European river typologies fail to capture diatom, fish, and macrophyte community composition

Jonathan F. Jupke; Sebastian Birk; Apostolos Apostolou; Jukka Aroviita; Annette Baattrup-Pedersen; Peter Baláži; Libuše Barešová; Saúl Blanco; María Borrego-Ramos; Herman van Dam; Elias Dimitriou; Christian K. Feld; Maria Teresa Ferreira; Gana Gecheva; Joan Gomà; Nikola Hanžek; Ida Marie Haslev; Tsvetelina Isheva; Aurélien Jamoneau; Jenny Jyrkänkallio-Mikkola; Maria Kahlert; Ioannis Karaouzas; Satu Maaria Karjalainen; Adriana Olenici; Piotr Panek; Petr Paril; Edwin T.H.M. Peeters; Marek Polášek; Didier Pont; Audrone Pumputyte; Leonard Sandin; Lucia Sochuliaková; Janne Soininen; Igor Stanković; Michal Straka; Mirela Šušnjara; Tapio Sutela; Juliette Tison-Rosebery; Marija Gligora Udovič; Michiel Verhofstad; Petar Žutinić; Ralf B. Schäfer

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165081

European river typologies fail to capture diatom, fish, and macrophyte community composition

Jonathan F. Jupke^*, Sebastian Birk, Apostolos Apostolou, Jukka Aroviita, Annette Baattrup-Pedersen, Peter Baláži, Libuše Barešová, Saúl Blanco, María Borrego-Ramos, Herman van Dam, Elias Dimitriou, Christian K. Feld, Maria Teresa Ferreira, Gana Gecheva, Joan Gomà, Nikola Hanžek, Ida Marie Haslev, Tsvetelina Isheva, Aurélien Jamoneau, Jenny Jyrkänkallio-MikkolaMaria Kahlert, Ioannis Karaouzas, Satu Maaria Karjalainen, Adriana Olenici, Piotr Panek, Petr Paril, Edwin T.H.M. Peeters, Marek Polášek, Didier Pont, Audrone Pumputyte, Leonard Sandin, Lucia Sochuliaková, Janne Soininen, Igor Stanković, Michal Straka, Mirela Šušnjara, Tapio Sutela, Juliette Tison-Rosebery, Marija Gligora Udovič, Michiel Verhofstad, Petar Žutinić, Ralf B. Schäfer

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Ecoscience - Catchment Science and Environmental Management

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Typology systems are frequently used in applied and fundamental ecology and are relevant for environmental monitoring and conservation. They aggregate ecosystems into discrete types based on biotic and abiotic variables, assuming that ecosystems of the same type are more alike than ecosystems of different types with regard to a specific property of interest. We evaluated whether this assumption is met by the Broad River Types (BRT), a recently proposed European river typology system, that classifies river segments based on abiotic variables, when it is used to group biological communities. We compiled data on the community composition of diatoms, fishes, and aquatic macrophytes throughout Europe and evaluated whether the composition is more similar in site groups with the same river type than in site groups of different river types using analysis of similarities, classification strength, typical species analysis, and the area under zeta diversity decline curves. We compared the performance of the BRT with those of four region-based typology systems, namely, Illies Freshwater Ecoregions, the Biogeographic Regions, the Freshwater Ecoregions of the World, and the Environmental Zones, as well as spatial autocorrelation (SA) classifications. All typology systems received low scores from most evaluation methods, relative to predefined thresholds and the SA classifications. The BRT often scored lowest of all typology systems. Within each typology system, community composition overlapped considerably between site groups defined by the types of the systems. The overlap tended to be the lowest for fishes and between Illies Freshwater Ecoregions. In conclusion, we found that existing broad-scale river typology systems fail to delineate site groups with distinct and compositionally homogeneous communities of diatoms, fishes, and macrophytes. A way to improve the fit between typology systems and biological communities might be to combine segment-based and region-based typology systems to simultaneously account for local environmental variation and historical distribution patterns, thus potentially improving the utility of broad-scale typology systems for freshwater biota.

Original language	English
Article number	165081
Journal	Science of the Total Environment
Volume	896
Number of pages	12
ISSN	0048-9697
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165081
Publication status	Published - Oct 2023

Keywords

Biological quality elements
Biomonitoring
Ecoregions
Freshwater ecosystems
Typology evaluation
Typology systems

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10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165081

Cite this

Jupke, J. F., Birk, S., Apostolou, A., Aroviita, J., Baattrup-Pedersen, A., Baláži, P., Barešová, L., Blanco, S., Borrego-Ramos, M., van Dam, H., Dimitriou, E., Feld, C. K., Ferreira, M. T., Gecheva, G., Gomà, J., Hanžek, N., Haslev, I. M., Isheva, T., Jamoneau, A., ... Schäfer, R. B. (2023). European river typologies fail to capture diatom, fish, and macrophyte community composition. Science of the Total Environment, 896, Article 165081. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165081

@article{41bd36f5befe498ea018a8d7c8d77474,

title = "European river typologies fail to capture diatom, fish, and macrophyte community composition",

abstract = "Typology systems are frequently used in applied and fundamental ecology and are relevant for environmental monitoring and conservation. They aggregate ecosystems into discrete types based on biotic and abiotic variables, assuming that ecosystems of the same type are more alike than ecosystems of different types with regard to a specific property of interest. We evaluated whether this assumption is met by the Broad River Types (BRT), a recently proposed European river typology system, that classifies river segments based on abiotic variables, when it is used to group biological communities. We compiled data on the community composition of diatoms, fishes, and aquatic macrophytes throughout Europe and evaluated whether the composition is more similar in site groups with the same river type than in site groups of different river types using analysis of similarities, classification strength, typical species analysis, and the area under zeta diversity decline curves. We compared the performance of the BRT with those of four region-based typology systems, namely, Illies Freshwater Ecoregions, the Biogeographic Regions, the Freshwater Ecoregions of the World, and the Environmental Zones, as well as spatial autocorrelation (SA) classifications. All typology systems received low scores from most evaluation methods, relative to predefined thresholds and the SA classifications. The BRT often scored lowest of all typology systems. Within each typology system, community composition overlapped considerably between site groups defined by the types of the systems. The overlap tended to be the lowest for fishes and between Illies Freshwater Ecoregions. In conclusion, we found that existing broad-scale river typology systems fail to delineate site groups with distinct and compositionally homogeneous communities of diatoms, fishes, and macrophytes. A way to improve the fit between typology systems and biological communities might be to combine segment-based and region-based typology systems to simultaneously account for local environmental variation and historical distribution patterns, thus potentially improving the utility of broad-scale typology systems for freshwater biota.",

keywords = "Biological quality elements, Biomonitoring, Ecoregions, Freshwater ecosystems, Typology evaluation, Typology systems",

author = "Jupke, {Jonathan F.} and Sebastian Birk and Apostolos Apostolou and Jukka Aroviita and Annette Baattrup-Pedersen and Peter Bal{\'a}{\v z}i and Libu{\v s}e Bare{\v s}ov{\'a} and Sa{\'u}l Blanco and Mar{\'i}a Borrego-Ramos and {van Dam}, Herman and Elias Dimitriou and Feld, {Christian K.} and Ferreira, {Maria Teresa} and Gana Gecheva and Joan Gom{\`a} and Nikola Han{\v z}ek and Haslev, {Ida Marie} and Tsvetelina Isheva and Aur{\'e}lien Jamoneau and Jenny Jyrk{\"a}nkallio-Mikkola and Maria Kahlert and Ioannis Karaouzas and Karjalainen, {Satu Maaria} and Adriana Olenici and Piotr Panek and Petr Paril and Peeters, {Edwin T.H.M.} and Marek Pol{\'a}{\v s}ek and Didier Pont and Audrone Pumputyte and Leonard Sandin and Lucia Sochuliakov{\'a} and Janne Soininen and Igor Stankovi{\'c} and Michal Straka and Mirela {\v S}u{\v s}njara and Tapio Sutela and Juliette Tison-Rosebery and Udovi{\v c}, {Marija Gligora} and Michiel Verhofstad and Petar {\v Z}utini{\'c} and Sch{\"a}fer, {Ralf B.}",

year = "2023",

month = oct,

doi = "10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165081",

language = "English",

volume = "896",

journal = "Science of the Total Environment",

issn = "0048-9697",

publisher = "Elsevier",

}

Jupke, JF, Birk, S, Apostolou, A, Aroviita, J, Baattrup-Pedersen, A, Baláži, P, Barešová, L, Blanco, S, Borrego-Ramos, M, van Dam, H, Dimitriou, E, Feld, CK, Ferreira, MT, Gecheva, G, Gomà, J, Hanžek, N, Haslev, IM, Isheva, T, Jamoneau, A, Jyrkänkallio-Mikkola, J, Kahlert, M, Karaouzas, I, Karjalainen, SM, Olenici, A, Panek, P, Paril, P, Peeters, ETHM, Polášek, M, Pont, D, Pumputyte, A, Sandin, L, Sochuliaková, L, Soininen, J, Stanković, I, Straka, M, Šušnjara, M, Sutela, T, Tison-Rosebery, J, Udovič, MG, Verhofstad, M, Žutinić, P & Schäfer, RB 2023, 'European river typologies fail to capture diatom, fish, and macrophyte community composition', Science of the Total Environment, vol. 896, 165081. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165081

European river typologies fail to capture diatom, fish, and macrophyte community composition. / Jupke, Jonathan F.; Birk, Sebastian; Apostolou, Apostolos et al.
In: Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 896, 165081, 10.2023.

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - European river typologies fail to capture diatom, fish, and macrophyte community composition

AU - Jupke, Jonathan F.

AU - Birk, Sebastian

AU - Apostolou, Apostolos

AU - Aroviita, Jukka

AU - Baattrup-Pedersen, Annette

AU - Baláži, Peter

AU - Barešová, Libuše

AU - Blanco, Saúl

AU - Borrego-Ramos, María

AU - van Dam, Herman

AU - Dimitriou, Elias

AU - Feld, Christian K.

AU - Ferreira, Maria Teresa

AU - Gecheva, Gana

AU - Gomà, Joan

AU - Hanžek, Nikola

AU - Haslev, Ida Marie

AU - Isheva, Tsvetelina

AU - Jamoneau, Aurélien

AU - Jyrkänkallio-Mikkola, Jenny

AU - Kahlert, Maria

AU - Karaouzas, Ioannis

AU - Karjalainen, Satu Maaria

AU - Olenici, Adriana

AU - Panek, Piotr

AU - Paril, Petr

AU - Peeters, Edwin T.H.M.

AU - Polášek, Marek

AU - Pont, Didier

AU - Pumputyte, Audrone

AU - Sandin, Leonard

AU - Sochuliaková, Lucia

AU - Soininen, Janne

AU - Stanković, Igor

AU - Straka, Michal

AU - Šušnjara, Mirela

AU - Sutela, Tapio

AU - Tison-Rosebery, Juliette

AU - Udovič, Marija Gligora

AU - Verhofstad, Michiel

AU - Žutinić, Petar

AU - Schäfer, Ralf B.

PY - 2023/10

Y1 - 2023/10

N2 - Typology systems are frequently used in applied and fundamental ecology and are relevant for environmental monitoring and conservation. They aggregate ecosystems into discrete types based on biotic and abiotic variables, assuming that ecosystems of the same type are more alike than ecosystems of different types with regard to a specific property of interest. We evaluated whether this assumption is met by the Broad River Types (BRT), a recently proposed European river typology system, that classifies river segments based on abiotic variables, when it is used to group biological communities. We compiled data on the community composition of diatoms, fishes, and aquatic macrophytes throughout Europe and evaluated whether the composition is more similar in site groups with the same river type than in site groups of different river types using analysis of similarities, classification strength, typical species analysis, and the area under zeta diversity decline curves. We compared the performance of the BRT with those of four region-based typology systems, namely, Illies Freshwater Ecoregions, the Biogeographic Regions, the Freshwater Ecoregions of the World, and the Environmental Zones, as well as spatial autocorrelation (SA) classifications. All typology systems received low scores from most evaluation methods, relative to predefined thresholds and the SA classifications. The BRT often scored lowest of all typology systems. Within each typology system, community composition overlapped considerably between site groups defined by the types of the systems. The overlap tended to be the lowest for fishes and between Illies Freshwater Ecoregions. In conclusion, we found that existing broad-scale river typology systems fail to delineate site groups with distinct and compositionally homogeneous communities of diatoms, fishes, and macrophytes. A way to improve the fit between typology systems and biological communities might be to combine segment-based and region-based typology systems to simultaneously account for local environmental variation and historical distribution patterns, thus potentially improving the utility of broad-scale typology systems for freshwater biota.

AB - Typology systems are frequently used in applied and fundamental ecology and are relevant for environmental monitoring and conservation. They aggregate ecosystems into discrete types based on biotic and abiotic variables, assuming that ecosystems of the same type are more alike than ecosystems of different types with regard to a specific property of interest. We evaluated whether this assumption is met by the Broad River Types (BRT), a recently proposed European river typology system, that classifies river segments based on abiotic variables, when it is used to group biological communities. We compiled data on the community composition of diatoms, fishes, and aquatic macrophytes throughout Europe and evaluated whether the composition is more similar in site groups with the same river type than in site groups of different river types using analysis of similarities, classification strength, typical species analysis, and the area under zeta diversity decline curves. We compared the performance of the BRT with those of four region-based typology systems, namely, Illies Freshwater Ecoregions, the Biogeographic Regions, the Freshwater Ecoregions of the World, and the Environmental Zones, as well as spatial autocorrelation (SA) classifications. All typology systems received low scores from most evaluation methods, relative to predefined thresholds and the SA classifications. The BRT often scored lowest of all typology systems. Within each typology system, community composition overlapped considerably between site groups defined by the types of the systems. The overlap tended to be the lowest for fishes and between Illies Freshwater Ecoregions. In conclusion, we found that existing broad-scale river typology systems fail to delineate site groups with distinct and compositionally homogeneous communities of diatoms, fishes, and macrophytes. A way to improve the fit between typology systems and biological communities might be to combine segment-based and region-based typology systems to simultaneously account for local environmental variation and historical distribution patterns, thus potentially improving the utility of broad-scale typology systems for freshwater biota.

KW - Biological quality elements

KW - Biomonitoring

KW - Ecoregions

KW - Freshwater ecosystems

KW - Typology evaluation

KW - Typology systems

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85164280162&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165081

DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165081

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 37355122

AN - SCOPUS:85164280162

SN - 0048-9697

VL - 896

JO - Science of the Total Environment

JF - Science of the Total Environment

M1 - 165081

ER -

European river typologies fail to capture diatom, fish, and macrophyte community composition

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Keywords

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