The FRB in action
Project finished in 2016
IRBAS
Analysis and synthesis of intermittent river biodiversity
With climate change and the increasing water needs of human populations, many rivers, rich in biodiversity, are becoming intermittent. What is the influence of this phenomenon on the communities of animal and plant species living in these environments? The IRBAS team undertook to collect and analyze the relevant data to answer this question
Across the globe a large number of rivers periodically stop flowing. These rivers are called intermittent rivers. They are found in most terrestrial biomes, not only in arid zones, where they are relatively common. Studies show that over the next century, their numbers and size will increase in regions affected by droughts, notably caused by climate change. Intermittent rivers, however, have been little studied. Aquatic and terrestrial ecologists have long considered that they do not fall within their scope. It has also been assumed for some time that intermittent rivers harbored only a small amount of biodiversity and were inhabited only by poor communities of drought-resistant species. In recent years, ecological studies of intermittent rivers have developed, in part because of the severity of drying in areas where water requirements are being felt. Many countries now have data and metadata available on these intermittent rivers.
While these studies have led to the recognition that intermittent rivers need to be protected for their biological values, current management practices, intermittent river protection policies and legislation are often inadequate or non-existent. Effective management of intermittent river systems requires knowledge of the relationships between river flow components (e.g. drought periods, floods, base flow) and ecological responses.
All data is made available to all through a dedicated database. For more information, visit the website dedicated to the IRBAS project.
researchers
PI:
Thibault DATRY – INRAE (France)
Postdoc:
Catherine LEIGH – INRAE (France)
ouvrir/fermer
Participants:
IRBAS project brings together experts in metacommunity ecology, invertebrate ecology, hydrology, biogeochemistry, statistics and modelling.
Project
IRBAS was selected from the 2012 call for proposals. The project selection process was carried out by a committee of independent experts.
publications
[20] Datry T, Boulton AJ, Bonada N, Fritz K, Leigh C, Sauquet E, Tockner K, Hugueny B & Dahm CN (2018) Flow intermittence and ecosystem services in rivers of the Anthropocene. Journal of Applied Ecology, 55, 353–364. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12941.
[19] Chiu M-C, Leigh C, Mazor R, Cid N & Resh V (2017) Chapter 5.1 - Anthropogenic threats to intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams. In: Datry T, Bonada N & Boulton AJ (Eds.), Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams, Ecology and Management, Academic Press (pp. 433–454). DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-803835-2.00017-6.
[18] Costigan KH, Kennard MJ, Leigh C, Sauquet E, Datry T & Boulton AJ (2017) Chapter 2.2 - Flow regimes in intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams. In: Datry T, Bonada N & Boulton AJ (Eds.), Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams, Ecology and Management, Academic Press (pp. 51–78). DOI: 10.1016/c2015-0-00459-2.
[17] Datry T, Bonada N & Boulton AJ (2017) Chapter 1 - General Introduction. In: Datry T, Bonada N & Boulton AJ (Eds.), Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams, Ecology and Management, Academic Press (pp. 1–20). DOI: 10.1016/c2015-0-00459-2.
[16] Datry T, Bonada N & Boulton AJ (2017) Chapter 6 - Conclusions: Recent advances and future prospects in the ecology and management of intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams. In: Datry T, Bonada N & Boulton AJ (Eds.), Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams, Ecology and Management, Academic Press (pp. 563–584). DOI: 10.1016/c2015-0-00459-2.
[15] Koundouri P, Boulton AJ, Datry T & Souliotis I (2017) Chapter 5.2 - Ecosystem services, values, and societal perceptions of intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams. In: Datry T, Bonada N & Boulton AJ (Eds.), Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams, Ecology and Management, Academic Press (pp. 455–476). DOI: 10.1016/c2015-0-00459-2.
[14] Leigh C & Datry T (2017) Drying as a primary hydrological determinant of biodiversity in river systems: a broad-scale analysis. Ecography, 40, 487–499. DOI: 10.1111/ecog.02230.
[13] Leigh C, Laporte B, Bonada N, Fritz K, Pella H, Sauquet E, Tockner K & Datry T (2017) IRBAS: An online database to collate, analyze, and synthesize data on the biodiversity and ecology of intermittent rivers worldwide. Ecology and Evolution, 7, 815–823. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2679.
[12] McIntosh AR, Leigh C, Boersma KS, McHugh PA, Febria C & García-Berthou E (2017) Chapter 4.7 - Food webs and trophic interactions in intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams. In: Datry T, Bonada N & Boulton AJ (Eds.), Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams, Ecology and Management, Academic Press (pp. 323–347). DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-803835-2.00012-7.
[11] Soria M, Leigh C, Datry T, Bini LM & Bonada N (2017) Biodiversity in perennial and intermittent rivers: A meta-analysis. Oikos, 126, 1078–1089. DOI: 10.1111/oik.04118.
[10] Steward AL, Langhans SD, Corti R & Datry T (2017) Chapter 4.4 - The biota of intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams: Terrestrial and semiaquatic invertebrates. In: Datry T, Bonada N & Boulton AJ (Eds.), Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams, Ecology and Management, Academic Press (pp. 245–271). DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-803835-2.00008-5.
[09] Stubbington R, Bogan MT, Bonada N, Boulton AJ, Datry T, Leigh C & Vander Vorste R (2017) Chapter 4.3 - The biota of intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams: aquatic invertebrates. In: Datry T, Bonada N & Boulton AJ (Eds.), Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams, Ecology and Management, Academic Press (pp. 217–243). DOI: 10.1016/b978-012050340-7/50015-7.
[08] Datry T, Bonada N & Heino J (2016) Towards understanding the organisation of metacommunities in highly dynamic ecological systems. Oikos, 125, 149–159. DOI: 10.1111/oik.02922.
[07] Datry T, Pella H, Leigh C, Bonada N & Hugueny B (2016) A landscape approach to advance intermittent river ecology. Freshwater Biology, 61, 1200–1213. DOI: 10.1111/fwb.12645.
[06] Leigh C, Bonada N, Boulton AJ, Hugueny B, Larned ST, Vander Vorste R & Datry T (2016) Invertebrate assemblage responses and the dual roles of resistance and resilience to drying in intermittent rivers. Aquatic Sciences, 78, 291–301. DOI: 10.1007/s00027-015-0427-2.
[05] Leigh C, Boulton AJ, Courtwright JL, Fritz K, May CL, Walker RH & Datry T (2016) Ecological research and management of intermittent rivers: an historical review and future directions. Freshwater Biology, 61, 1181–1199. DOI: 10.1111/fwb.12646.
[04] Corti R & Datry T (2015) Terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates in the riverbed of an intermittent river: Parallels and contrasts in community organisation. Freshwater Biology, 61, 1308–1320. DOI: 10.1111/fwb.12692.
[03] Acuña V, Datry T, Marshall J, Barceló D, Dahm CN, Ginebreda A, McGregor G, Sabater S, Tockner K & Palmer MA (2014) Why should we care about temporary rivers? Science, 343, 1080–1082. DOI: 10.1126/science.1246666.
[02] Boulton AJ (2014) Conservation of ephemeral streams and their ecosystem services: What are we missing? Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 24, 733–738. DOI: 10.1002/aqc.2537.
[01] Datry T, Larned ST & Tockner K (2014) Intermittent rivers: A challenge for freshwater ecology. BioScience, 64, 229–235. DOI: 10.1093/biosci/bit027.
Co-financeur
