Combining hydrologic simulations and stream-network models to unveil flow-ecology relationships in a large Alpine catchment

Larsen, Stefano; Majone, Bruno; Zulian, Patrick; Stella, Elisa; Bellin, Alberto; Bruno, Maria Cristina; Zolezzi, Guido

doi:10.1002/essoar.10503867.1

Cited by 2 publications

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“…In combination with HIs, traits can provide a template to create and test large-scale hypotheses regarding flow-ecology responses (Poff and Allan, 1995;McManamay et al, 2015). Although research in this field is growing (Wu et al, 2019b;Goldenberg-Vilar et al, 2021;Larsen et al, 2021;Pompeu et al, 2022b), due to the lack of longterm discharge data and paired biological samples, linkages between the flow regime and biological communities are usually not fully explored. Therefore, setting biomonitoring networks in which communities are sampled more frequently (e.g., covering seasonal variability), over a long and meaningful time frame (e.g., at least 10 years), and with adequate spatial coverage (e.g., relatively close to dams and with paired river gauging) would be beneficial for monitoring and tackling dam impacts on river ecosystems, as well as for identifying future research priorities.…”

Section: Implications For Biomonitoring and Conservation Effortsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of irrigation dams on riverine biota in mountain streams

Rocha Pompeu,

Peñas,

Barquín

2024

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Mountain streams harbor unique biodiversity and provide essential ecosystem services to human societies. Yet, these ecosystems face numerous threats, such as the construction of dams and land use changes, leading to rapid habitat degradation, water pollution, and biodiversity loss. In this study, we assess the effect of irrigation dams on mountain riverine biota using traditional biotic indices and trait-based approaches. We selected diatom and macroinvertebrate communities surveyed between 2015 and 2017 in mountain streams located in different regions in northern Spain (Cantabrian Cordillera, Iberian System, and Pyrenees) under natural and altered flow conditions (i.e., downstream of irrigation dams). Hydrological and biological changes related to the presence of dams, the mountain range, and the interaction between these two factors were identified. Summer flows, frequency of high flow events, and minimum annual flows timing were significantly affected by irrigation dams, independently of the region. Winter flows, the magnitude of high flow extremes, and the number of flow rises and falls varied significantly with the dam-mountain range interaction. The frequency and duration of flow pulses depended on the mountain range only. In the Cantabrian Cordillera, a region with larger reservoirs (>150 hm3), impacted sites showed a marked inversion of the seasonal flow patterns (i.e., increased summer flows but reduced winter flows). In the other mountain ranges, reservoirs had smaller storage volumes and multiple purposes, causing significant flow change frequency variations. Diatom traits, taxonomic richness, diversity, and IPS score varied with dam presence and mountain ranges, while macroinvertebrate traits and biotic indices responded weakly. These findings suggest that diatom communities might be more sensitive to hydrological alteration, while macroinvertebrates might be more influenced by space-related factors, such as biogeography and dispersal, overriding dam-related impacts. Furthermore, dam-related changes in ecosystems may depend not only on the presence of dams and their characteristics (e.g., reservoir size and operation), but also on local conditions and biogeography. Our findings emphasize that, when using pre-existing biomonitoring datasets, although some dam-related patterns emerge (e.g., with diatoms), other patterns may be constrained by the datasets’ low spatio-temporal coverage and taxonomic resolution, highlighting the need of well-structured study designs.

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Section: Implications For Biomonitoring and Conservation Effortsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of irrigation dams on riverine biota in mountain streams

Rocha Pompeu,

Peñas,

Barquín

2024

Front. Environ. Sci.

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“…For example, Fornaroli et al (2019) showed that Baetidae and Rhyacophilidae densities increased with mean monthly discharges in May, June, and September. Furthermore, Larsen et al (2021) demonstrated that taxonomic richness declined with maximum streamflow in nivo‐glacial streams, but increased in pluvial streams. While broad geographical descriptors such as distance from source might have indirect and integrative effects on macroinvertebrate communities, proximate habitat variables, such as hydraulics or water temperature characterising the local habitat of organisms, could be more general predictors of biological responses across different geographical contexts (Huang & Frimpong, 2016; Statzner et al, 1988).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Macroinvertebrate distribution associated with environmental variables in alpine streams

et al. 2022

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Ongoing hydrological alterations due to climate change and anthropogenic uses of water have major implications for freshwater biodiversity. Quantifying the relative effects of environmental variables on macroinvertebrates is required to predict biological responses to hydrological alterations. To date, no study simultaneously examined the effects of physico‐chemistry, hydraulics, and hydrology on the distribution of alpine macroinvertebrate communities and taxa. In this study, we aimed to quantify the relative correlation between these environmental variables and macroinvertebrate community composition and structure. We sampled macroinvertebrates at 66 stream sites located in three catchments in the French Alps. We characterised the proximate habitat at each site using 11 variables describing measured physico‐chemistry and hydraulics, and simulation‐based hydrology. We described relationships between community structure and the environment using a co‐inertia analysis and modelled individual taxa abundance with generalised linear mixed models. The co‐inertia revealed a significant co‐structure between the environmental and macroinvertebrate matrices. Glacier‐influenced sites with high turbidity and summer flow exhibited similar community composition with low total abundance. Sources at high altitude and sites with low glacial influence, exhibiting high summer flow and flow velocity, were dominated by Diamesinae, Rhithrogena spp., Dictyogenus spp., and Baetis alpinus. Streams fed by rainfall/snowmelt and valley sources, associated with higher temperature, conductivity, and monthly discharge variability were characterised by higher richness and abundances. Models indicated that the three types of proximate habitat variables significantly contributed to the macroinvertebrate distribution. Turbidity was strongly negatively associated with macroinvertebrate abundances. Increasing flow velocity and summer flow had significant (mainly negative) effect in 43% of models. The co‐structure between communities and proximate habitat variables was shared by the three catchments. For most individual taxa, catchment identity did not influence abundance models and cross‐validations indicated transferable effects of proximate habitat variables among alpine catchments. Our results can be used to infer responses of alpine macroinvertebrates to multivariate environmental changes. Understanding the relationships between macroinvertebrates and environmental variables help to predict how communities and taxa will be affected by habitat alterations due to ongoing hydrological changes and resulting physico‐chemical conditions.

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Combining hydrologic simulations and stream-network models to unveil flow-ecology relationships in a large Alpine catchment

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

Effects of irrigation dams on riverine biota in mountain streams

Effects of irrigation dams on riverine biota in mountain streams

Macroinvertebrate distribution associated with environmental variables in alpine streams

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