Ecological values of intermittent rivers for terrestrial vertebrate fauna.

Autor: Sánchez-Montoya MM; Department of Ecology and Hydrology, Faculty of Biology, University of Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain; Department of Biodiversity, Ecology, and Evolution, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Calle Jose Antonio Novais, 12, 28040 Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: marsanch@um.es., Gómez R; Department of Ecology and Hydrology, Faculty of Biology, University of Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain., Calvo JF; Department of Ecology and Hydrology, Faculty of Biology, University of Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain., Bartonička T; Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 61137 Brno, Czech Republic., Datry T; INRAE, UR RiverLy, Centre de Lyon-Villeurbanne, 5 rue de la Doua CS70077, 69626 Villeurbanne Cedex, France., Paril P; Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 61137 Brno, Czech Republic.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The Science of the total environment [Sci Total Environ] 2022 Feb 01; Vol. 806 (Pt 4), pp. 151308. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Oct 29.
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151308
Abstrakt: Rivers are generally considered critical habitats for biodiversity; however, this often ignores the fact that many rivers may run dry and support terrestrial as well as aquatic fauna. Here, we investigated the ecological value of intermittent rivers for terrestrial vertebrates by installing camera traps along rivers subject to varying dry periods in two contrasting European climatic zones. We then analysed i) species presence and behaviours (as a proxy of ecological functions) on perennial and intermittent streams; ii) environmental (hydrological and geomorphological) and anthropogenic factors affecting the frequency of occurrence and number of species recorded; and iii) the importance of hydrological factors as regards ecological functioning. In both study areas, we recorded a higher number of species and individuals along intermittent streams than perennial streams, with highest values in intermittent reaches exhibiting shorter dry periods. Both abundance and species richness were strongly affected by hydrological factors in both study areas, including not only the occurrence but also the duration of the dry period. Dry channels played a key role as migration corridors and as a source of food, being used more frequently than riparian habitats when the river ran dry. Our findings indicate that terrestrial vertebrate fauna benefit from dry phases in rivers. Intermittent rivers, supporting a high abundance and diversity of fauna, should be considered as target ecosystems for wildlife conservation. Not doing so will jeopardise urgently needed conservation strategies in the face of accelerating global climate change.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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