Invasive species and habitat degradation in Iberian streams: an analysis of their role in freshwater fish diversity loss

dc.contributor.authorHermoso, Virgilio
dc.contributor.authorClavero Pineda, Miguel
dc.contributor.authorBlanco-Garrido, Francisco
dc.contributor.authorPrenda, José
dc.date.accessioned2020-06-23T11:19:53Z
dc.date.available2020-06-23T11:19:53Z
dc.date.issued2011-01-01
dc.description.abstractMediterranean endemic freshwater fish are among the most threatened biota in the world. Distinguishing the role of different extinction drivers and their potential interactions is crucial for achieving conservation goals. While some authors argue that invasive species are a main driver of native species declines, others see their proliferation as a co‐occurring process to biodiversity loss driven by habitat degradation. It is difficult to discern between the two potential causes given that few invaded ecosystems are free from habitat degradation, and that both factors may interact in different ways. Here we analyze the relative importance of habitat degradation and invasive species in the decline of native fish assemblages in the Guadiana River basin (southwestern Iberian Peninsula) using an information theoretic approach to evaluate interaction pathways between invasive species and habitat degradation (structural equation modeling, SEM). We also tested the possible changes in the functional relationships between invasive and native species, measured as the per capita effect of invasive species, using ANCOVA. We found that the abundance of invasive species was the best single predictor of natives' decline and had the highest Akaike weight among the set of predictor variables examined. Habitat degradation neither played an active role nor influenced the per capita effect of invasive species on natives. Our analyses indicated that downstream reaches and areas close to reservoirs had the most invaded fish assemblages, independently of their habitat degradation status. The proliferation of invasive species poses a strong threat to the persistence of native assemblages in highly fluctuating environments. Therefore, conservation efforts to reduce native freshwater fish diversity loss in Mediterranean rivers should focus on mitigating the effect of invasive species and preventing future invasions.ca_ES
dc.description.sponsorshipThe fieldwork was funded by the Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadiana through the project “Diseño y Explotación de la Red de Control Biológico de la Cuenca del Río Guadiana” and the Ministry of Science and Technology (REN2002‐03513, CGL2005‐02699). V. Hermoso held a pre‐doctoral fellowship funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education (MEC) (AP‐2004‐1414). M. Clavero benefited from a Juan de la Cierva contract also funded by MEC.ca_ES
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1890/09-2011.1
dc.identifier.issn1051-0761
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/69121
dc.language.isoengca_ES
dc.publisherEcological Society of Americaca_ES
dc.relationinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/MICYT//REN2002-03513/ES/ca_ES
dc.relationinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/MEC//CGL2005-02699/ES/ca_ES
dc.relation.isformatofReproducció del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1890/09-2011.1ca_ES
dc.relation.ispartofEcological Applications, 2011, vol. 21, núm. 1, p. 175-188ca_ES
dc.rights(c) Ecological Society of America, 2011ca_ES
dc.rights.accessRightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessca_ES
dc.subject.otherAnimals invasorsca_ES
dc.subject.otherEcologia d'aigua dolçaca_ES
dc.subject.otherPeixos d'aigua dolçaca_ES
dc.titleInvasive species and habitat degradation in Iberian streams: an analysis of their role in freshwater fish diversity lossca_ES
dc.typeinfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleca_ES
dc.type.versioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionca_ES
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