The effectiveness of surrogate taxa to conserve freshwater biodiversity

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 183-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Stewart ◽  
Zachary E. Underwood ◽  
Frank J. Rahel ◽  
Annika W. Walters
Keyword(s):  
Freshwater Biodiversity ◽  
Surrogate Taxa

Freshwater biodiversity in Asia

1996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurice Kottelat ◽  
Tony Whitten
Keyword(s):  
Freshwater Biodiversity

scholarly journals Do We Need to Use Bats as Bioindicators?

Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 693
Author(s):  
Danilo Russo ◽  
Valeria B. Salinas-Ramos ◽  
Luca Cistrone ◽  
Sonia Smeraldo ◽  
Luciano Bosso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Legal Obligation ◽  
Farming Practices ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
River Quality ◽  
Surrogate Taxa ◽  
Available Information ◽  
Sampling Problems ◽  
The Eu

Bats show responses to anthropogenic stressors linked to changes in other ecosystem components such as insects, and as K-selected mammals, exhibit fast population declines. This speciose, widespread mammal group shows an impressive trophic diversity and provides key ecosystem services. For these and other reasons, bats might act as suitable bioindicators in many environmental contexts. However, few studies have explicitly tested this potential, and in some cases, stating that bats are useful bioindicators more closely resembles a slogan to support conservation than a well-grounded piece of scientific evidence. Here, we review the available information and highlight the limitations that arise in using bats as bioindicators. Based on the limited number of studies available, the use of bats as bioindicators is highly promising and warrants further investigation in specific contexts such as river quality, urbanisation, farming practices, forestry, bioaccumulation, and climate change. Whether bats may also serve as surrogate taxa remains a controversial yet highly interesting matter. Some limitations to using bats as bioindicators include taxonomical issues, sampling problems, difficulties in associating responses with specific stressors, and geographically biased or delayed responses. Overall, we urge the scientific community to test bat responses to specific stressors in selected ecosystem types and develop research networks to explore the geographic consistency of such responses. The high cost of sampling equipment (ultrasound detectors) is being greatly reduced by technological advances, and the legal obligation to monitor bat populations already existing in many countries such as those in the EU offers an important opportunity to accomplish two objectives (conservation and bioindication) with one action.

Freshwater biodiversity conservation through source water protection: Quantifying the potential and addressing the challenges

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 1022-1038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Abell ◽  
Kari Vigerstol ◽  
Jonathan Higgins ◽  
Shiteng Kang ◽  
Nathan Karres ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Source Water ◽  
Water Protection ◽  
Freshwater Biodiversity ◽  
Source Water Protection

Strategies to manage stream flow to benefit people and nature: a non-government conservation organisation's perspective

2004 ◽  
Vol 49 (7) ◽  
pp. 89-95
Author(s):  
J. Pittock ◽  
R. Holland
Keyword(s):  
Stream Flow ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
River Basins ◽  
River Basin Management ◽  
Freshwater Biodiversity ◽  
Flow Management ◽  
Stream Flows ◽  
Freshwater Management ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
The Impact

More than for any other biome, freshwater biodiversity is increasingly imperiled, particularly due to poor stream flow management and increasing demand for water diversions. The adoption by the world's governments of targets to extend water services to the poor and at the same time to conserve biodiversity increase the need to better direct investments in freshwater management. In this paper WWF draws on examples from its work to identify areas where investment can be focused to assure efficient water use and improve stream flow management, namely:• Prioritize and target those river basins and sub-catchments that are most critical for conservation of freshwater biodiversity to maintain stream flows;• Link strategic field, policy and market interventions at different scales in river basins to maximize the impact of interventions;• Implement the World Commission on Dams guidelines to minimize investment in large scale and costly infrastructure projects;• Apply market mechanisms and incentives for more sustainable production of the world's most water consuming crops;• Enhance statutory river basin management organizations to draw on their regulatory and financial powers;• Implement international agreements, such as the Convention on Wetlands;• Integrate environment and development policies.

Designing a conservation area network that supports the representation and persistence of freshwater biodiversity

2010 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
JEANNE L. NEL ◽  
BELINDA REYERS ◽  
DIRK J. ROUX ◽  
N. DEAN IMPSON ◽  
RICHARD M. COWLING
Keyword(s):  
Area Network ◽  
Freshwater Biodiversity ◽  
Conservation Area

scholarly journals Freshwater biodiversity in human-dominated landscapes: introduction

Limnology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 199-200
Author(s):  
Nisikawa Usio ◽  
Junjiro N. Negishi
Keyword(s):  
Freshwater Biodiversity

Free-living freshwater nematodes from Brazil: checklist of genera and regional patterns of diversity

Nematology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Taciana Kramer de Oliveira Pinto ◽  
Sérgio A. Netto ◽  
André Morgado Esteves ◽  
Francisco José Victor de Castro ◽  
Patricia Fernandes Neres ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Extreme Environments ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Freshwater Biodiversity ◽  
High Turnover ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Regional Patterns ◽  
Freshwater Nematodes ◽  
Spatial Coverage ◽  
Freshwater Habitats

Summary Brazil has one of the largest varieties of aquatic ecosystems and rich freshwater biodiversity, but these components have constantly been damaged by the expansion of unsustainable activities. Free-living nematodes are an abundant and ubiquitous component of continental benthic communities, occurring in all freshwater habitats, including extreme environments. Despite this, hardly any studies have examined the generic composition of nematodes in different latitudes and the geographic overlap of assemblages. We provide data on nematode genera from six regions in Brazil, over a north-south gradient spanning about 4000 km, encompassing rivers, coastal lakes, and reservoirs with different levels of human impact. Interpolation/extrapolation curves were generated and the zeta diversity was used to assess the overlap of nematode assemblages. Freshwater nematode assemblages comprised 54 families and 132 genera. Mononchidae, Monhysteridae, Chromadoridae, Tobrilidae and Dorylaimidae were the most diverse families. Differences in diversity and high turnover of genera were found among regions, probably related to stochastic processes. Mononchus was the only widely distributed genus. Our results revealed a high biodiversity of free-living freshwater nematodes among the regions. The limited spatial coverage of the data reveals an enormous knowledge gap in a country with 12% of the world’s freshwater resources. The lack of spatial patterns, e.g., latitudinal variation, suggests that freshwater nematode assemblages are primarily structured by the intrinsic properties of habitats. This reinforces the uniqueness of freshwater ecosystems and suggests that the nematode assemblages may be sensitive to environmental disturbances, since the limited distributions of taxa may lead to lower resilience.

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