A functional approach to the ecology of Atlantic Basque streams
Most research on stream ecology is focused on structural characteristics of stream ecosystems, while less effort is being dedicated to the study of their functional attributes. The laboratory of stream ecology, at the University of the Basque Country, has been researching streams from an ecosystem p...
| Autores: | , , |
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| Formato: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2006 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona |
| Repositorio: | Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ddd.uab.cat:27826 |
| Acesso em linha: | https://ddd.uab.cat/record/27826 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palavra-chave: | Rius bascos Propietats estructurals Propietats funcionals Descomposició de fullam Metabolisme Ríos vascos Propiedades estructurales Propiedades funcionales Descomposición de hojarasca Metabolismo Basque streams Structural and functional properties Leaf breakdown and metabolism processes |
| Resumo: | Most research on stream ecology is focused on structural characteristics of stream ecosystems, while less effort is being dedicated to the study of their functional attributes. The laboratory of stream ecology, at the University of the Basque Country, has been researching streams from an ecosystem perspective, including both structural and functional properties. Here we review the research done so far. Basque streams running to the Atlantic Ocean are short, steep, and flashy, and tend to show large spatial variations as a result of changes in geology and soil use. Where they exist, riparian forests limit the growth of primary producers and are a source of coarse particulate organic matter, an important food resource for consumers. The trophic structure of benthic macroinvertebrate communities changes downstream with resource abundance, although temporal variations of both resources and consumers are not coupled. Gut content analyses show the diet of some species to change with instar development, and thus, warn against the indiscriminate assignation of trophic categories. Floods are important disturbances, affecting primary producers, consumers, and ecosystem processes. Other important disturbances are changes in riparian vegetation, which can profoundly affect the food resources of stream communities. This basic knowledge has been used to develop new tools to assess stream functional impairment, based in two pivotal functions: litter breakdown and whole stream metabolism. Both eutrophication and changes in riparian vegetation affect the use of leaf litter, and thus impact stream functioning making litter breakdown a promising tool for stream monitoring. On the other hand, whole stream metabolism is affected by many human impacts, and can be measured continuously in modern gauging stations, thus allowing for almost real-time monitoring of ecosystem functioning. We hope these and other functional properties will be built into routine monitoring schemes, which will therefore look at both the structural and functional sides of stream ecosystems. |
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