Journal
FISHERIES MANAGEMENT AND ECOLOGY
Volume 14, Issue 6, Pages 453-463Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2400.2007.00583.x
Keywords
ecological status; Europe; metrics; modelling; rivers; Water Framework Directive
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
A spatially based, river type-specific approach was used to develop an ecological assessment method for European rivers based on existing sampling data. The methodology comprised two main steps: (1) description of a river and fish assemblage typology based on minimally or slightly impacted sites and (2) analyses of impacted conditions for each type. Hierarchical cluster analysis of fish species assemblages identified 15 homogeneous groups in 11 European ecoregions. Discriminant analyses, based on abiotic characteristics, were used to predict fish types at impacted sites. The latter encompassed both regional (geographic position in Europe) and local factors (longitudinal zonation) influencing the distribution of riverine fishes. To assess ecological status, the responses of more than 400 metrics (species composition, abundance and age-length structure) to human pressures were tested for each river type separately. A maximum of 10 metrics per river type was selected using discriminant analysis. The density of intolerant species and feeding guilds had the highest capacity to predict the intensity of perturbation.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available