Fish community responses to antecedent hydrological conditions based on long-term data in Mediterranean river basins (Iberian Peninsula)

Fornaroli, Riccardo; Muñoz‐Mas, Rafael; Martínez‐Capel, Francisco

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138052

Cited by 19 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 94 publications

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“…Consistent with past ecological studies and the natural flow regime concept (Fornaroli et al., 2020; Poff et al., 1997; Tornabene et al., 2020), our results indicate that high spring discharge and a reduction in the number of low‐discharge days (relative to the long‐term average) probably increase the abundance and biomass of the six species studied here, including the non‐native common carp. However, estimated associations with annual discharge metrics were confounded with underlying population trends, which highlights the importance of characterising long‐term population trends alongside short‐term responses to individual discharge events.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Consistent with past ecological studies and the natural flow regime concept (Fornaroli et al, 2020;Poff et al, 1997;Tornabene et al, 2020), our results indicate that high spring discharge and a reduction in the number of low-discharge days (relative to the longterm average) probably increase the abundance and biomass of the six species studied here, including the non-native common carp.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

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Underlying trends confound estimates of fish population responses to river discharge

et al. 2021

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Conservation management of freshwater ecosystems often focuses on mitigating or reversing the negative effects of altered patterns of river discharge. Assessments of management interventions frequently focus on direct, short‐term responses to discharge without consideration of underlying population trends that span multiple years. We sought to determine the effects on fish populations of annual variation in river discharge and water temperature after accounting for underlying population trends. We used data on five native and one non‐native fish species, collected over 7–20 years in seven rivers in the Murray‐Darling Basin, south‐eastern Australia. Population trends explained 3.4%–24.6% of the total variation in abundance and biomass of our six study species, while discharge and water temperature explained a further 1.2%–11.4% of this variation. However, population trends confounded the effects of discharge and water temperature, which suggests that the effects of annual discharge conditions may be contingent on past conditions and factors intrinsic to populations (e.g. age structure). Failing to account for population trends led to a combination of plausible and implausible associations with discharge and water temperature. Plausible associations included positive associations with the magnitude of spring discharge and negative associations with the number of days where discharge was below the long‐term 10th percentile. Determining whether estimated associations are real or artefactual requires a greater focus on the processes that underpin multiyear population trends. Our results highlight the potential for underlying trends in populations to confound the short‐term effects of discharge. Potential confounding of short‐ and long‐term changes in populations underscores the need to assess responses to river discharge in the context of overarching environmental conditions, including factors other than discharge.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Underlying trends confound estimates of fish population responses to river discharge

et al. 2021

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“…The flow regime is considered one of the main driving forces of freshwater ecosystems, determining the structure and ecological dynamic of rivers [19,20]. In the Iberian Peninsula, the alteration of the natural flow regime by dam regulation is one of the most important Water 2021, 13, 747 2 of 19 stress factors that negatively affects the native fish fauna [21][22][23]. The effects of flow regime alteration have been widely documented in Mediterranean fish populations [24][25][26][27].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variability in Population Traits of a Sentinel Iberian Fish in a Highly Modified Mediterranean-Type River

Sánchez-Pérez

Paterna

Amat-Trigo

et al. 2021

Water

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Human pressures on water resources have been suggested as a driver of biological traits that induce changes in native fish populations. This study highlighted the interplay between environmental stress factors, mostly related to flow regulation, and the longitudinal river gradient in biological traits such as the growth, size structure and somatic condition of a sentinel fish, Luciobarbus sclateri. We found an increase in size-related metrics and somatic condition at population levels associated with downstream reaches, although fragmentation and habitat alteration, flow regime alteration and the abundance of non-native fish were also significantly involved in their variability. Age-related parameters and growth were only explained by flow regime alterations and the abundance of non-native fish species. The high plasticity observed in L. sclateri population traits suggests that this is a key factor in the species adaptability to resist in a strongly altered Mediterranean river basin. However, the interplay of multiple stressors plays an important role in fish population dynamics and could induce complex responses that may be essential for long-term monitoring in sentinel species.

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“…Many flow–ecology studies are explorative rather than hypothesis driven, incorporating multiple response metrics and hydrological indices. For instance, Fornaroli, Muñoz‐Mas, and Martínez‐Capel (2020) used biomonitoring data from the Mediterranean Júcar River (Spain) to quantify the responses of 25 fish‐based metrics to 33 hydrological descriptors (11 of which characterised low‐flow conditions). The authors found that opportunistic, non‐native species populations expanded during more severe ELFs as their early maturation allowed greater juvenile survivorship.…”

Section: Research Paradigms Used To Examine Riverine Faunal Responses...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Extreme low‐flow effects on riverine fauna: A perspective on methodological assessments

et al. 2022

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River flow regimes face increasing pressure from human activities including water resource management operations and climate change. Consequently, extreme hydrological events are becoming more severe and commonplace, and there is a pressing need to understand and manage their ecological effects. Extreme low-flows (ELFs)those displaying significantly greater magnitudes and durations than typical low-flow conditionsare being increasingly experienced globally. Fish and macroinvertebrate responses to ELFs have been more widely researched relative to other organism groups in riverine environments, although such studies have employed variable methodological techniques. In this perspective piece, we identify field-based assessments and controlled experiments as two key research paradigms used to examine riverine faunal responses to ELFs. Field-based

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Fish community responses to antecedent hydrological conditions based on long-term data in Mediterranean river basins (Iberian Peninsula)

Cited by 19 publications

References 94 publications

Underlying trends confound estimates of fish population responses to river discharge

Underlying trends confound estimates of fish population responses to river discharge

Variability in Population Traits of a Sentinel Iberian Fish in a Highly Modified Mediterranean-Type River

Extreme low‐flow effects on riverine fauna: A perspective on methodological assessments

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