Ecology of regulated streams in Spain: an overview (original) (raw)

Influence of flow regulation on the macroinvertebrate riffle communities in four Mediterranean streams

Internationale Vereinigung für theoretische und angewandte Limnologie: Verhandlungen, 2002

Complex changes of the biotic and abiotic parameters of rivers are induced by river regulation (PENAZ et al. 1968, DYNESIUS & NILSSON 1994). Many papers discuss the influence of such regulation on macroinvertebrate communities (ARMITAGE 1984, WINGET 1984, DUMNICKA et al. 1988, FOUNTOURA & DEPAWN 1991, FRUGET 1991, VOELZ & WARD 1991, SALTVEIT et al. 1994, DESSAIX et al. 1995), bur the information is scarce for Mediterranean rivers. In the regulated rivers, a decrease in biodiversity is usually observed while some taxa tend to increase their densities (WARD 1976, WARD & STANFORD 1979, ARMITAGE et al. 1987}. In this study, the benthic macroinvertebrate communities of four riffles from four streams with different levels of regulation were compared. The objective was to evaluate the influence of flow regulation on the macroinvertebrate communities among Mediterranean streams.

Functional responses of aquatic macroinvertebrates to flow regulation are shaped by natural flow intermittence in Mediterranean streams

Freshwater Biology, 2019

Running waters in Mediterranean regions are strongly regulated by dams, which produce significant alterations to natural flow regimes. Climate change will reduce discharge and increase flow intermittence in Mediterranean streams, which will lead to an intensified flow regulation to meet water demands. Very little is known about how the functional features of aquatic communities vary along combined anthropogenic flow alteration and natural intermittence gradients. As intermittent streams are subjected to natural stress (droughts and flash floods), the flow regime alteration effect may differ from that observed in perennial rivers. Consequently, studies that aim to determine the effects of flow regulation on the functioning of aquatic communities in a global change context are crucial. By applying linear mixed‐effect models and null models to the macroinvertebrate communities from 65 stream sites in the Segura River Basin (south‐east Spain), we assessed the separate effects of natural...