Assessing the role of the aquatic Natura 2000 network to protect both freshwater European species of community interest and threatened species in a Mediterranean region

Sánchez‐Fernández, David; Baquero, Rocío A.; Velasco, Luis Torres; Aranda, Antonio; Nicola, Graciela G.

doi:10.1002/aqc.3540

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Also, most new species in protected areas could have been already discovered because protected areas usually report better species inventories (promoted by local projects) than the surrounding areas, for example, an extensive inventory is necessary condition to those countries that have signed the Ramsar convention (Dudley, 2008). Another reason to explain the observed pattern could be that freshwater ecosystems and aquatic insects are seldom considered when conceiving the conservation plans (Ivković & Plant, 2015), and current protected areas fail to cover the distribution of freshwater biodiversity (Guareschi et al, 2015; Hermoso, Filipe, et al, 2015; Sánchez‐Fernández et al, 2021). As a result, protected areas are not designed considering aquatic insects and, therefore, it is not surprising that an important part of the recently discovered species was recorded in unprotected areas (Ivković & Plant, 2015; Payo‐Payo & Lobo, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anticipating where are unknown aquatic insects in Europe to improve biodiversity conservation

Sánchez‐Campaña,

Múrria,

Hermoso

et al. 2023

Diversity and Distributions

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Aim: Understanding biodiversity patterns is crucial for prioritizing future conservation efforts and reducing the current rates of biodiversity loss. However, a large proportion of species remain undescribed (i.e. unknown biodiversity), hindering our ability to conduct this task. This phenomenon, known as the 'Linnean shortfall', is especially relevant in highly diverse, yet endangered, taxonomic groups, such as insects. Here we explore the distributions of recently described freshwater insect species in Europe to (1) infer the potential location of unknown biodiversity hotspots and (2) determine the variables that can anticipate the distribution of unknown biodiversity. Location:The European continent, including western Russia, Cyprus and Turkey.Methods: Georeferenced information of all sites where new aquatic insect species were described across Europe from 2000 to 2020 was compiled. In order to understand the observed spatial patterns in richness of recently described species, spatial

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anticipating where are unknown aquatic insects in Europe to improve biodiversity conservation

Sánchez‐Campaña,

Múrria,

Hermoso

et al. 2023

Diversity and Distributions

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“…Some taxonomic groups are poorly represented in the Habitats Directive (e.g., freshwater fish and molluscs [Hermoso et al., 2019 ]), and the Natura 2000 network provides low coverage for a vast number of aquatic species (Hermoso et al., 2015 ), despite including hotspots of aquatic threatened species (Sánchez‐Fernández et al., 2021 ). Moreover, Natura 2000 is spatially biased, covering predominantly the least disturbed areas (e.g., mountainous and less populated regions [Hermoso et al., 2015 ]).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological relevance of non‐perennial rivers for the conservation of terrestrial and aquatic communities

Bruno

Hermoso

Sánchez‐Montoya

et al. 2022

Conservation Biology

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River conservation efforts traditionally focus on perennial watercourses (i.e., those that do not dry) and their associated aquatic biodiversity. However, most of the global river network is not perennial and thus supports both aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity. We assessed the conservation value of nonperennial rivers and streams (NPRS) in one of Europe's driest regions based on aquatic (macroinvertebrates, diatoms) and terrestrial (riparian plants, birds, and carabid beetles) community data. We mapped the distribution of taxa at 90 locations and across wide environmental gradients. Using the systematic planning tool Marxan, we identified priority conservation sites under 2 scenarios: aquatic taxa alone or aquatic and terrestrial taxa together. We explored how environmental factors (runoff, flow intermittence, elevation, salinity, anthropogenic impact) influenced Marxan's site selection frequency. The NPRS were selected more frequently (over 13% on average) than perennial rivers when both aquatic and terrestrial taxa were considered, suggesting that NPRS have a high conservation value at the catchment scale. We detected an underrepresentation of terrestrial taxa (8.4–10.6% terrestrial vs. 0.5–1.1% aquatic taxa were unrepresented in most Marxan solutions) when priority sites were identified based exclusively on aquatic biodiversity, which points to a low surrogacy value of aquatic taxa for terrestrial taxa. Runoff explained site selection when focusing on aquatic taxa (all best‐fitting models included runoff, r2 = 0.26–0.27), whereas elevation, salinity, and flow intermittence were more important when considering both groups. In both cases, site selection frequency declined as anthropogenic impact increased. Our results highlight the need to integrate terrestrial and aquatic communities when identifying priority areas for conservation in catchments with NPRS. This is key to overcoming drawbacks of traditional assessments based only on aquatic taxa and to ensure the conservation of NPRS, especially as NPRS become more prevalent worldwide due to climate change and increasing water demands.

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“…Protected areas are considered a very important tool for the conservation of species as well as their habitats, but in many cases, the conservation outcomes are unknown or contradictory (Butchart et al 2012, Geldmann et al 2013, Joppa et al 2016). Studies have found reported deficiencies in sufficient N2000 network coverage for many taxonomic groups, including freshwater fish, lamprey and crayfish (FWsp) (Sánchez-Fernández et al 2021, Trochet & Schmeller 2013.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Importance of Natura 2000 Sites and Their Management for the Conservation of Freshwater Fish, Lamprey and Crayfish in Latvia

Birzaks,

Nitcis

2023

ABUD

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Natura 2000 protected areas have been considered the most important instruments for biodiversity conservation in the European Union intended for the protection of species and habitats. In Latvia, they have not originally been established to protect freshwater species and their habitats, so the effectiveness of their protection is still unclear, influenced by past and current anthropogenic alterations and their consequences. We assessed and discussed 1) species occurrence and protected habitat rate by Natura 2000 sites and outside them; 2) species diversity Natura 2000 by their size and landscape complexity; 3) the main anthropogenic pressures and options for reducing them; 4) opportunities to improve the Natura 2000 management. For the first time in Latvia, 46 fish, lamprey and crayfish species (in total 1962 records) have been compiled, based on UTM 1x1 km grid cells. The analysis shows that Natura 2000 sites, which cover only 11 % of the country's land area, contain all the species identified in the studies and most of the country's freshwater habitats. This suggests that the Natura 2000 network in Latvia is sufficient to protect species and their habitats in their current state. However, this can be improved by addressing gaps in fish, lamprey and crayfish species management plans and making them more relevant to current challenges such as river network fragmentation, the spread of invasive species, and climate change.

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Assessing the role of the aquatic Natura 2000 network to protect both freshwater European species of community interest and threatened species in a Mediterranean region

Cited by 7 publications

References 35 publications

Anticipating where are unknown aquatic insects in Europe to improve biodiversity conservation

Anticipating where are unknown aquatic insects in Europe to improve biodiversity conservation

Ecological relevance of non‐perennial rivers for the conservation of terrestrial and aquatic communities

The Importance of Natura 2000 Sites and Their Management for the Conservation of Freshwater Fish, Lamprey and Crayfish in Latvia

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