The paradox of the conservation of an endangered fish species in a Mediterranean region under agricultural intensification

Casas, J. Jesús; Sánchez-Oliver, Juan S.; Sanz, A.; Furné, M.; Trenzado, Cristina E.; Juan, Melchor; Paracuellos, Mariano; Suárez, M.D.; Fuentes, Fernanda; Gallego, Irene; Gil, C.; Ramos-Miras, J.J.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2010.08.023

Cited by 35 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Indeed, European conservation proceeds from the assumption that "artificial", "man-made" ponds are not fundamentally ecologically different from "natural ones" [82]. Some species now apparently depend primarily on deliberate artificial aquatic ecosystems for habitat [83][84][85]; even species new to science continue to emerge from ditches [86][87][88]. Equally in the U.S., habitats that we presently tend to overlook, such as stormwater treatment wetlands, can sometimes be the best available sites for reproduction of amphibians and other species with specific hydrologic needs [89].…”

Section: The Condition Of Artificial Aquatic Systems and Its Driversmentioning

confidence: 99%

Artificial Aquatic Ecosystems

Clifford

Heffernan

2018

Water

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Abstract:As humans increasingly alter the surface geomorphology of the Earth, a multitude of artificial aquatic systems have appeared, both deliberately and accidentally. Human modifications to the hydroscape range from alteration of existing waterbodies to construction of new ones. The extent of these systems makes them important and dynamic components of modern landscapes, but their condition and provisioning of ecosystem services by these systems are underexplored, and likely underestimated. Instead of accepting that artificial ecosystems have intrinsically low values, environmental scientists should determine what combination of factors, including setting, planning and construction, subsequent management and policy, and time, impact the condition of these systems. Scientists, social scientists, and policymakers should more thoroughly evaluate whether current study and management of artificial aquatic systems is based on the actual ecological condition of these systems, or judged differently, due to artificiality, and consider resultant possible changes in goals for these systems. The emerging recognition and study of artificial aquatic systems presents an exciting and important opportunity for science and society.

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Section: The Condition Of Artificial Aquatic Systems and Its Driversmentioning

confidence: 99%

Artificial Aquatic Ecosystems

Clifford

Heffernan

2018

Water

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“…Sci., 15/1, 2014, 27-36 27 Habitat use of an endangered cyprinodontid fish in a saline wetland of the Iberian Peninsula (SW Mediterranean Sea) (e.g. ponds and irrigation channels) can provide alternative or complementary habitats for these threatened species (Casas et al, 2011). In fact, Aphanius species are able to become locally abundant in salt exploitation wetlands (Gutiérrez-Estrada et al, 1998, Oliva-Paterna et al, 2009) and the importance of these aquatic systems as a typical habitat for Aphanius species in some areas along the Mediterranean coastline has been noted (Leonardos, 2008;Oliva-Paterna et al, 2006;ZammitMangion & Deidun, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat use of an endangered cyprinodontid fish in a saline wetland of the Iberian Peninsula (SW Mediterranean Sea)

et al. 2013

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Aphanius iberus is an endemic fish restricted to a few populations along the Spanish Mediterranean coastline and included in international red lists. Information on its ecological requirements is needed to implement effective recovery and conservation measures. This two-year study aimed to analyse the effect of habitat changes, mainly in water salinity and refuge availability, on the life-history traits and microhabitat use of an A. iberus population inhabiting a littoral wetland managed for salt exploitation. The species was more abundant at the intake pond, which was characterised by lower water conductivity values and higher cover of the submerged macrophyte Ruppia cirrhosa. The pond with the highest values of water conductivity showed no presence of newborn individuals (< 10 mm), which probably indicates the reproduction failure of A. iberus or high mortality rates for younger individuals. Overall, the species’ selection of microhabitats was related to refuge presence (submerged vegetation and pond dykes). Juvenile individuals showed a strong dependence on sheltered microhabitats through the studied ponds, with R. cirrhosa meadows as important refuge areas for this age group. Results highlighted the importance of developing traditional maintenance and management measures for the conservation of such endangered fish species.

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“…Using simple count in the beautiful shiner example would imply that this species was more abundant in shallow water -misinforming management. Elsewhere, simple catch statistics cloud understanding of tuna catch (Maunder et al 2006), or are improperly used to elucidate habitat relationships of endangered Spanish toothcarp Aphanius iberus (Casas et al 2011), and fish inhabiting mangroves (Bologna 2014). As our results suggest, remediating these problems requires accounting for variability in capture efficiency to produce robust abundance trends and species−habitat relationships.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating abundance of endangered fish by eliminating bias from non-constant detectability

Stewart¹,

Butler²,

Harris³

et al. 2017

Endang. Species. Res.

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Worldwide, approximately half of all freshwater fish are threatened with extinction or lack sufficient data to classify their conservation status. We focused on 3 such species endemic to southeastern Arizona, USA, and Sonora, Mexico: Yaqui topminnow Poeciliopsis occidentalis sonoriensis, Yaqui chub Gila purpurae, and beautiful shiner Cyprinella formosa. These species, like many others, require accurate estimates and trends of abundance to characterize their conservation status. Hence, sampling must be designed appropriately. We used historical data to determine precision and minimum number of traps necessary to estimate abundance with relative precision ≤25. Next, we examined alternative trap soak times to improve sampling efficiency. We then incorporated variables influencing detectability to produce unbiased abundance estimates. Finally, we simulated how ignoring biases from heterogeneous detectability affects abundance indices and the ability to detect changes in abundance. We found catch estimated from the historical design, which assumed constant detectability, had much variability, thereby requiring 40 traps pond −1. A 4 h soak duration increased catch for 2 species and detection probability for all. Detectability increased while abundance decreased with water temperature (all 3 species). Detection of beautiful shiner declined as abundance increased with depth. Our simulations indicated that if detectability varies but is assumed constant (i.e. ignoring detection probability), the probability of finding population change when none occurred (i.e. Type I error) is 50%, and the probability of detecting true population change (i.e. power) declines to ~0.75. Ignoring variable detectability in count data can misrepresent species status, habitat relationships, and ultimately mislead conservation and stewardship of endangered species.

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The paradox of the conservation of an endangered fish species in a Mediterranean region under agricultural intensification

Cited by 35 publications

References 48 publications

Artificial Aquatic Ecosystems

Artificial Aquatic Ecosystems

Habitat use of an endangered cyprinodontid fish in a saline wetland of the Iberian Peninsula (SW Mediterranean Sea)

Estimating abundance of endangered fish by eliminating bias from non-constant detectability

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