P. Segurado

University of Lisbon | UL · Forest Research Center (CEF)

Longitudinal connectivity is considered a key issue in river management, as it shapes ecological processes from single organisms to populations and ecosystems. Recently, it was shown that network analysis based on spatial graphs has promising appli-cations as a tool for the assessment of connectivity in riverine systems. In this study we used a gra...

Species tolerances are frequently used in multi-metric ecological quality indices, and typically have the strongest responses to disturbances. Usually the tolerances of many species are based on expert judgment, with little support from empirical ecological or physiological data. This is particularly true for fish of Mediterranean-type rivers, in w...

Summary 1. Spatial autocorrelation is an important source of bias in most spatial analyses. We explored the bias introduced by spatial autocorrelation on the explanatory and predic- tive power of species' distribution models, and make recommendations for dealing with the problem. 2. Analyses were based on the distribution of two species of freshwat...

Aim Various statistical techniques have been used to model species probabilities of occurrence in response to environmental conditions. This paper provides a comprehensive assessment of methods and investigates whether errors in model predictions are associated to specific kinds of geographical and environmental distributions of species. Location P...

This study aims at understanding how observed inconsistencies in the response of biotic indicators to multiple stressors may result from different stressor gradient lengths being represented at different areas or temporal windows, either as the result of intrinsic natural causes or as the result of sampling bias. We simulated a pool of sites showin...

Despite the growing literature on the topic of freshwater fish invasion, few studies employed a comprehensive analysis of the stages characterizing the invasion process (i.e. invasion pathway), thereby demanding a deeper knowledge to avoid incomplete and unbiased conclusions and give support to adequate management strategies. The aim of the present...

Alien bird species often negatively interact with native bird species leading to local biodiversity loss and trait homogenisation. Our aim was to assess bird communities resilience to alien bird species in highly human-modified landscape. We surveyed 189 randomly distributed points (stratified sampling: urban, agricultural and forest areas) using p...

Rivers have always been closely related with society development wich has resulted in a a high degree of human induced impacts forced upon freshwaters. Among all the pressures, river network fragmentation by artificial barriers is considered one of the most damaging, especially for freshwater fish species that see their longitudinal movements impar...

River systems represent ca. 1% of the Earth’s surface, and are disproportionally important for biodiversity maintenance, as they maintain a high number of species. Furthermore, these systems provide a multitude of ecosystem services on which society is dependent. Because of this dependence, rivers have long been affected by anthropogenic pressures,...

Freshwater fish species are the second most threatened animal group while the richest among European vertebrates. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List contains information on species’ populations, distribution, ecology and threats, setting the foundation for a comprehensive evaluation of species extinction risk. Using...

Dammed Fish is a research project that aims to evaluate and propose solutions and tools to inform river network connectivity management to improve fish biodiversity and to enhance biotic quality of European rivers. For this purpose, river network connectivity management needs guidance to choose the best available solutions within a frame of ongoing...

Environmental, ecosystem functioning and human activities must be considered at multiple river scales for an effective research, conservation and management of freshwater ecosystems. The ability to integrate, at multiple scales, an ever-growing plethora of information of this nature into a hierarchical dendritic and directional network, such as riv...

Longitudinal connectivity of freshwater systems can be disrupted by natural or artificial barriers. In addition to limiting fish migration, barriers can also affect habitat quality by creating changes in flow regime, sediment and nutrient transport, and water temperature. Most of the research on river network fragmentation lacks the distinction bet...

Alien species can replace native species, occupying the same phylogenetic and functional space in native assemblage, leading to local biodiversity loss and biotic homogenization. This is the case when alien birds negatively interact with native bird species. Additionally, in urban and agricultural areas, land-use changes may favour alien birds, pos...

Freshwater fish species comprise 40% of all fish diversity and provide multiple ecosystem ser-vices. Recently, several populations of this faunal group have faced declines and range contrac-tions due to several threats. The Red List of Threatened Species, established by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), is the most comprehe...

Historical information on diadromous fish species is commonly incomplete or truncated across species distribution range and spatial scales. However, historical insights have proven to be very relevant for river management and conservation. The iPODfish is a new methodological framework that enables the inference of a more thorough representation of...

Effective research, conservation and management of freshwater ecosystems must take into con-sideration the environment, ecosystem functioning and human activities at multiple river scales. The river Network toolkit (RivTool) is a user-friendly and freely available software of universal applicability that enables the integration of these multiple in...

Available information on diadromous fish species historical occurrences is generally biased and incomplete across species distribution range and spatial scales. This work aims to establish a new methodological framework (iPODfish – Inferring Past Occurrences of Diadromous Fish) to obtain a more complete representation of the historical occurrences...

South American hydrological network files for RivTool created based on the HydroAtlas layers.

Citation: Segurado, P.; Ferreira, T.; Branco, P. Assessing the Effects of Multiple Stressors on Aquatic Systems across Temporal and Spatial Scales: From Measurement to Management. Water 2021, 13, 3549.

In Europe, freshwater fish are the richest group amongst European vertebrates and the second most threatened animal group, surpassed only by freshwater molluscs. The identification of threats is a major benefit for conservation efforts, as it allows actions to be bespoke to specific threats imperilling fish communities in sensitive areas. In this w...

The systematic literature review discusses several approaches that have been developed to improve the identification of barriers for connectivity enhancement.

Longitudinal connectivity in rivers is very important for freshwater fish, especially considering Diadromous species since it is determinant for life cycle completion. Large dams impose a serious fragmentation on river networks and affect diadromous species occurrence. This work aims to assess the structural and functional longitudinal connectivity...

Comprising 25% of vertebrates and 40% of all fish diversity, freshwater fish species are among the most threatened animal groups. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species is the most comprehensive system for evaluating species risk of extinction and provides information on the species’ populations, di...

Freshwater ecosystems are disproportionally important for biodiversity conservation, as they support more than 9% of known animal species while representing less than 1% of the Earth’s surface. However, the vast majority of the threats (99%, or 826 out of 837) identified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened S...

The threat posed by invasive non-native species worldwide requires a global approach to identify which introduced species are likely to pose an elevated risk of impact to native species and ecosystems. To inform policy, stakeholders and management decisions on global threats to aquatic ecosystems, 195 assessors representing 120 risk assessment area...

River longitudinal connectivity is crucial for diadromous fish species to reproduce and grow, its fragmentation by large dams may prevent these species to complete their life cycle. This work aims to evaluate the impact of large dams on the structural longitudinal connectivity at the European scale, from a Diadromous fish species perspective, since...

Ecological niche modelling provides a useful tool to measure niche properties such as niche breadth, niche overlap and niche conservatism among genetic lineages, with relevant implications for conservation. The Mediterranean pond turtle Mauremys leprosa occurs on both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar over most Iberia and the Maghreb Region of north...

Despite advances in conceptual understanding, single-stressor abatement approaches remain common in the management of fresh waters, even though they can produce unexpected ecological responses when multiple stressors interact. Here we identify limitations restricting the development of multiple-stressor management strategies and address these, brid...

The biological assessment of rivers i.e., their assessment through use of aquatic assemblages, integrates the effects of multiple-stressors on these systems over time and is essential to evaluate ecosystem condition and establish recovery measures. It has been undertaken in many countries since the 1990s, but not globally. And where national or mul...

A participatory monitoring programme of an exceptional modification of urban soundscapes during Covid-19 containment.

This study describes an integrated modelling approach to better understand the trophic status of the Montargil reservoir (southern Portugal) under climate change scenarios. The SWAT and CE-QUAL-W2 models were applied to the basin and reservoir, respectively, for simulating water and nutrient dynamics while considering one climatic scenario and two...

Climate and land-use change drive a suite of stressors that shape ecosystems and interact to yield complex ecological responses, i.e. additive, antagonistic and synergistic effects. Currently we know little about the spatial scale relevant for the outcome of such interactions and about effect sizes. This knowledge gap needs to be filled to underpin...

Extreme climatic events, such as heat waves, may induce changes in nutrient acquisition by omnivorous ectotherms. Likely modulated by the intensity, frequency and duration of these events, dietary shifts during heat waves may threaten the stability of freshwaters. We investigated the effects of heat wave duration on diet assimilation and life-histo...

The loss of connectivity is among the main threats for species occupying freshwater pond networks. Landscape connectivity can impact the persistence of patchy populations by reducing movement rates among ponds, thereby increasing the likelihood of local extinctions in source–sink systems, and reducing the probability of colonisation following extin...

In Portugal, more than 150.000 ha of eucalypt plantations are managed in compliance with international certification systems. The objective of this work was to evaluate the biodiversity and the ecological quality of streams associated with certified eucalypt plantations, using different aquatic communities as biological quality indicators – fish, a...

Rivers are organized as dendritic networks, and river flow is the ruling force driving multiple functions and components of freshwater systems, meaning that the longitudinal dimension of connectivity is the most pertinent for the ecological processes involving fish species. For diadromous fish species and their life-cycle migratory requirements, th...

Agricultural intensification is currently considered as a major driver of worldwide biodiversity loss. EU-agro-environment policies were introduced to reduce biodiversity loss by subsidizing farmers that promote agricultural practices that are beneficial for climate and environment, by committing a percentage of productive farmland to Ecological Fo...

Rivers are organized as dendritic networks, and river flow is the ruling force driving multiple functions and components of freshwater systems, meaning that the longitudinal dimension of connectivity is the most pertinent for the ecological processes involving fish species. For diadromous fish species and their life-cycle migratory requirements, th...

Freshwater ecosystems and their surroundings are not only a hotspot for biodiversity but have also been used by man since early human settlements. Thus, searching for historical information about freshwater fish species prior to most of the greatest impactful human undertakings could lead to an improvement of species ecology knowledge. For example,...

Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) are difficult to assess and are seldom considered by land managers. Geocaching, an outdoor game that uses Global Positioning System (GPS) enabled devices tofind hidden containers (geocaches) in certain locations, has been seldom used as a data source to assess CES. However, contrary to other crowdsourcing databases...

Fish kills are widespread visible events perceived by the civil society as a major cause for concern about water quality and ecosystem health. Investigations conducted so far have linked fish kills to multiple factors, but extensive studies examining quantitatively the likelihood of fish kills are missing. In the present study, factors related to f...

Freshwater ecosystems are some of the most endangered environments in the world, being affected at multiple scales by the surrounding landscape and human activities therein. Effective research, conservation and management of these ecosystems requires integrating environmental and landscape data with hierarchic river networks by means of summarisati...

Hydrological network files for the software River Network Toolkit (RivTool) created based on the CCM2 layers.

Manual for the River Network Toolkit software (version 2)

The compressed file includes all the hydrological network files generated based on both the European Catchments and Rivers Network System (ECRINS) (EEC, 2012) and Managing Aquatic Ecosystems and Resources under Multiple Stress (MARS) (http://www.mars-project.eu/index.php) layers considering only sea outlet basins with more than 50 Km2. It includes...

Water resources are impacted by several stressors like overpopulation and over consumption that compromises their availability. These stressors are expected to progressively intensify due to climate change in most regions of the world, with direct impact on watersheds and river systems. This study investigates the effect of different watershed pres...

Historical information on freshwater ecosystems is very important since there is a considerable knowledge gap about factors affecting the potential freshwater species distribution. Diadromous species have been noticeably declining at least for more than a century as a result of impactful human activities. Thus, information about their occurrence an...

Several European diadromous fish species have been declining or going regionally extinct at least since the beginning of the 20th century. In this work, we combined historical information and empirical modelling techniques to estimate the potential distribution of several European diadromous fish species at the beginning of the 20th century. The mo...

The insights that historical evidence of human presence and man-made documents provide are unique. For example, using historical data may be critical to adequately understand the ecological requirements of species. However, historical information about freshwater species distribution remains largely a knowledge gap. In this Data Descriptor, we pres...

Historical information on freshwater ecosystems is very important since there is a considerable knowledge gap about factors affecting the potential freshwater species distribution. Diadromous species have been noticeably declining at least for more than a century as a result of impactful human activities. Thus, information about their occurrence an...

Les systèmes fluviaux sont affectés par plusieurs facteurs de stress, de nature diverse, qui ont tendance à ne pas agir isolément, mais à interagir. En raison de leur nature directionnelle, hiérarchique et dendritique unique, les rivières posent un problème de conservation et de gestion. Une pression donnée affectant un segment n'est pas spatialeme...

Several studies estimating the effects of global environmental change on biodiversity are focused on climate change. Yet, non-climatic factors such as changes in land cover can also be of paramount importance. This may be particularly important for habitat specialists associated with human-dominated landscapes, where land cover and climate changes...

Historical insight about ecosystems and species, and particularly about freshwater species remains essentially a knowledge gap. Despite the limitations and the need for careful considerations to avoid incorrect interpretations, historical data may be decisive to improve the knowledge about species ecology as it gives unique insights pre-major impac...

Freshwater ecosystems represent only 0.01% of the planet’s surface but are considered one of the most endangered ecosystems worldwide and home to about 9.5% of animal species. In the European continent, 13 native fish species have disappeared and 40% have experienced regional extinction. In the Iberian Peninsula, where numerous endemic and native s...

PHish database is a collection of historical data for freshwater fish species in Portuguese rivers and basins covering a time span of one millennium, from the 11th until the 20th century. To create this database 194 historical documents were scouted resulting in 2214 historical records for 25 different taxonomical groups.

River basins are extremely complex hierarchical and directional systems that are affected by a multitude of interacting stressors. This complexity hampers effective management and conservation planning to be effectively implemented, especially under climate change. The objective of this work is to provide a wide scale approach to basin management b...