| 1. |
- Ruhi, Albert, et al.
(författare)
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Man-made Mediterranean temporary ponds as a tool for amphibian conservation
- 2012
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Ingår i: Annales de Limnologie. - : EDP Sciences. - 0003-4088 .- 2100-000X. ; 48:1, s. 81-93
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mediterranean temporary ponds (MTPs) are crucial breeding sites for local amphibians; a faunal group in decline in the Mediterranean mainly due to wetland destruction. Although the disappearance of lentic habitats in other regions of the world has been ameliorated by the creation and restoration of wetlands, these tactics remain untested in Mediterranean wetlands. To evaluate the amphibian colonization dynamics of artificial MTPs in the north-eastern Iberian Peninsula, we monitored two artificial MTPs (one in a high-diversity area and the other in a low-diversity area) over 2 years. We selected reference wetlands at each area, and amphibian communities of man-made MTPs were compared to those of reference wetlands. We found that, beginning in the first year; artificial MTPs were a valuable habitat for regional amphibian fauna. Posteriorly, we focused on the reproductive success of the natterjack toad, Bufo calamita. Using a drift fence equipped with pit-fall traps, we measured the abundance of both reproductive adults entering the pond and post-metamorphic individuals exiting the pond. Using mark-recapture methods, we analyzed the time and energy costs associated with reproduction in the artificial MTPs. We observed a highly variable colonization dynamics between sites, between hydroperiods, and within hydroperiods, and these dynamics often depended on meteorological factors. Our results suggest that even at a short timescale, native amphibian species such as B. calamita can benefit from wetland creation in the Mediterranean region.
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| 2. |
- Moss, Brian D., et al.
(författare)
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Climate change and the future of freshwater biodiversity in Europe : a primer for policy-makers
- 2009
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Ingår i: Freshwater Reviews. - : Freshwater Biological Association. - 1755-084X. ; 2:2, s. 103-130
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Earth's climate is changing, and by the end of the 21st century in Europe, average temperatures are likely to have risen by at least 2 °C, and more likely 4 °C with associated effects on patterns of precipitation and the frequency of extreme weather events. Attention among policy-makers is divided about how to minimise the change, how to mitigate its effects, how to maintain the natural resources on which societies depend and how to adapt human societies to the changes. Natural systems are still seen, through a long tradition of conservation management that is largely species-based, as amenable to adaptive management, and biodiversity, mostly perceived as the richness of plant and vertebrate communities, often forms a focus for planning. We argue that prediction of particular species changes will be possible only in a minority of cases but that prediction of trends in general structure and operation of four generic freshwater ecosystems (erosive rivers, depositional floodplain rivers, shallow lakes and deep lakes) in three broad zones of Europe (Mediterranean, Central and Arctic-Boreal) is practicable. Maintenance and rehabilitation of ecological structures and operations will inevitably and incidentally embrace restoration of appropriate levels of species biodiversity. Using expert judgement, based on an extensive literature, we have outlined, primarily for lay policy makers, the pristine features of these systems, their states under current human impacts, how these states are likely to alter with a warming of 2 °C to 4 °C and what might be done to mitigate this. We have avoided technical terms in the interests of communication, and although we have included full referencing as in academic papers, we have eliminated degrees of detail that could confuse broad policy-making
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| 3. |
- Richter-Boix, Alex, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of the non-native amphibian species Discoglossus pictus on the recipient amphibian community : niche overlap, competition and community organization
- 2013
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Ingår i: Biological Invasions. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1387-3547 .- 1573-1464. ; 15:4, s. 799-815
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The painted frog, Discoglossus pictus, was introduced into the Iberian Peninsula 100 years ago and its distribution has steadily increased since then. We studied the effects of this non-native amphibian species on the native ones in the northeastern area of the peninsula. We compared amphibian assemblages in regions with and without D. pictus to estimate niche overlap between species. Additionally, we carried out a laboratory evaluation of the effects of competition between the non-native and the two native species with which it overlaps most commonly: Bufo calamita and Pelodytes punctatus. The presence of D. pictus larvae reduced the survival, body mass and activity of B. calamita, and increased time to metamorphosis. Furthermore, D. pictus showed the highest consumption rate while P. punctatus showed the lowest. One possible consequence of these competitive interactions is an alteration of species co-occurrence patterns in the recipient community on a regional scale. In the non-invaded area, the checkerboard score (C-score) of co-occurrence indicated that the community was structured, whereas the standardized C-score in the invaded area indicated that the community did not differ significantly from having a random structure. These results suggest that competition between native and non-native species can cause recipient communities to become less structured.
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