Relationship between Morphological Characteristics and Quality of Aquatic Habitat in Mountain Streams of Slovakia

Abstract

This study evaluated the relationship between abiotic flow characteristics and habitat quality. Habitat quality was assessed using the Instream Flow Incremental Methodology (IFIM), which uses bioindication. Brown trout was selected as a bioindicator because of its sensitivity to morphological changes and its occurrence in sufficient reference reaches. The correlation between the morphological characteristics of the stream and the area-weighted suitability (AWS), which represents habitat quality, was evaluated. Fifty-nine reference reaches of fifty-two mountain and piedmont streams in Slovakia were analysed. The correlation analysis demonstrated the strongest relationship between the AWS and the stream depth and width. The relationship between the water surface area and the AWS indicated that, for mountain streams, there is a significantly increasing trend of the AWS value with increasing surface area. Considering piedmont streams, the AWS variation with a change in the water-surface area was minimal. These results can form the basis for deriving regression equations to determine habitat quality. Such a procedure can significantly simplify the evaluation of the quality of aquatic habitat, making it much more accessible for design practice.

Vplyv redukcie vhodnostných kriviek na vhodnosť toku

“…Pre slovenské podmienky sa prejavuje ako najvhodnejší bioindikátor kvality habitatu pstruh potočný (Salmo trutta m. fario). Je tomu tak hlavne kvôli jeho vysokej senzitivite na zmeny v členitosti koryta, častému výskytu a najvyššej korelácií vhodnostných kriviek [9], [10]. Vplyv geologického podložia na preferencie výskytu rýb dokázaný nebol [7], čo naznačuje, že zmeny v dostupnosti habitatu sú nelineárne a nie úplne jednoznačné.…”

Ecohydraulics Modelling and Simulation

“…The next paper by Štefunkova et al [3] demonstrated the evaluation of the relationship between abiotic flow characteristics and the habitat quality in the mountain streams in Slovakia, in which brown trout was selected as a bioindicator and the Instream Flow Incremental Methodology (IFIM) was applied. The authors analysed the area-weighted suitability (AWS) in 59 reference stream reaches, in which they performed topographic survey and hydrometric measurements.…”