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Assessing the ecological status of small Mediterranean rivers using benthic macroinvertebrates and macrophytes as indicators

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Abstract

Rivers are amongst the most threatened ecosystems in Europe. To prevent further degradation and to improve their ecological status, effective mitigation and restoration actions are needed. Those actions are primarily based on the precision of the ecological assessment results. This study aims to assess the ecological status of two small Mediterranean rivers—the Âncora (AR) and the Ferreira (FR) rivers—through the analysis of biological (benthic macroinvertebrates and macrophytes), physico-chemical and hydromorphological quality elements. Specific objectives were to analyse variations of biotic and abiotic parameters amongst rivers, and amongst seasons and sites within each river, to confirm adequate temporal windows to develop the monitoring surveys. Results showed that only one AR site achieved a good ecological status in spring and summer, while the other sites presented a moderate ecological status in all seasons. FR sites had a moderate to bad ecological status in all seasons. Both rivers showed high levels of nutrients, particularly during spring and summer, and were found quite altered in terms of floristic composition of the riparian communities. The riparian forest and the forbs fringe were dominated by several alien woody species and nitrophilous communities, respectively. Based on a multidisciplinary approach, this study provides an in-depth description of the ecological status of two small Mediterranean rivers located in sites of European interest, as well as a sound basis for the management of the aquatic environments. Mitigation of diffuse pollution and restoration of the riparian zones are a priority to improve their ecological status.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the reviewer’s comments which helped to improve the manuscript.

Funding

The present study was supported by Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through a PhD grant attributed to Rodrigues C. (SFRH/BD/87695/2012) and by the Strategic Funding UID/Multi/04423/2019 through national funds provided by FCT—Foundation for Science and Technology and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), in the framework of the programme PT2020.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental (CIIMAR/CIMAR), Universidade do Porto, Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Av. General Norton de Matos, s/n, 4450-208, Matosinhos, Portugal

    Carolina Rodrigues, Ana Bio, Laura Guimarães, Carlos Pinheiro & Natividade Vieira

  2. Departamento de Biologia da Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, s/n, 4169-007, Porto, Portugal

    Carolina Rodrigues, Carlos Pinheiro & Natividade Vieira

  3. Floradata-Biodiversidade, Ambiente e Recursos Naturais, Lda., Rua do Campinho 32, 4000-151, Porto, Portugal

    Paulo Alves

  4. Museu de História Natural e da Ciência da Universidade do Porto (MHNC-UP), Praça Gomes Teixeira, 4099-002, Porto, Portugal

    Cristiana Vieira

Authors
  1. Carolina Rodrigues
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  2. Paulo Alves
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  3. Ana Bio
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  4. Cristiana Vieira
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  5. Laura Guimarães
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  6. Carlos Pinheiro
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  7. Natividade Vieira
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Correspondence to Carolina Rodrigues.

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Rodrigues, C., Alves, P., Bio, A. et al. Assessing the ecological status of small Mediterranean rivers using benthic macroinvertebrates and macrophytes as indicators. Environ Monit Assess 191, 596 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-7766-8

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