University of Minho School of Sciences Joana Filipa Garrido Nogueira Freshwater biodiversity assessment in areas with and without protection Freshwater biodiversity assessment in areas with and without protection Freshwater Joana Filipa Garrido Nogueira Uminho | 2019 October 2019 Universidade do Minho Escola de Ciências Joana Filipa Garrido Nogueira Freshwater biodiversity assessment in areas with and without protection Master thesis in Ecology Work made under supervision of: Professor Doutor Ronaldo Sousa Professor Doutor Amílcar Teixeira October 2019 Acknowledgments Many thanks to CBMA-Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology, Department of Biology, and University of Minho for the logistics support. To my supervisor, Prof. Dr. Ronaldo Sousa for all the knowledge, the confidence and the patience transmitted. Thank you for all the opportunities given and for inspiring me to pursue in the field of Ecology/Conservation. To my co-supervisor, Prof. Dr. Amílcar Teixeira and to Prof. Dr. Simone Varandas for the tremendous help in the field as well as for the valuable scientific discussions. To Fernando Miranda for all the help during the field surveys and the special care devoted to brown trouts. To my master classmates, lab and field partners for all the friendship, laughs and support. To my dear friends Pedro, Cristina and Rita for always cheering me up throughout the last five years. To my best friends, Mariana, Diana and Sandrinha, that always made sure that I did not forget my focus and strength. To my siblings Miguel and his wife Joana, Rodrigo and Margarida for the help with sorting the macroinvertebrates and for supporting me along the way. To my nephews Guilherme, Inês, Michael, Francisca and Vasco for inspiring me to be the best version of myself. Finally, to my parents that always believed in me and gave me the right guidance throughout the years, without whom this work would not be possible. You are the lighthouse in the storm. It’s our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. -J. K. Rowling iii STATEMENT OF INTEGRITY I hereby declare having conducted this academic work with integrity. I confirm that I have not used plagiarism or any form of undue use of information or falsification of results along the process leading to its elaboration. I further declare that I have fully acknowledged the Code of Ethical Conduct of the University of Minho. iv Avaliação da biodiversidade em água-doce de áreas com e sem proteção Resumo Os ecossistemas de água-doce são essenciais para o bem-estar humano, sendo consideradas áreas com grande biodiversidade. No entanto, esta tem sofrido uma diminuição enorme devido à expansão das atividades humanas. As áreas protegidas são essenciais para a conservação da biodiversidade e já provaram ser bem-sucedidas em travar a extirpação de espécies quando são bem geridas. Infelizmente, são maioritariamente focadas na biodiversidade terrestre, ignorando muitas vezes os ecossistemas de água-doce. O principal objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar a influência do Parque Natural de Montesinho (PNM), que foi projetado para proteger a fauna terrestre, na biodiversidade de água-doce presente nos Rios Mente, Rabaçal, Tuela e Sabor. Assim sendo, foram amostrados dois grupos faunísticos: peixes e invertebrados (bivalves e outros macroinvertebrados) dentro, na periferia e fora do PNM. Com estes dados foram calculados índices de diversidade (riqueza, abundância, diversidade de Shannon-Wiener e equitabilidade de Pielou) e índices de qualidade de água (IBMWP, IASPT e %EPT). Seria expectável que os resultados indicassem uma melhor condição abiótica e biológica dentro do parque. Contudo, este não foi o caso pois os resultados mostraram que a área protegida não afeta positivamente nem a qualidade de água nem nenhum dos dois grupos faunísticos monitorizado. As comunidades de macroinvertebrados e a abundância de Margaritifera margaritifera não foram influenciadas pela área protegida e apenas os comprimentos de M. margaritifera foram significativamente menores dentro do PNM. No que diz respeito às comunidades de peixes, a riqueza e a abundância foram significativamente maiores fora da área protegida. Assim sendo, concluímos que o PNM não garante a proteção de espécies aquáticas e dos seus ecossistemas. Este trabalho reforça a visão de que as áreas protegidas têm que ser desenhadas e geridas tendo também em conta a diversidade aquática se tencionam ser eficazes na sua proteção. O controlo de espécies não- nativas, a redução de fontes localizadas de poluição, a regulação das pescas e a melhoria da conectividade dos rios são algumas das medidas mais importantes a tomar pelo governo, pela população local e por outras partes interessadas de modo a alcançar uma proteção adequada dos ecossistemas de água-doce e impedir a extirpação de espécies com importância de conservação. Palavras-chave: áreas protegidas, biodiversidade, conservação, ecossistemas de água-doce. v Freshwater biodiversity assessment in areas with and without protection Abstract Freshwater ecosystems are essential to human well-being and are considered areas of high biodiversity. However, this biodiversity has been suffering severe declines due to the expansion of human activities. Protected areas are essential for biodiversity conservation and have proven to be successful in stopping species extirpation, when managed properly. Unfortunately, they are usually focused on terrestrial biodiversity, leaving many times freshwater ecosystems aside. The main goal of this study was to determine the influence that the Montesinho Natural Park (MNP), mainly designed to protect terrestrial biodiversity, has on freshwater biodiversity present in Mente, Rabaçal, Tuela and Sabor Rivers. Therefore, we sampled two aquatic faunal groups: fishes and invertebrates (bivalves and other macroinvertebrates) inside, in the periphery and outside the MNP. Biodiversity (richness, abundance, Shannon-Wiener diversity and Pielou’s evenness) and water quality (IBMWP, IASPT and %EPT) indices were calculated. It would be expected that results indicated better abiotic and biological conditions inside the park. However, this was not the case, with results showing that the protected area does not affect positively neither water quality nor the two faunal groups monitored. The macroinvertebrate communities and Margaritifera margaritifera abundance were not influenced by the protected area and only M. margaritifera length was significantly lower inside the MNP. For the fish communities, richness and abundance were significantly higher outside the protected area. Given these results, we conclude that MNP does not guarantee protection for the aquatic biodiversity and its ecosystems. This work highlights the view that protected areas need to be designed and managed for aquatic biodiversity if they intend to be successful in their conservation. Control of non-native species, reduction of point source pollution, regulation of fisheries and improvement of rivers connectivity are some of the most important actions that need to be taken by governmental, local population and stakeholders in order to achieve a proper protection of freshwater ecosystems and prevent the extirpation of species with conservation importance. Keywords: biodiversity, conservation, protected areas, freshwater ecosystems. vi List of contents Freshwater biodiversity assessment in areas with and without protection ACKNOWLEDGMENTS………………………………………………………………. iii RESUMO………………………………………………………………………………… v ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………… vi LIST OF FIGURES ……………………………………………………………………. viii LIST OF TABLES ……………………………………………………………………… xi 1. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………….1 1.1 Importance of freshwater ecosystems…………………………...1 1.2 Freshwater Protected Areas…………………………………………3 1.3 Statement of the problem and main objectives……………......7 2. MATERIAL AND METHODS………………………………………………..10 2.1 Study area………………………………………………………………..10 2.2 Sampling strategies............................................................13 2.3 Data analysis…………………………………………………………….16 3. RESULTS……………………………………………………………………….19 3.1 Abiotic characterization……………………………………………..19 3.2 Macroinvertebrate communities…………………………………..20 3.3 Fish communities……………………………………………………….28 4. DISCUSSION………………………………………………………………….35 4.1 Abiotic characterization……………………………………………..36 4.2 Macroinvertebrate communities…………………………………..37 4.3 Fish communities……………………………………………………….39 4.4 Conservation implications and future directions……………..41 5. CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………………..44 6. LITERATURE CITED………………………………………………………...47 7. ANNEX…………………………………………………………………………..55 vii List of Figures Figure 1 – Diagram with the five major threats to freshwater biodiversity. Figure 2 – Number of publications until September 2019 (N=800) retrieved from SCOPUS database using the words ‘freshwater protected areas’. Figure 3 – Examples of faunal diversity found in Montesinho Natural Park and surrounding areas: brown trout Salmo trutta (A); pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera (B); dragonfly Macromia splendens (C); Louisiana red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii (D). Courtesy of Ronaldo Sousa. Figure 4 – Rivers surveyed in this study: Mente (A), Rabaçal (B), Tuela (C) and Sabor (D). Courtesy of Ronaldo Sousa. Figure 5 – Map of the surveyed area showing the location of the 24 sampling sites in Mente (M), Rabaçal (R), Tuela (T) and Sabor (S) Rivers. Figure 6 – Measurement of abiotic variables with a multi-parameter probe (A) and hand net used to collect the macroinvertebrates (B). Courtesy