Selecting areas to protect the biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems in a semiarid Mediterranean region using water beetles

Abstract

ABSTRACT1. In this work, carried out in the province of Murcia, a representative semi-arid area of the Iberian Peninsula, water beetles were used as indicators to identify the aquatic ecosystems with the highest interest for conservation. For that purpose, an iterative algorithm of complementarity based on the richness of aquatic Coleoptera was applied. 'Complementarity' refers to the degree to which an area, or set of areas, contributes otherwise unrepresented attributes to a set of areas. This principle was used to maximize the number of species represented within a given number of areas.2. Only the species subsets whose taxonomic status, presence and distribution in the study area are well known were used. In total, 146 species were included, of which 12 are Iberian endemics and 32 are rare species (found only in one grid cell in the study area).3. The highest correlation was generally shown by species richness with endemic, rare and vulnerable species richness. Thus, basing conservation strategies on species richness appears to be an effective protocol.4. To preserve the highest degree of biodiversity in the aquatic ecosystems of the study area, the following need to be protected: (a) headwater streams in the north west of the province; (b) the uppermost reaches of the Segura River; (c) hypersaline and coastal ramblas; (d) rock pools and coastal ponds.5. The present network of Protected Natural Spaces in the study area does not include many of the aquatic ecosystems shown to have the highest biodiversity of beetles. However, the future European 'Natura 2000' network will protect the 10 grid cells of highest aquatic biodiverstity, or at least part of them.

A comprehensive evaluation of the crustacean assemblages in southern Iberian Mediterranean wetlands

“…As Collinson et al (1995) indicated, the conservation of temporary wetlands should seek to protect all taxa, and micro-crustaceans should be included in future conservative legislation. Moreover, it is important to note that Mediterranean region is considered as a sensitive area to climatic changes (Sánchez-Fernández et al, 2004). Although Mediterranean water bodies are characterized by extreme natural water level fluctuations in response to irregular precipitation patterns (Álvarez-Cobelas et al, 2005), global climatic change is projected to amplify this pattern as a consequence of: i) the increase of temperatures; ii) the elevation of evapotranspiration rates; iii) the diminution of precipitation levels; and iv) the increase of summer droughts (Coops et al, 2003;Angeler, Jurado et al, 2012).…”

“…In particular, the southern Iberian Peninsula is an area of special interest as it is located in one of the most arid zones of Europe and comprises a wide range of aquatic ecosystems, from freshwater to hypersaline ones (Sánchez-Fernández et al, 2004), which represent an important component of the landscape.…”

Environmental factors affecting mayfly assemblages in tufa-depositing habitats of the Dinaric Karst

“…Due to anthropogenic pressure and the specific hydrology and soil morphology (Sánchez-Fernández et al, 2004), karst habitats are particularly endangered. These fragile ecosystems are inhabited by numerous rare and endangered species (Bonacci et al, 2008;Bonacci, 2009).…”

Aquatic Coleoptera assemblages in protected wetlands of North-western Spain

“…Several studies highlighted the contribution of standing waters to regional freshwater biodiversity (Williams et al, 2003;Picazo et al, 2010) and the usefulness of aquatic Coleoptera as surrogates of biodiversity (Foster et al, 1990;Sánchez-Fernández et al, 2004Guareschi et al, 2012). Therefore, management measures in standing water bodies should consider water beetles as indicators, as they are sensitive species to ecological changes and habitat characteristics.…”

“…The Iberian Peninsula is a recognized hotspot for biodiversity and more than 500 species of aquatic beetles have been reported in this region. Several authors have suggested the use of aquatic Coleoptera as indicators for monitoring population trends in other groups of aquatic macroinvertebrates and for identifying high biodiversity areas at a regional scale (Foster et al, 1990;Sánchez-Fernández et al, 2004Guareschi et al, 2012). This paper studies the diversity and composition of aquatic Coleoptera assemblages in 24 wetlands protected N o n -c o m m e r c i a l u s e o n l y by the Natura 2000 network of North-western Spain and the influence of environmental variables on the distribution of species, in order to detect differences between the different types of standing water habitats.…”