Rafael Miranda

Universidad de Navarra | UNAV · Department of Environmental Biology

Este ensayo está dirigido a todos aquellos a quienes les atraigan los retos intelectuales en su más amplio sentido. "La vida intelectual es un gozo, pero también un gran servicio. Se proporcionan ideas y análisis a los que no tienen el tiempo de procurárselos por sí mismos. Se piensa por otros y para otros. Por eso, no viene mal imaginar cuál es e...

Climate change may lead to range shifts, and barriers to such displacements may result in extirpations from previously suitable habitats. This may be particularly important in freshwater ecosystems that are highly fragmented by anthropogenic obstacles, such as dams and other smaller in-stream barriers. Conservation planning in freshwaters should co...

Aquatic ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to the introduction of non-indigenous species (NIS), leading to multi-faceted ecological, economic and health impacts worldwide. The Iberian Peninsula comprises an exceptionally biodiverse Mediterranean region with a high number of threatened and endemic aquatic species, most of them strongly impacted...

Freshwater habitats are vital for both humans and nature owing to their exceptional biodiversity and valuable ecosystem services, but they are currently facing serious threats. The designation and management of protected areas have been proposed as the most feasible way to ensure conservation objectives for the future. However, traditional approach...

The construction of riverine structures (weirs, bridges, or channelization) on riverbeds causes alterations in the flow regime and channel geometry. Once a new stretch is created, species must colonize it. The ecological succession processes that are entailed are decisive for adequate recovery after alterations, and understanding these processes wo...

The authors regret that the printed version of the above article contained an incomplete version of Table 1, in which only 20 invasive alien species were published out of the top-ranked 24 that should have been. The correct Table 1 is shown below. The authors apologise for any inconvenience caused.

As the number of introduced species keeps increasing unabatedly, identifying and prioritising current and potential Invasive Alien Species (IAS) has become essential to manage them. Horizon Scanning (HS), defined as an exploration of potential threats, is considered a fundamental component of IAS management. By combining scientific knowledge on tax...

Climate change is becoming the leading driver of biodiversity loss. The Mediterranean region, particularly southwestern Europe, is already confronting the consequences of ongoing global warming. Unprecedented biodiversity declines have been recorded, particularly within freshwater ecosystems. Freshwater mussels contribute to essential ecosystem ser...

The bleak Alburnus alburnus is a medium body-size leuciscid fish that is naturally distributed across central European and western Asian fresh waters. However, during the last two decades A. alburnus has been widely introduced elsewhere in Europe and in northern Africa, mostly as a forage species for game fishes. Given its relatively recent history...

First record of Trocheta subviridis Dutrochet, 1817 (Arhynchobdellida, Erpobdellidae) from the northeastern Iberian Peninsula (Navarra, Spain) We reported the first record of the rare species Trocheta subviridis Dutrochet, 1817 (Arhynchobdellida, Erpobdellidae) from northeastern Spain (Suspiro stream at Señorio de Bértiz Natural Park, Navarra, Spai...

The conservation status of sturgeon species is highly alarming. Six of the European Acipenser species are critically endangered. Several studies developed in the last decades have analysed the distribution of sturgeons in the Iberian Peninsula, questioning the possibility of the native character of some Acipenser species there, with a special focus...

Biodiversity loss is a global problem, accelerated by human-induced pressures. In the marine realm, one of the major threats to species conservation, together with climate change, is overfishing. In this context, having information on the conservation status of target commercial marine fish species becomes crucial for assuring safe standards. We pu...

Climate change is rearranging the mosaic of biodiversity worldwide. These broad-scale species re-distributions affect the structure and composition of communities with a ripple effect on multiple biodiversity facets. Using European Odonata, we asked: i) how climate change will redefine taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity at European s...

Zoos and aquariums have evolved significantly. From their origins as enclosures for the mere entertainment of the public, these institutions have undertaken new functions responding to the biodiversity crisis and social demands. Modern zoos and aquariums have the opportunity to educate people, contribute to species conservation, and produce animal-...

The monitoring of biological indicators is required to assess the impacts of environmental policies, compare ecosystems and guide management and conservation actions. However, the growing availability of ecological data has not been accompanied by concomitant processing tools able to facilitate data handling and analysis. Multiple common challenges...

threatened with extinction, resulting in a sampled RLI of 0.914 for all species, 0.968 in marine and 0.862 in freshwater ecosystems. Our sample showed fishing as the principal threat for marine species, and pollution by agricultural and forestry effluents for freshwater fishes. The sampled list provides a robust representation for tracking trends i...

Abstract: The introduction of invasive alien species (IAS) is a serious global problem in ecosystems that affects biodiversity and represents a severe threat to endemic species. This situation is espe-cially worrying in the Iberian Peninsula since Spain and Portugal’s rivers and lakes host a unique wealth of endemic freshwater species. Ignorance ab...

Fishes constitute the most species-rich group of vertebrates. They inhabit all kind of marine and freshwater ecosystems and have concentrated a high species diversity in several hotspots all around the world. Here, we explore the conservation status of freshwater fishes in one of these hotspots, the Iberian Peninsula, in South Western Europe. Iberi...

Climate change is rearranging the mosaic of biodiversity on our planet. These broad-scale species re-distributions will affect the structure of communities across multiple biodiversity facets (taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity). The current challenges to understand such effects involve focusing on organisms other than vertebrates an...

Global biodiversitytargets require us to identify species at risk of extinction and quantify status and trends of biodiversity. The Red List Index (RLI) tracks trends in the conservation status of entire species groups over time by monitoring changes in categories assigned to species. Here, we calculate this index for the world’s fishes in 2010, us...

IUCN Red List assessments for fish species can quickly become out of date. In recent years molecular techniques have added new ways of obtaining information about species distribution or populations. In this work, we propose the Iberian Peninsula as an example of reassessment needs in its endangered freshwater fish fauna. We compiled the list of fr...

The freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera has been suffering major population declines in Europe. This endangered species is a host specialist and exclusively requires salmonid species ( Salmo trutta and Salmo salar ) to complete its life cycle. In theory, obligatory biotic interactions should deserve special conservation attention, b...

We reported the first record of the rare species Trocheta subviridis Dutrochet, 1817 (Arhynchobdellida, Erpobdellidae) from north-eastern Spain (Suspiro stream at Señorio de Bértiz Natural Park, Navarra, Spain). The species was previously recorded in Spain by Cordero del Campillo (1980) and García Más and Jiménez (1981). However, the latter authors...

Hay pocos estudios ecológicos sobre los patrones de diversidad de los macroinvertebrados acuáticos en la Amazonía peruana, a pesar de ser esenciales para la gestión y manejo de estos ecosistemas fluviales. En este contexto, el objetivo del presente estudio fue determinar su composición taxonómica y su relación con las variables ambientales a lo lar...

Código de conduta para aquariofilia. Documento técnico preparado por LIFE INVASAQUA (LIFE17 GIE/ES/000515).

The lack of knowledge about freshwater biodiversity in remote areas like montane Andean rivers is noticeable and hinder the development of efficient conservation plans for aquatic ecosystems. Habitat requirements of tropical Andean fishes have been poorly analysed, despite the relevance of these ecological features on the fish conservation strategi...

Freshwater fish represent one-fourth of all vertebrate species, despite freshwater occupying less than 1% of the Earth’s surface [...]

Zoos and aquaria, often regarded as preservation‐cum‐entertainment enterprises, are also actors in the effort to curb the biodiversity crisis: raising awareness, supporting conservation, and conducting research. We assessed trends in zoo and aquaria research topics and study organisms over time worldwide. For the zoos and aquaria registered in the...

Rivers are very vulnerable to fragmentation caused by the presence of man-made barriers. To restore river basin connectivity, numerous indices have been developed to calculate river fragmentation and optimise barrier mitigation actions. These methods usually calculate connectivity for whole river basins, but sometimes it is useful to analyse the co...

Se presenta una lista actualizada de las especies exóticas que se encuentran en etapa de establecimiento o de propagación de la invasión en aguas continentales de la península ibérica. La lista está basada en la evaluación sistemática de los datos en colaboración con un amplio equipo de expertos de España y Portugal. Esta lista de actualización es...

An updated list is presented of the alien species in the establishment or spread invasion stage in in-land waters at the Iberian Peninsula. The list is based on a systematic assessment of information in collaboration with a wide expert team from Spain and Portugal. This updated list is an important tool supporting the implementation of the IAS Regu...

An updated list is presented of the alien species in the transport or introduction invasion stage in inland waters of the Iberian Peninsula. The list is based on a systematic assessment of information in collaboration with a wide expert team from Spain and Portugal. This list is an important tool to support the implementation of the IAS Regulation,...

Our study analyzes the distribution of fish communities related to the environmental variables of the Alto Madre de Dios River, an Andean-Amazon watershed of southern Peru, between 300 and 2811 m a.s.l. within the Manu Biosphere Reserve. We provide new ecological and diversity data on fishes for these poorly studied rivers and new data for palm swa...

El comercio electrónico, la actividad de comprar o vender productos en servicios on-line o por internet, es una parte vital y creciente de la economía global. Esta actividad incluye la comercialización y venta de animales y plantas, incluidas especies exóticas, y en ocasiones, también especies invasoras a pesar de su prohibición. Adquirir estas esp...

Global biodiversity targets require us to identify species at risk of extinction and quantify status and trends of biodiversity. The Red List Index (RLI) tracks trends in the conservation status of entire species groups over time by monitoring changes in categories assigned to species. Here, we calculate this index for the world’s fishes in 2010, u...

Aquatic biodiversity is severely jeopardized by human actions. Among all vertebrates that live in aquatic environments, fish species are the most diverse and essential for the role they play in aquatic ecosystems. Fish conservation status had been partially and increasingly assessed by the IUCN Red List, but they still remain much less assessed tha...

This guide is available at: http://www.lifeinvasaqua.com/main-files/uploads/2020/11/LIBRO-ESPECIES-INVASORAS-INGLES-FINAL.pdf

Different indices have been developed to quantify the extent and severity of river fragmentation. These indices vary depending on the specific goals of the study. Here, we present a new Conservation Connectivity Index (CCIP) for potamodromous fish species that considers the conservation value (richness, rarity and vulnerability) of river segments....

The bleak Alburnus alburnus is native to most of Europe. This cyprinid fish is a successful invader in the Iberian Peninsula. No studies exist on its foraging strategies on a large scale for this ecoregion. The aim of the present study was to compare dietary traits of invasive bleak among the main Iberian rivers and a ‘reference’ native bleak popul...

Rapid adaptation to global change can counter vulnerability of species to population declines and extinction. Theoretically, under such circumstances both genetic variation and phenotypic plasticity can maintain population fitness, but empirical support for this is currently limited. Here, we aim to characterize the role of environmental and geneti...

This field guide is available on: http://www.lifeinvasaqua.com/main-files/uploads/2020/07/LIBRO-ESPECIES-INVASORAS-ESPA%C3%91OL-WEB-1.pdf

This field guide is available on: http://www.lifeinvasaqua.com/main-files/uploads/2020/07/LIBRO-ESPECIES-INVASORAS-ESPA%C3%91OL-WEB-1.pdf

Barriers to longitudinal river connectivity: review of impacts, study methods and management for Iberian fish conservation River connectivity is essential for the correct functioning of freshwater ecosystems at all scales. However, it has not received the necessary attention by researchers, managers and policymakers until recent years. In this revi...

More than 33,500 fish species inhabit freshwater and marine environments, according to FishBase database records. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed the conservation status of approximately half of them, the lowest percentage in any vertebrate group. In order to identify what factors may underlie this assessm...

The monitoring of freshwater ecosystems has been central to environmental policies across the world. Biological indexes based on macroinvertebrates are widely used to assess the ecological status of inland waters. Traditional methods consist of obtaining samples and identifying macroinvertebrates up to family level using morphological characters. H...

Assessment of freshwater ecosystems is crucial for measuring their ecological status and providing primary information for their conservation. This editorial introduces a special section of Inland Waters regarding the study of ecological monitoring and biodiversity conservation of inland waters. Papers in this special section of Inland Waters are b...

In business, the “long-tail economy” refers to a market strategy where the gravity center shifts from a few high-demand products to many, varied products focused on small niches. Commercialization of individually low-demand products can be profitable as long as their production cost is low and, all taken together, they aggregate into a big chunk of...

Critical as they are for humans and nature, freshwater ecosystems are threatened—but the extent and depth of these threats are not well understood, especially if essential biodiversity data are lacking. Any policy aimed at protecting such ecosystems must first assess the threat factors and the potential harm, well before proposing conservation meas...

River fragmentation is one of the main threats to diadromous fish species. We aimed to create a new and simple connectivity index to calculate habitat accessibility that considers habitat suitability for fish species, using the Bidasoa River basin in the north of Spain and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) as an example. A habitat connectivity index (H...

During the chick-rearing period, strategies of prey provisioning can have a decisive impact on several reproductive aspects.Adults can maximise their foraging effort by increasing the number of fish-prey brought to the nest per unit time and/or by catching more JMLC energetic prey, i.e. larger prey or prey with relatively higher caloric values. The...

The signal crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus Dana, 1852 is a successful invasive species in the Iberian Peninsula. This is of particular conservation concern, as fish fauna is highly endemic and also threatened within this ecoregion. The aim of this study was to analyze behavioral interactions and trophic overlap between signal crayfish and native...

The strategies for thermal regulation and environmental control found in nature are countless. In this article, a parallelism between animals and building energy systems is defined in order to identify and emphasize the immediate opportunities that biomimicry offers for future research. The motivation was the need to find alternative solutions to t...

The native European freshwater cyprinid fish, common bleak Alburnus alburnus (Linnaeus, 1758), is an invasive non-native fish in the Iberian Peninsula, where it threatens the valuable endemic fish fauna. Despite the bleak's invasive status, there is a dearth of studies on the biological traits of non-native populations in Europe's Mediterranean reg...

Knowledge of the fish assemblages of Andean mountain streams is restricted to accessible areas. This study is the first biological survey of the remote Suaza River in the Colombian Andes, at its source in the Cueva de los Guácharos National Park. Mechanistic insight into the ecological patterns and gradients of the river is provided, focusing on th...

Many human activities in and on rivers cause the loss of freshwater biodiversity, especially fish, which now are one of the most endangered vertebrate groups. River fragmentation caused by the construction of dams is one of the main threats to fish species. In Spain, which has the highest number of dams per square kilometre in the world, more than...

Finding new solutions for energy recovery in buildings is crucial to diminish the energy consumption. Some proposals may unveil innovative products to solve this challenge. However, reinventing and reformulating the configuration of available solutions might be another way to find an inventive answer to the energetic problem. The main aim of this a...

The study of freshwater fish species biodiversity and community composition is essential for understanding river systems, the effects of human activities on rivers, and the changes these animals face. Conducting this type of research requires quantitative information on fish abundance, ideally with long-term series and fish body measurements. This...

North American black bullhead, Ameiurus melas, which were introduced to Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, have received relatively little study. With focus on growth and reproduction, this extensive review, which includes new European data, aims to inform the risk analysis process concerning this non-native species in Europe. Surpri...

The present work provides the estimates of morphometric relationships for 22 native freshwater fish species (11 Characidae, five Loricariidae, two Heptapteridae, one Astroblepidae, one Crenuchidae, one Curimatidae and one Erythrinidae) collected in the Alto Madre de Dios River (Cuzco and Madre de Dios, Peru) in June 2012 using a mobile backpack ele...

The knowledge of freshwater fishes in remote Andean mountains is scarce and restricted to changes of occurrence distribution along a specific gradient. The high number of endemic fish species requires further studies regarding their biology and their conservation status. The present study aims to estimate the length-weight, length- length, and leng...

The number of threatened freshwater fish species in Spain is among the highest recorded in Europe and includes a high percentage of endemic taxa. Investigated were the distribution of Spanish freshwater fish to identify priority areas for conservation and assess the extent to which freshwater fish are included in the existing network of protected a...

This work studied the ecological integrity of river ecosystems inside the Ordesa-Viñamala Biosphere Reserve in the central Spanish Pyrenees. Despite its protected status, the reserve endures a considerable number of human stresses, thus the aim was to evaluate the conservation status of the two river basins inside the protected area: The Gállego Ri...

This paper is comprehended in the study of the application of the biomimicry science in building services and energy management, taking as a reference the case of tuna. Tuna generates heat in the muscles, organs and tissues of the inner area of its body (dark muscles). This heat is distributed in the periphery in order to maintain constant body tem...

This work provides insight into an Andean–Amazonian river system by conducting a comprehensive study of the biodiversity and ecological processes in a poorly studied neotropical freshwater ecosystem. Hacha River in western Colombia harbours a rich and largely unknown biodiversity and is experiencing an increase in anthropogenic impacts from the cit...

Environmental conditions and host features that influence the abundance of an exotic branchiobdellidan were studied. One of the most widespread invasive crayfish species in Europe is the signal crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus (Dana, 1825). Along with this invasive crayfish, other alien species that live on the crayfish’s body surface, such as ba...

The article proposes new ways of work to redesign previous Peltier cells prototypes using biomimetic methodologies. Biomimicry can be a source of fresh ideas to solve contemporary problems. Also in terms of energy saving and efficiency, animals can be of aid. Ectotherms, animals that depend on external factors to be in a range of ‘living temperatur...