RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Freshwater endemic species and the ecological status of streams in the Canary Islands
A1 Lüderitz, Volker
A1 Arévalo, José Ramón
A1 Fernández-Palacios, José María
A1 Fernández Lugo, Silvia
A1 Eller, Katharina
A1 Langheinrich, Uta
K1 assessment
K1 biodiversity
K1 freshwater ecosystems
K1 hydromorphology
K1 macroinvertebrates
K1 water quality
AB An inventory has been made of endemic aquatic macroinvertebrates in streams of the Canary Islands. The inventory showsthat of 31 pristine endemic species, 10 are now extinct. From the remaining 21 species, only 12 occur in streams withundisturbed hydromorphology and natural background conditions, and among these, there are 6 species that only occur ina single body of water on a single island, so they are very near to extinction. The main reason for this development is thedramatic decrease in the number of streams on the Canary Islands due to unsustainable consumption of water for agricultureand tourism and the transformation of most of the remaining streams to canals. However, natural reaches of streams withan endemic macroinvertebrate fauna still exist in specially protected areas of Tenerife, La Gomera, and La Palma. Thesereaches serve as reference status for the development of a specific assessment method for streams on the islands. Thismethod takes into account common parameters such as water quality and hydromorphology, though to biodiversity andisland-specific endemism is given greater emphasis. These last two concepts of stream development could be importanttools in both nature conservation and protection of the remaining endemic and sensitive species.
PB Firma Effe Publisher
SN 1388-7904
YR 2016
FD 2016
LK http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/18750
UL http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/18750
LA en
DS Repositorio institucional de la Universidad de La Laguna
RD 18-nov-2024