Habitat Index Research Articles

Ecosystem Integrity of the Upper Victoria Nile in East Africa based on Habitat and Fish Species Biotic Indices

Riverine ecosystems are continuously been compromised by human activities resulting in threatening their integrity. In this study, integrity of Upper Victoria Nile River was assessed using habitat quality and fish biotic indices. Experimental gillnetting was done bi-annually in 9 stations along the river from 2008 to 2018. Nine habitat metrics were used to estimate habitat quality index at every sampling station. Fish sampled, were sorted, identified to species level, and weighed. Counts of introduced and indigenous as well as tolerant and intolerant species were recorded to generate species richness. A total of 10.642 fish, 65 species belonging to nine families were recorded. Dominant species were Lates niloticus 62.79%, Oreochromis niloticus 23.51%, Mormyrus kannume 13.64%; other species were ≤0.06%. Tolerance and trophic guild showed carnivores (61.5%), omnivores (21.5%) and detrivores (16.9%).Mean habitat quality index, total fish catch and fish-based index of biotic integrity varied among stations with highest record of 26.6±6.9, 289.2±51.8 and 30.6±7.9 at sampling station (ST4) respectively. The lowest was 19.4±7.3, 93.1±13.2 and 26.7±6.8 at sampling station (ST2) respectively. On a spatial basis, indices recorded significant differences among stations (p < 0.05). Results indicated a fair fisheries biodiversity that need better conservation management of habitat type of the upper Nile.

Joint effects of habitat indexes and physic-chemical factors for freshwater basin of semi-arid area on plankton integrity – A case study of the Wei River Basin, China

As the largest tributary of the Yellow River and a large semi-arid area, the ecological status of the Wei River Basin, China, has become an important issue of concern. Habitat, water quality and biological pressure are the factors affecting the structure and function of rivers. However, it is a challenging task to determine the joint rather than isolated influence of factors on the watershed. Plankton is sensitive to the status of water system, so it is used to analyze the interaction between habitat indexes and physic-chemical parameters of water body. In this study, plankton and water samples were collected from 21 sampling sites in the whole Wei River Basin in October 2019. The planktonic index of biotic integrity (P-IBI), biomass, abundance, diversity index and trophic status were established. The integrity of plankton in the basin was evaluated. Redundancy analysis (RDA) was used to assess the correlation and variability between 23 physicochemical factors and habitat indexes of planktonic community. The results show that the applicability and accuracy of P-IBI are good. The planktonic integrity of the ecosystem in the basin is “critical”. The upper and lower reaches of the main stream are better than those of the middle reaches, while the upper reaches of the two major tributaries are in poor condition due to the influence of cities and industries. Wei River system is better than Jing River and Beiluo River system. Physical and chemical factors, including dissolved oxygen, turbidity, phycocyanin and chlorophyll, are the main driving forces affecting the integrity of plankton in the study area. Relatively speaking, the contribution of physicochemical parameters to P-IBI was greater than that of habitat indexes, and there was a shared explanatory variance between them. The abundance level can best reflect the isolation effect of two aspects of the environment. The results show that the planktonic index of biotic integrity is a potential tool to reflect the interaction of habitat conditions and physical and chemical factors. The whole basin scale research is helpful to promote habitat restoration and water conservation.

Assessment and prediction of the water ecological carrying capacity in Changzhou city, China

With rapid economic development and population growth, pressure on the urban ecological environment is becoming intense, and the ecological environment carrying capacity is becoming an important issue. In this study, an index system combining the system dynamics (SD) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) methods was constructed to assess the water ecological carrying capacity (WECC) of Changzhou city. In particular, the construction of the aquatic habitat and aquatic organism indexes were constructed and showed that water ecology health should be monitored along with the economy and population, which were focused in the past. Scientific research has neglected the internal spatial heterogeneity in administrative regions. Therefore, the SD and AHP models were applied to simulate the WECC of administrative regions and control units from 2010 to 2016. The simulation results show that the WECC of Liyang and Jintan counties reached a safe carrying capacity state, while the urban districts were in a critically overloaded state. In addition, the MIKE11 model was adopted to simulate the WECC under different inflow and the river connectivity index scenarios, and the optimal parameters for improving the WECC were obtained when the inflow recharge was 10 m3/s and the river connectivity index exceeded 60%. The prediction results from the optimized WECC showed that the WECC of all administrative areas and control units in Changzhou city reached the safe carrying capacity state. The results provide insights for improving the WECC of Changzhou city.

Climate Change Alarms the Survival of Near Threatened Species Malayan Giant Squirrel (Ratufa bicolor Sparrman, 1778) in India

Ratufa bicolor is a diurnal, arboreal, and herbivorous rodent occurs mainly in evergreen and semi-evergreen forests of north-eastern India and known to be one of the forest health indicator species. The present study was conducted to enumerate the climatic factors governing the distribution of R. bicolor in its habitat range in India and their climatic refuge in the middle of the 21st century, based on the approach of Species Distribution Modeling (SDM). Currently, 56.62% area of the distributional range of R. bicolor in India is unsuitable and with only 43.38% area as favorable for the species. With changing climate by 2050, only 2.94% area of the present range of R. bicolor will remain suitable habitat and remaining 97.06% area will become unsuitable for the species and by then, the species will lose more than 90% of its distribution range gaining only 1.45% area as newly suitable habitat in India. Thus, suitable conservation and management strategies need to be developed to save this species which will be on the verge of extinction in the wild at least locally including ex-situ conservation techniques or conservation breeding programs that may be initiated for protecting this squirrel species from north-eastern India.

Assessing the ecological status using physico-chemical, bacteriological parameters and biotic indices of the Oued Martil River basin in northwestern Morocco

An assessment of the water quality of the Oued Martil River basin (in northern Morocco) which is under natural and anthropogenic pressures was carried out over an annual cycle (spring, summer, autumn 2017 and winter 2018) at 20 sampling stations within the watershed. This assessment was conducted using biotic indices including the IBMWP (Iberian Biological Monitoring Working Party index), the QBR (Index of Riparian Quality) and the IHF (Fluvial Habitat Index). Physicochemical and bacteriological quality was also assessed based on twelve parameters (temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, suspended matter, sulphate, nitrite, nitrate, faecal coliforms, and faecal streptococci) of the surface waters of Oued Martil River basin. The scores of the biotic indices as well as the measurements of the physico-chemical and microbiological parameters classified the waters of the upstream reaches of the Oued Martil River as good quality while those of the downstream reaches were classified as poor quality.

Effects of livestock loss and emerging livestock types on livelihood decisions around protected areas: Case studies from China and India

Increasing livestock grazing in forests has intensified human-wildlife conflicts and caused habitat degradation for threatened species. To balance conservation and local community development, it is crucial to understand if livestock loss in natural habitats plays a role in household livelihood decisions. We used the giant panda habitat in China and the tiger habitat in India as case studies to investigate if livestock loss impacts livestock holding size and if higher loss rate shifts households away from livestock grazing in the future. We applied negative binomial regression and cost-benefit analysis to household level data from 281 Chinese households and 369 Indian households. We found that the livestock loss rate did not impact the number of livestock in China, but it did negatively impact the number of livestock in India. Chinese households were more constrained by labor availability for livestock expansion, while Indian households were limited by financial capacity. However, households tended to ignore the potential livestock loss in future livelihood decisions for both landscapes. Emerging livestock types could change the dynamic and the Indian case indicates a possible win-win solution. New hybrid cattle produced more than seven times the net benefit, but with only 46% potential cost of livestock loss compared to traditional cattle. Therefore, households can simultaneously produce more profits and reduce livestock loss by shifting to hybrid cattle. As higher profit is more important than perceived livestock loss risk in deciding the livelihood practices, better market instruments and assistance should be provided to promote the change.

Predicting current and future suitable habitat and productivity for Atlantic populations of maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton) in Spain

By combining inventory data and spatially-continuous environmental information, we were able to develop models for Atlantic populations of maritime pine ( Pinus pinaster Aiton) in Spain in order to predict suitable habitat and site index at a spatial resolution of 250 × 250 m. Currently available, spatially continuous environmental information was used to make reliable predictions about suitable habitat and forest productivity. To develop raster-based distribution and productivity models for Atlantic populations of maritime pine in Spain to predict current and future suitable habitat and productivity. Occurrence data and site index values were obtained from the Third Spanish National Forest Inventory and research plots, respectively. After testing different algorithms, random forest were selected for modelling the relationships between maritime pine occurrence, site index and spatially continuous environmental variables. The overall accuracy of the suitable habitat model was 73%, and climate (mainly thermal properties) and soil physical properties were the most important variables. The site index model explained 60% of the observed variability, and lithological properties were the most important variables. A slight increase in site index (0.46–0.51%) and a large increase in suitable habitat (50–66%) are expected for 2070 under the most pessimistic climate change scenario. The currently available spatial continuous information enables the development of accurate raster data models for predicting suitable habitat and site productivity without the need for fieldwork. Climate change is expected to increase the potentially suitable habitat of Atlantic maritime pine populations in Spain in the coming decades.

High tolerance land use against flood disasters: How paddy fields as previously natural wetland inhibit the occurrence of floods

• There has been interested the ecosystem based disaster risk reduction. • We predicted that semi-natural land near the intact habitat could reduce flooding. • Results revealed that paddy fields located at previous wetland reduce flooding. • Land use mimicking original habitat might positively affect disaster-risk reduction. Although natural disturbances are inherent in any ecosystem, they can be hazardous to the local residents, indicating that it is necessary to mitigate these disturbances as much as possible appropriately. There has been an increased interest in taking advantage of ecosystem functions for disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR) as future infrastructure because of the lower introduction, maintenance costs, and the additional ecosystem services. Previous studies have suggested that intact ecosystems have a higher tolerance and/or resilience to natural disturbances. However, fully intact ecosystems have been decreasing rapidly worldwide. This study evaluates the functions of semi-natural land, namely, paddy fields, which is one of the typical agricultural land uses of monsoon Asia to reduce the societal damages of natural disasters. As semi-natural land is sometimes located close to or is similar to the original intact habitat, it could play a role in reducing flood disasters. In particular, paddy fields could be seen to be similar to intact wetland habitats, most of which have disappeared in recent decades due to development. To test this idea, the relationships between flood disasters and paddy fields with location condition in inland regions of central Japan were evaluated. We used flow accumulation value (FAV) as an index of intact wetland habitat; particularly, we considered that high FAV area might be previously natural wetland. Thus, paddy field located at high FAV values are considered similar to intact wetland habitats. Results showed that paddy fields located in high FAV areas were able to significantly reduce flood frequencies, occurrences of landslides, and debris floods. These results suggested that semi-natural land close to or on their natural habitats could function as intact ecosystems and provide Eco-DRR function as ecosystem services. These types of semi-natural land could be employed as green infrastructure to provide several extensive ecosystem services.

Pleistocene herpetofaunal studies in Serbia (Balkan Peninsula, SE Europe): State of the art and perspectives

The country of Serbia is situated on the Balkan Peninsula and has a moderate continental climate. Dramatic tectonic activity in the early Miocene generated two main mountain ranges and led to the retreat of Paratethys. This meant the Balkan Peninsula became a crossroads for many migrating species. Currently, the majority of central European species, along with some Mediterranean, and even Euro-Siberian taxa can be found in Serbia. Fossil records from caves reveal changes in fossil fauna from the Pleistocene to Holocene. There is evidence that the distinct configuration of the terrain in the Balkans led to many isolated areas, enabling large mammal species, together with Neanderthals that were living in the area, to find refuge and survive longer than in the rest of Europe. The best fossil associations containing small vertebrates come from the Baranica, Hadži Prodanova, Pešturina, and Smolućka caves. Based on available numerical dating, an attempt has been made to fit these within the chronological context of the Mousterian-Aurignacian-Gravettian cultural succession. The stratigraphy of the layers corresponds to the so-called MIS 5 to MIS 2 (i.e., from 70,000 to 14,000 years ago). This paper presents a review of the herpetofaunal findings from Serbia, and analyses the data collected. Statistical approaches, involving hierarchical clustering and correspondence analysis, have been used on the fossil amphibian and reptile assemblages. As associated context is often not sufficient, small mammal assemblages have been used as a comparative proxy for reconstructing the palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironment, through the application of taxonomical habitat indexes and bioclimate analysis. The overall analysis reveals that the herpetofaunal composition experience substantial change between MIS 3 and MIS 2, when there were a loss of diversity and the concurrence of species adapted to cold climates and environments, in accordance with the glacial cycle.

Complex riparian habitats predict reptile and amphibian diversity

Altering stream flows and groundwater have modified how streams are connected to riparian floodplain vegetation. This disconnection has led to the proliferation of non-native and invasive woody plant species and altered habitat complexity. Squamate vertebrates such as lizards and snakes, and amphibians such as frogs and toads, are important food web links in riparian ecosystems of the Sonoran Desert. We explored the relationship between habitat heterogeneity and species diversity in aridland riparian ecosystems in the United States (US). Specifically, we measured riparian vegetation composition, cover, and habitat structure from the Middle Rio Grande in New Mexico, the San Pedro and Gila Rivers in Arizona, and the Virgin River in Nevada. We used pitfall arrays deployed in these riparian forests to document reptile and amphibian communities. We developed a habitat index by weighing variables based on their contributions to variation explained in the dataset and characterized the structural attributes and heterogeneity of the riparian vegetation. We validated the habitat index by relating it to abundance and richness of reptile and amphibian species and found a positive relationship. Native riparian trees and stands mixed with native and non-native trees supported greater diversity and abundance of lizard fauna compared to monotypic stands of non-native trees. We integrated elements of vegetation structure and composition with ectothermic wildlife to show how riparian areas provide complex habitat for species. Our results suggest that riparian woodlands provide higher quality habitat for riparian reptile and amphibians compared to non-native stands.

A river stretch scale assessment of urban river habitat in the Taihu Lake Basin

Under the background of rapid urbanization, the degradation of urban river water environment and ecological function in the Taihu Lake Basin has become increasingly prominent. Consequently, it is particularly important to systematically assess urban river habitat. This study referred to and corrected the British Urban River Survey evaluation system. Based on the characte-ristics of urban rivers in the Taihu Lake Basin, we established the evaluation system of stretch habitat quality index (SHQI) of urban river stretches and analyzed the urban river habitat status and spatial variation in the Taihu Lake Basin. The results showed that the SHQI values of the 50 river stretches ranged between 8 and 21, with 3 river stretches classified as "excellent" habitat level, 6 as "good", 27 as "moderate", 9 as "poor", and 5 as "very poor". The vegetation index in urban river habitats in the Taihu Lake Basin was good, whereas that of the physical habitat and material index were bad. The overall ranking of habitats was Zhenjiang: Huzhou: Hangzhou: Jiaxing: Suzhou: Wuxi: Changzhou. There were significant differences in physical habitats, material indices and pollution indices among different cities. The main stream and the tributary section significantly differed in the material index and pollution index, but not significant for SHQI. The evaluation system constructed in this study reflected the current situation of urban river habitats in the Taihu Lake Basin, and could provide guidance for ecological restoration of urban rivers.

Mangrove species diversity, stand structure and zonation pattern in relation to environmental factors — A case study at Sundarban delta, east coast of India

The forest structure and its relation to environmental parameters of Sundarbans, largest mangrove habitat in India, are presented. Quadrat method was used to analyze the vegetation-environment interaction and structural maturity of mangroves. Floristic studies revealed twenty-seven mangrove species including the critically endangered Sonneratia griffithii and endangered Heritiera fomes. Based on Importance Value Index, Avicennia marina, Excoecaria agallocha, Avicennia officinalis and Avicennia alba were designated as the most important species. Higher diversity indices were observed (Shannon index, ranged from 4.2-1.8; Pielou’s index, 0.96-0.91) revealing greater species diversity and even dispersion of mangroves in Sundarbans. Stem density varied from 133 to 19333 ha−1 and individual basal area 0.4 to 13.4m2ha−1. A very low Maturity Index Value was recorded indicating a low degree of structural maturity. Most of the vegetation parameters (density, species diversity index, β diversity) and few of the edaphic parameters (pH, grain size, total carbon) were found to be in better condition; however, salinity showed significant negative correlations with vegetation characteristics. The study revealed a mixed species composition with intermediate structural development indicating a growing forest in Sundarbans. The data evolved in the study would be fundamental in site-specific management and conservation efforts of mangroves in this world heritage site.

Physical habitat as predictor of fish trophic structure in Brazilian Atlantic rainforest streams

ABSTRACT Trophic structure of fish assemblages is one of the most sensitive indicators of changes in streams environments. Since it is crucial to understand the response of trophic groups to habitat alteration, our study aimed to address this research gap by assessing the influence of substrate composition, meso-habitat variability, and bank stability, on the richness, biomass, and number of individuals of carnivores, invertivores, omnivores, and herbivorous-detritivores. Using an electrofishing device, we sampled 13 Atlantic rainforest streams reaches in a degradation gradient, located in the upper Paranapanema river basin. Sample points were ranked using a physical habitat index. More pristine streams had high availability of twigs, trunks, rocks and boulders in the substrate, great meso-habitat variability, and the presence of roots, trunks, and rocks in the margins. Canonical correlations between habitat characteristics and trophic groups explained more than 90% of data variability. Richness and number of individuals of invertivores increased in more preserved stream reaches, while richness of carnivores and number of individuals of omnivores decreased. These results demonstrate that trophic structure varies according to level of degradation, and that invertivore richness represents the best indicator of fish trophic structure responses to physical habitat alterations in streams.

CARACTERIZACIÓN DE LA CALIDAD ECOLÓGICA DE LA RONDA HÍDRICA DE LA QUEBRADA TARUCA, MUNICIPIO DE MOCOA (PUTUMAYO).

En el marco de la salida de campo del curso trabajo de campo, del departamento de Geografía de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia, se realizó un diagnostico preliminar de la calidad ecológica del bosque de ribera, en la ronda hídrica de la quebrada Taruca afluente del rio Mocoa, en Putumayo.
 Se evaluaron componentes del ecosistema como suelo y vegetación; mediante índices del entorno, como son el Índice de Hábitat Fluvial (IHF), el Indice de Bosque de Ribera, (QBR), Evaluación Visual del suelo, (EV), técnica de interpretación de bloques diagramas.

Photosynthetic efficiency and in vitro growth of Celastrus paniculatus Willd. under varied concentrations of CO2

Introduction: Celastrus paniculatus (Family: Celastraceae) is a woody climbing shrub valued for its immense medicinal properties contained in its various plant parts. Over-exploitation and poor natural regeneration either by seed or other method/s have resulted into depleting population of C. paniculatus in natural habitats in India. Novel approaches such as liquid culture media and photoautotrophic multiplication of shoots on sugar-free media has proved useful to obtain photosynthetically active micropropagated plantlets. Methods: The shoot cultures of C. paniculatus were multiplied on sucrose containing and sucrose-free semi-solid and liquid media. The cultures were further incubated under various concentrations of carbon dioxide (0.0 to 40.0 gm-3). The assessment of chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (Fo, Fm, F'm, Ft, Fv/Fm and ΦPS2) under similar conditions was undertaken. Results: It was observed that CO2 enrichment favored shoot multiplication and elongation and biomass production in sucrose supplemented medium. CO2 (10.0 gm-3) along with sucrose (3.0%), recorded maximum growth on semi-solid and liquid media. The valuation of Fo, Fm, F'm, Ft, Fv/Fm and ΦPS2 revealed that an increase in the concentration of CO2 resulted in a decline in all the parameters especially the Fv/Fm and ΦPS2. On the contrary, withdrawal of sucrose from the medium under CO2 enriched conditions resulted in a moderate growth rate and biomass production. However, Fv/Fm and ΦPS2 were considerably improved in shoot cultures incubated under elevated concentrations of CO2 (10.0 gm-3) without sucrose in the medium indicating their photoautotrophic growth. Conclusions: Liquid medium proved to be superior for overall growth and biomass production over its semi-solid counterparts. The observations of photochemical efficiency in shoot cultures grown on liquid medium were at par with their semi-solid counterparts indicating no adverse effects such as hyperhydricity.

A Waterbody Typology Derived from Catchment Controls Using Self-Organising Maps

Multiple catchment controls contribute to the geomorphic functioning of river systems at the reach-level, yet only a limited number are usually considered by river scientists and managers. This study uses multiple morphometric, geological, climatic and anthropogenic catchment characteristics to produce a single national typology of catchment controls in England and Wales. Self-organising maps, a machine learning technique, are used to reduce the complexity of the GIS-derived characteristics to classify 4485 Water Framework Directive waterbodies into seven types. The waterbody typology is mapped across England and Wales, primarily reflecting an upland to lowland gradient in catchment controls and secondarily reflecting the heterogeneity of the catchment landscape. The seven waterbody types are evaluated using reach-level physical habitat indices (including measures of sediment size, flow, channel modification and diversity) extracted from River Habitat Survey data. Significant differences are found between each of the waterbody types for most habitat indices suggesting that the GIS-derived typology has functional application for reach-level habitats. This waterbody typology derived from catchment controls is a valuable tool for understanding catchment influences on physical habitats. It should prove useful for rapid assessment of catchment controls for river management, especially where regulatory compliance is based on reach-level monitoring.

Taxonomically Characterizedand Validated Bacterial Species Based on 16S rRNA Gene Sequences from India During the Last Decade.

Microbial taxonomy dealing with identification and characterization of prokaryotes like bacteria and archaea has always been a major area of research all over the world. Exploring diversity of microbes and description of novel species with different genes and secondary compounds is of utmost importance for better future and sustenance of life. India having an enormous range of ecosystems and diverse species inhabiting these niches is considered to be one of the richest biodiversity regions of the world. During the last decade, with newer methodologies and better technology, the prokaryotic taxonomy from India has extended our inventory of microbial communities in specific niches. However, there still exist some limitations in classifying the microbes from India as compared to that is done world-over. This review enlists the taxonomic description of novel taxa of prokaryotes from India in the past decade. A total of 378new bacterial species have been classified from different habitats in India in the last ten years and no descriptions of archaeal species is documented till date.

Spatio-temporal variations of benthic macroinvertebrates and the driving environmental variables in a shallow lake

Abstract Shallow lakes widely distributed in middle and lower reaches of watershed are easily multi-stressed by natural forces and human activities. Here, spatio-temporal variations of macroinvertebrate community and their influential variables in a typical large macrophyte-dominated shallow lake--Baiyangdian Lake were studied, using three-year in-situ observational data of spring, summer, and autumn. In total, ten environmental variables and five biological indices were measured for the six sites from each of the two habitat types, semi-natural habitat and disturbed habitat divided by their different exposures to human activities. Disturbed habitat had deeper mean water depth, lower mean transparency, and higher mean concentrations of DO, TN, NH4-N, NO3-N, and COD than that of semi-natural habitat regardless of seasons. Biological metrics indicate lower family-level richness but higher community tolerance level in disturbed habitat in spring and summer, but the results were close in autumn. The present of Lestidae and Gammaridae was a significant determination of semi-natural habitat. Redundancy analyses showed community temporal distribution was mainly driven by temperature, water depth, and pH that greatly influenced by natural forces, while spatial distribution was mainly driven by TN and transparency that greatly influenced by human activity. Regarding averaged data over the same year, season, and habitat, richness and Shannon-Weiner index had significant Pearson linear correlation with transparency (r = 0.521 and r = 0.541, p

Spatially explicit models of seasonal habitat for greater sage-grouse at broad spatial scales: Informing areas for management in Nevada and northeastern California.

Defining boundaries of species' habitat across broad spatial scales is often necessary for management decisions, and yet challenging for species that demonstrate differential variation in seasonal habitat use. Spatially explicit indices that incorporate temporal shifts in selection can help overcome such challenges, especially for species of high conservation concern. Greater sage‐grouse Centrocercus urophasianus (hereafter, sage‐grouse), a sagebrush obligate species inhabiting the American West, represents an important case study because sage‐grouse exhibit seasonal habitat patterns, populations are declining in most portions of their range and are central to contemporary national land use policies. Here, we modeled spatiotemporal selection patterns for telemetered sage‐grouse across multiple study sites (1,084 sage‐grouse; 30,690 locations) in the Great Basin. We developed broad‐scale spatially explicit habitat indices that elucidated space use patterns (spring, summer/fall, and winter) and accounted for regional climatic variation using previously published hydrographic boundaries. We then evaluated differences in selection/avoidance of each habitat characteristic between seasons and hydrographic regions. Most notably, sage‐grouse consistently selected areas dominated by sagebrush with few or no conifers but varied in type of sagebrush selected by season and region. Spatiotemporal variation was most apparent based on availability of water resources and herbaceous cover, where sage‐grouse strongly selected upland natural springs in xeric regions but selected larger wet meadows in mesic regions. Additionally, during the breeding period in spring, herbaceous cover was selected strongly in the mesic regions. Lastly, we expanded upon an existing joint–index framework by combining seasonal habitat indices with a probabilistic index of sage‐grouse abundance and space use to produce habitat maps useful for sage‐grouse management. These products can serve as conservation planning tools that help predict expected benefits of restoration activities, while highlighting areas most critical to sustaining sage‐grouse populations. Our joint–index framework can be applied to other species that exhibit seasonal shifts in habitat requirements to help better guide conservation actions.

How can eDNA contribute in riverine macroinvertebrate assessment? A metabarcoding approach in the Nalón River (Asturias, Northern Spain)

AbstractBackgroundBioassessment of rivers is a fundamental method to determine surface water quality. One of the groups most commonly employed as bioindicators of aquatic ecosystems are benthic macroinvertebrates. Their conventional assessment is based on morphological identification and entails several limitations, such as being time‐consuming and requires trained experts for taxonomic identification. The use of genetic tools to solve these limitations offers an alternative way to evaluate rivers status. The use of environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding has increased in recent years for different purposes, but its use in water quality evaluation is yet to be tested. Here, morphological and eDNA based inventories of macroinvertebrates were compared from the same seven sampling sites in the Upper Nalón River Basin (Asturias, Spain).Materials & MethodsHigh‐Throughput Sequencing (HTS) of the cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene was carried out on DNA from water samples using an Ion Torrent platform. Biotic water quality indices were calculated from morphological and molecular data and compared with independent physico‐chemical habitat assessment to validate eDNA based approach.ResultsHighly positive and significant correlation was found between eDNA metabarcoding and morphological methods (Morphological and eDNA indices, r = 0.798, 5 degrees of freedom d.f., P = 0.031;) and a highly significant negative correlation was found between molecular and habitat quality indices (Stress score & eDNA, ρ = ‐0.878 and P = 0.009; Stress score & Visual, ρ = ‐0.949 and P = 0.0002).DiscussionThe similarity of results from the two approaches and the correlation of eDNA metabarcoding data with the habitat quality indices, suggest that eDNA performs as well as conventional methods for calculating biotic indices in this system, positioning eDNA metabarcoding of macroinvertebrate communities to transform how river bioassessment can be achieved.ConclusionThe usefulness of eDNA metabarcoding to assess rivers water quality based on macroinvertebrates assessment has been demonstrated in a dammed river basin.