanganyika catchments. The Luangwa was identified as the highest ranked candidate river for protection within Zambia.
5. The resulting maps, data, and methods are intended to support national-scale efforts to prioritize areas for surface water protection, identify catchments and rivers with high conservation value, optimize decision making for infrastructure development, and inform concerted strategies to maintain and restore freshwater ecosystem services in Zambia.

     

Fishes of the Irrawaddy River: Diversity and conservation

1. Few conservation studies have examined fish communities in entire drainage basins, especially in developing regions such as Southeast Asia, one of the most diverse biomes globally. The aim of this study was to establish conservation projections for the whole of the Irrawaddy River system, based on fish diversity patterns, human impact, and environmental change.
2. The Irrawaddy River is one of the five largest rivers in Southeast Asia. Although it has very high diversity of fish species and species endemism, our understanding of resident fish status remains poor.
3. Based on 1,726 field survey and 1,056 database records, 470 fish species and their distribution patterns (i.e. alpha, beta, threatened species, and endemic species diversities) in sub-basins of the Irrawaddy drainage were identified. Canonical correspondence analysis of diversity and environmental patterns indicated that climatic factors had the largest effect on diversity, compatible with the species–energy theory.
4. Fish conservation priorities of sub-basins were evaluated based on diversity patterns and human impact. The delta and Manipur basin regions were highlighted as areas of focus for future fish diversity conservation, and the importance of connectivity in the Irrawaddy main stem was demonstrated.
5. The results of this study will be valuable for future management of the Irrawaddy basin and as a reference for other river basins when implementing protection strategies for fish diversity. This study also advocates the need for systematic investigations across entire drainage basins and further detailed studies on the ecological conditions of poorly studied river systems.

     

Ecology of southern European pearl mussels (Margaritifera margaritifera): first record of two new populations on the rivers Terva and Beça (Portugal)

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Reef quality criteria for marine reserve selection: an example from eastern Brazil

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An assessment of the use of remote sensing to map habitat features important to sustaining lamprey populations

• 1. This study describes the use of colour aerial photography and Airborne Thematic Mapper (ATM) multispectral imagery (420–1050 nm) to map gravel‐bed river habitats important to sustaining river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis) — an aquatic species with high conservation interest in Europe. The accuracy of the remote sensing approach was assessed by comparing the output from automated mapping of physical habitat features using image analysis and GIS and habitat maps derived from field survey.
• 2. Unsupervised classification of the aerial photography and ATM imagery mapped hydraulic habitat such as pools and riffles with overall accuracies of 57% and 65.5% respectively. Submerged sand and silt deposits, which are important to river lamprey ammocoetes could not be identified on the imagery by simple unsupervised or supervised classification. They could be mapped indirectly, however, by association between their presence and morphological attributes such as backwaters and embayments in the bank profile detectable on the imagery. Remotely determining the likely presence and location of lamprey ammocoete habitat can be useful in planning detailed electrofishing campaigns to estimate lamprey densities, to assess conservation status and any change over time, and to determine the need for restoration strategies.
• 3. The results suggest that on rivers wider than 20 m without a continuous wooded riparian fringe, and where there is good quality imagery, it is possible to automate mapping of physical habitat features important to many river species with high nature conservation interest. As a result organizations charged with monitoring and conserving river species should consider investing in airborne imagery covering river systems of high conservation value.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Regulated small rivers as ‘nursery’ areas for invasive largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides in Iberian waters

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Toward process‐based conservation prioritizations for freshwater ecosystems

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Conservation of fish communities: Extending the ‘research life cycle’ by achieving practical effects

1. This article highlights the practical impact of our 2018 Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems publication, ‘Importance of peripheral basins: Implications for the conservation of fish assemblages’, which described fish communities in a Polish river.
2. Data on the fish assemblages of the Dniester River (Black Sea basin) are scarce; however, evidence indicates that the assemblages have declined. In our 2018 study, we hypothesized that the peripheral basin (the small basin on the edge) of the larger Upper Dniester River basin (the Strwi?? River) could maintain good ecological status and contained unique fish assemblages.
3. To examine the influence of historical factors and assess the role of peripheral basins on fish conservation, data from the Strwi?? basin were compared with the adjacent but unconnected Wiar basin (the Vistula basin; Baltic Sea basin). The Strwi?? River fish assemblages featured higher species richness and a greater number of native Ponto–Caspian species that function near the edge of their ranges.
4. This article focuses on four impacts of the 2018 publication: increasing awareness by various groups and organizations of the unique character of the surveyed river basin; highlighting important issues in assessing the ecological status of European rivers; driving the red‐listing of species and the development of stream fish conservation strategies; and identifying possible future impacts.
5. Our 2018 publication demonstrated the value of studying peripheral basins, which may affect conservation strategy development and encourage study of the importance of other peripheral basins and their role in aquatic resources conservation. Our article influenced the interpretation of fish‐based biotic indices and the conduct of monitoring work and its evaluation. It also strongly emphasized the native origin of the racer goby (Babka gymnotrachelus) in the Strwi?? River, which was important for subsequent works seeking to change the legal status of the species in Poland.

     

Establishing survey and monitoring protocols for the assessment of conservation status of fish populations in river Special Areas of Conservation in the UK

• 1. Under the EC Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), several rivers in the UK have been designated Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) because they support important populations of fish species. Several factors need to be considered when establishing survey protocols to assess the conservation status of fish species in these rivers.
• 2. It is important to understand the biology and habitat requirements of fish species and to design appropriate monitoring surveys that adequately assess the status of the fish populations. This information can, in turn, provide the basis for establishing sustainable conservation targets for specific stocks, a process known as condition assessment.
• 3. Favourable condition of fish species in SAC rivers is assessed using three criteria. The first relates to density of fish in various life stages against pre‐set targets, assuming that an appropriate number of sites is surveyed to account for natural spatial and temporal variations in fish populations. The second is evaluation of the demographic structure to demonstrate continued recruitment success. Third, by mapping the distribution of the target species in individual rivers and where favourable condition is only achieved where there has been no reduction in the distribution range river between surveys.
• 4. The framework described was developed from limited survey data. As more monitoring and assessment data become available, the threshold criteria for favourable condition for each species should be improved, and uncertainty in the procedures reduced.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fish and flows: Abiotic drivers influence the recruitment response of a freshwater fish community throughout a regulated lotic system of the Murray-Darling Basin,Australia

1. Fish assemblages in dryland rivers have life-history strategies that have evolved in response to environmental conditions and triggers, particularly water temperatures and flow regimes. The regulation of rivers through the construction of dams, weirs and other water diversion structures has altered natural flow regimes and the associated ecological processes of river systems worldwide.
2. Over a 3-year period, using standardized fish sampling and daily otolith ageing, the recruitment of eight freshwater fish species was monitored in response to various abiotic drivers, including hydrology and water temperatures, throughout the Macquarie River, a large regulated river system of the Australian Murray-Darling Basin.
3. A data-driven statistical classification system is provided that groups species into reproductive guilds, based on their recruitment response to hydrology and water temperature, specifically designed for use in environmental flow management.
4. The eight species were grouped into three distinct reproductive guilds that showed similar recruitment responses to the abiotic drivers. Murray-Darling rainbowfish, Murray cod, and eel-tailed catfish were considered as a single guild, characterized by seasonal recruitment during a relatively narrow thermal window under low to moderate stable discharges. The second group included common carp, bony herring, and golden perch, which recruited primarily in association with larger flow events. Un-specked hardyhead and Australian smelt formed a more differentiated guild, recruiting over a broad range of temperatures and discharges. Limitations associated with using a reproductive guild approach to simplify water management are discussed.
5. This study highlighted important relationships among hydrology, water temperatures, and successful recruitment that can, in turn, be used to inform development of adaptive flow management plans and effective use of environmental water for the conservation management of native fish communities. Important considerations in the design of studies that aim to examine relationships between recruitment and abiotic drivers are also discussed.

     

Key biodiversity areas as globally significant target sites for the conservation of marine biological diversity

• 1. Recent approaches to the planning of marine protected area (MPA) networks for biodiversity conservation often stress the need for a representative coverage of habitat types while aiming to minimize impacts on resource users. As typified by planning for the Australian South‐east Marine Region, this strategy can be manipulated by political processes, with consequent biased siting of MPAs. Networks thus created frequently possess relatively low value for biodiversity conservation, despite significant costs in establishment and maintenance.
• 2. Such biases can be minimized through application of the data‐driven and species‐based concept of key biodiversity areas (KBAs).
• 3. By mapping locations of threatened species and populations that are highly aggregated in time or space, the KBA process allows marine sites of global biodiversity significance to be systematically identified as priority conservation targets. Here, the value of KBAs for marine conservation planning is outlined, and guidelines and provisional criteria for their application provided.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Priority habitats for the conservation of large river fish in the Ganges river basin

• 1. Three classes of habitat used by groups of fish species classified as conservation and management priorities were developed for the Gerua River (also known as the Girwa River, Karnali River) in the Ganges river basin. This river is large (mean annual discharge ca 1500 m³ s^?1, up to 900 m wide), surrounded by protected lands of India and Nepal, and upstream of major diversions and river alterations.
• 2. Fish and habitat sampling was conducted at 45 sites from 2000 to 2003. Data were analysed for 2172 fish of 14 species. Species and life stages found occupying a statistically distinct subset of the river habitats were grouped to identify classes of river habitat for conservation.
• 3. Most species and life‐stage groups specialized on specific habitat conditions revealed by multivariate analyses of variance and a principal component analysis. The most numerous and diverse group (six species, 15 life stages) was associated with deep depositional habitats with sandy substrate. Two species covering three life stages were primarily oriented to erosional habitat marked by fast current velocity with pebble and cobble substrate. A third group of three species of adults and juveniles were intermediate in habitat use.
• 4. River conservation for fish faunas should maintain both erosional and depositional channel habitats with depths, substrates, and current velocity inclusive of the ranges reported. The erosional and depositional nature of the key habitats requires that rivers be maintained with flows capable of channel‐forming functions.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Identification of a spatially efficient portfolio of priority conservation sites in marine and estuarine areas of Florida

• 1. A systematic conservation planning approach using benthic habitat and imperilled species data along with the site prioritization algorithm, MARXAN, was used to identify a spatially efficient portfolio of marine and estuarine sites around Florida with high biodiversity value.
• 2. Ensuring the persistence of an adequate geographic representation of conservation targets in a particular area is a key goal of conservation. In this context, development and testing of different approaches to spatially‐explicit marine conservation planning remains an important priority.
• 3. This detailed case study serves as a test of existing approaches while also demonstrating some novel ways in which current methods can be tailored to fit the complexities of marine planning.
• 4. The paper reports on investigations of the influence of varying several algorithm inputs on resulting portfolio scenarios including the conservation targets (species observations, habitat distribution, etc.) included, conservation target goals, and socio‐economic factors.
• 5. This study concluded that engaging stakeholders in the development of a site prioritization framework is a valuable strategy for identifying broadly accepted selection criteria; universal target representation approaches are more expedient to use as algorithm inputs, but may fall short in capturing the impact of historic exploitation patterns for some conservation targets; socio‐economic factors are best considered subsequent to the identification of priority conservation sites when biodiversity value is the primary driver of site selection; and the influence of surrogate targets on portfolio selection should be thoroughly investigated to ensure unintended effects are avoided.
• 6. The priority sites identified in this analysis can be used to guide allocation of limited conservation and management resources.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Developing a standard approach for monitoring freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera) populations in European rivers

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Selecting areas with rare and restricted fish species in mountain streams of Southern Brazil

1. The delimitation of conservation units may be supported by information on compositional (taxonomic), functional, and phylogenetic diversity of a given locality or region. In this context, systematic conservation planning and key biodiversity areas are promising approaches for biodiversity protection.
2. Factors such as species representativeness and exclusivity may be used to identify geographical distribution patterns and select relevant areas for conservation at a local scale.
3. This study aims to identify areas with rare and restricted fish species in mountain streams in Southern Brazil, using a method that unites ecological and biogeographical approaches.
4. Seven river basins and 152 mountain streams in Southern Brazil were sampled to obtain data on the occurrence and abundance of 115 fish species. The rarity status of each species was determined and endemicity analysis was used to find areas of restricted species (ARS) with three cell sizes.
5. Using larger cells, continuous areas were identified and supported by a higher proportion of rare fish species. Using smaller cells, discontinuous areas were identified within each of the river basins, where rare and endemic fish species occur. Most of the smaller areas relevant for protecting fish fauna were located outside of conservation units.
6. Fundamental areas were selected for the protection of fish species in mountain streams in Southern Brazil. Both the method proposed and the areas with rare and restricted fish species identified may be used to support systematic conservation planning and to delimit new priority areas for conservation.

     

Effects of flow variation on channel and floodplain biota and habitats of the Sacramento River,California, USA

• 1. Despite progress in the development of conceptual models of river processes, the validation and application of these models to conservation may be limited by a deficit of tools for intermediate‐scale (1–100km) reaches. A model was developed to examine the effect of variation in flow on the responses of two trophic levels in a large temperate river (Sacramento River) and its seasonal floodplain (Yolo Bypass). Field data and hydrologic simulations were evaluated for three hydrologically diverse years.
• 2. The simulations showed much more hydrologic variability in the floodplain than the river, with greater total surface and shallow area, longer hydraulic residence times, and lower water velocities for the floodplain.
• 3. Chlorophyll a levels were significantly higher in the floodplain than in the river, and were negatively associated with flow. These results were consistent with longer hydraulic residence times, increased surface area of shallow water, and warmer water temperatures.
• 4. Copepods and cladoceran densities were similar in the river and its floodplain, and were mostly negatively associated with flow.
• 5. There were significantly higher densities of Diptera and terrestrial invertebrates in the floodplain than the river. Diptera densities in the floodplain were positively associated with flow.
• 6. These results provide evidence of the incremental value of floodplain habitat to the conservation of large rivers. In particular, it appears that providing river–floodplain connectivity can enhance production of lower trophic levels at relatively rapid time scales, probably benefitting secondary consumers, including Chinook salmon (Onchyrhynchus tshawytscha).

Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

GIS analysis reveals the high diversity and conservation value of mollusc assemblages in the floodplain wetlands of the lower Bug River (East Poland)

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Channels and ditches as the last shelter for freshwater mussels: the case of Margaritifera auricularia and other naiads inhabiting the mid Ebro River Basin,Spain

• 1. Freshwater mussels or naiads are generally considered to thrive in river habitats, provided the ecological conditions are good. The presence of populations of these bivalves in artificial channels and ditches with natural bottoms has only scarcely been reported. The aim of this paper was to present the idea that these ‘channel’ and ‘ditch’ habitats could in fact be a sanctuary for naiads.
• 2. Approximately 80 km of several of these waterways fed by the mid Ebro River were sampled in Spain to monitor their naiad populations. Observations indicate that these habitats harbour substantial colonies of freshwater mussels (including two populations of adult specimens of the endangered species Margaritifera auricularia), much more so than the corresponding river.
• 3. The authors wish to alert conservation authorities and freshwater mussel experts to the extreme fragility and importance of this kind of habitat for the long‐term conservation of these imperilled molluscs.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.