Indicators for Climate Change Impacts - Rivers in warm ecoregions, Large rivers
Changes of invertebrate communities
| Stressor type | Hydrology / Morphology |
|---|---|
| Responding parameter group | Hydromorphological parameters |
| Responding parameter | Changes of invertebrate communities |
Response description
Winter floods will lead to catastrophic drift of invertebrates, will change the community to more r-strategists tolerating frequent floods and lead to the loss of bivoltine species.
Secondary effects
Decrease of species number
Specification of relevant ecosystem type
Relevant for all large rivers in humid warm ecoregions.
Relevant ecoregion(s) according to Illies
Iberian Peninsula (1), Italian Peninsula (3), Dinaric Western Balkan (5), Hellenic Western Balkan (6), Eastern Balkan (7)
Suggested indicator
Frequency and magnitude of floods in winter months.
Justification of indicator
The discharge of most large rivers is already monitored with gauging stations.
