Tesis sobre el tema "Artificial fish habitats"

Coastal infrastructure has replaced many vital fish nursery habitats with structures designed without fully mitigating for the loss of the natural ecosystems. This thesis details research focused on the use of small, inexpensive, artificial reef modules as replacement juvenile fish habitat within marinas. My research hypothesis was that the placement of small, structurally complex artificial reef modules would increase fish abundance and species richness relative to unmodified marina seawalls. Non-destructive visual surveys of fishes were completed monthly for 14 months for 12 artificial reef sites and 12 control (unmodified) sites within the Nova Southeastern University Guy Harvey Oceanographic Center (NSU-GHOC) marina. Divers recorded species, abundance, and size class (0-2 cm, >2-5 cm, >5-10 cm, >10-20 cm, >20-30 cm, >30-50 cm, >50 cm) for all sites. Data was statistically analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post-hoc Student Newman-Keuls (SNK) tests to explore differences in mean abundance, mean species richness, and mean abundance and species richness by size class and month. Total mean fish abundance and mean species richness (all months and sizes combined) were both significantly higher at artificial reef sites than at control sites. Artificial reef sites were consistently higher in total abundance and species richness when analyzed by month. Analysis of mean abundance by size class found the >2-5 cm, >5-10 cm, >10-20 cm and >20-30 cm classes were significantly higher for artificial reef sites. Species richness analysis by size class found classes >2-5 cm, >5-10 cm, >10-20 cm, and >20-30 cm were significantly higher at artificial reef sites. Fishes from the grunt (Haemulidae) and snapper (Lutjanidae) families contributed the most to the total abundance for both types of sites. These results support my hypothesis and have important implications for mitigating ecological impact to coastal fish nursery areas with the use of artificial structure.

Two widely-recognised hypotheses propose that increases in fish abundance at artificial reefs are caused by: (a) the attraction and redistribution of existing individuals; and/or (b) the addition of new individuals by production. Inadequate experimental designs compromised by a lack of sufficient replication and/or spatial interspersion of reefs with controls have prevented researchers from distinguishing between attraction and production. Infrequent sampling has also led to insufficient temporal coverage of life history-driven variations in fish abundance and biomass at reefs. Detection and resolution of these trends, together with incorporation of fish age/length data, and the use of techniques such as stable isotope analysis to infer trophic link(s) between reef residents and potential sources of epibenthic nutrition at reefs should help demonstrate mechanisms underlying attraction and/or production. Given that fish numbers tend to increase after artificial reef deployments, artificial reefs have been proposed as a means by which fish stocks could be enhanced by providing new habitat in areas where natural habitat vital for feeding, shelter and reproduction have been removed, such as residential canals. The purpose of my study was to investigate whether or not artificial reefs could be used to enhance fish production within residential canals. Five reefs were deployed into Lake Rumrunner on the Gold Coast in southeast Queensland, Australia (28°02’59”S, 153°25’19”E). Reefs were interspersed among five soft sediment (control) sites of similar depth. Fish assemblages at reefs, controls and shoreline jetties were quantitatively sampled using a modified seine pop net. Very few fish were recorded at controls, but fish abundance and biomass increased dramatically at reefs shortly after deployment, stabilising at levels above that of shoreline jetties. Reefs and jetties accommodated different fish assemblages and assemblage structure varied through time. Multivariate analyses indicated that the fish assemblage at jetties within Lake Rumrunner differed from assemblages at jetties in adjacent lakes in terms of biomass composition, accommodating numerous individuals of small-bodied species. The fish assemblage at reefs featured individuals of large-bodied species and occasional, itinerant individuals of species typical of offshore subtidal reefs. Among co-occurring (reef and jetty) fish species, strong differences in the distribution of Monodactylus argenteus (Monodactylidae) between reefs, jetties and controls suggested possible new production driven by reef deployment. Abundance and biomass of M. argenteus was significantly greater at reefs relative to controls (where no fish were caught) and jetties at all times after deployment. Individuals were consistently larger on reefs than on jetties. Analyses of length-frequency distributions through time indicated the size of individuals differed from one sampling time to the next for most sampling times at reefs, possibly representing cohort growth and movement through time...
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Environment
Science, Environment, Engineering and Technology
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Au cours de leur cycle de vie, la plupart des espèces de poissons marins côtiers passent par des nourriceries littorales dont la qualité influence largement le succès du recrutement et donc le maintien de l’abondance de leurs populations. Or, la construction de ports entrain irrémédiablement une perte de fonction pour les habitats côtiers impactés. Dans ce contexte,l’objectif général de cette thèse était de voir si les zones portuaires peuvent malgré tout servir de nourriceries alternatives pour les poissons marins côtiers. Pour cela, les abondances des juvéniles de quatre espèces de sars, du genre Diplodus, ont d’abord été suivies dans cinq ports méditerranéens. Ceci a permis de montrer que ces espèces côtières peuvent s’installer et grandir avec succès dans les ports. La complexification de la structure 3D de l’habitat augmente sensiblement les abondances de juvéniles. Dans un second temps, la croissance, la condition et les niveaux de contamination desjuvéniles de deux espèces de sars (D. sargus et D. vulgaris) ont été comparés entre différents ports et habitats naturels de la rade de Toulon. Ceci a montré que la croissance et la condition des juvéniles peut être équivalente dans certains ports et dans les zones naturelles adjacentes, avec des niveaux de contamination faibles, même dans les zones les plus polluées. Enfin, la composition multi- élémentaire des otolithes des juvéniles de D. sargus et D. vulgaris a été comparée entre trois ports et deux zones naturelles de la rade de Toulon. Aucun élément chimique lié aux activités portuaires n’aété retrouvé en plus forte concentration dans les otolithes des juvéniles issus des ports. Il n’existe donc pas une signature unique caractéristique de l’ensemble des ports. La composition chimique des otolithes peut néanmoins être utilisée pour étudier la contribution relative des ports aux stocks d’adultes à condition de caractériser la signature de l’ensemble des habitats juvéniles potentiels. L’ensemble des résultats acquis indiquent que les ports peuvent être utilisés comme nourriceries alternatives par plusieurs espèces de poissons marins côtiers. Les projets d’ingénierie écologiquevisant à augmenter la complexité structurale des habitats portuaires sont des pistes intéressantes pour maintenir la biodiversité côtières et les stocks de poissons
During their life cycle, most of the marine coastal fish species use nursery grounds which quality influence their recruitment and then the conservation of their populations. However, the construction of ports impair irremediably fish nursery function of the coastal areas impacted. The ultimate aim of the PhD research was to assess if ports could provide suitable alternative nursery habitats for coastal fish species. Firstly, abundances of the juveniles of four Diplodus species were surveyed in five marinas located along the French Mediterranean coast. This showed that coastal fishes can successfully settle and grow inside these artificialized coastal areas. Moreover, increasing the complexity of port habitats can considerably enhance their suitability for juveniles, especially at the youngest stages. Secondly, body condition, growth rate and metal contamination in the juveniles of two Diplodus species (D. sargus and D. vulgaris) were compared between different ports and natural areas in the Bay of Toulon. Juvenile growth and condition can be equivalent between fish collected from ports and from adjacent natural areas. Contamination levels in fish were low, even in highly polluted areas. Finally, otolith composition in the juveniles of D. sargus and D. vulgaris was investigated in three ports and two natural areas in the Bay of Toulon. None of the port related had systematically higher concentrations in otoliths from Diplodus juveniles collected in ports. Therefore, otolith microchemistry cannot provide a unique and reliable fingerprint discriminating ports and natural areas. Nevertheless, otolith microchemistry could provide an effective natural tag to determine the contribution of ports to adult stocks provided that a library of all potential juvenile habitat fingerprints is established. All these results confirm that ports can be used as alternative nursery habitats by marine coastal fishes. Ecological engineering projects aiming at increasing structural complexity of port habitats seem promising for biodiversity and fish stock conservation

Le développement côtier introduit des habitats artificiels qui impactent la biodiversité et le fonctionnement des écosystèmes. Les solutions d'ingénierie écologique, comme les habitats artificiels à poissons (HAP), peuvent réhabiliter des zones très modifiées, comme les ports, en offrant un abri aux poissons. Les HAP peuvent aussi fournir un substrat aux invertébrés et aux macroalgues, améliorant le fonctionnement de l'écosystème. Leurs effets pourraient aller au-delà des ports et modifier les échanges trophiques avec les habitats adjacents. Cette thèse étudie la biodiversité des invertébrés associés aux HAP et explore les échanges de biomasse entre les ports et les herbiers de Posidonia oceanica adjacents le long de la côte méditerranéenne française.Les objectifs sont : (1) évaluer comment la diversité et la composition des invertébrés benthiques varient avec le temps d'immersion des HAP, (2) comprendre comment les types d'HAP et le contexte environnemental modifient les assemblages benthiques, et (3) explorer les échanges de matière organique entre les ports et les herbiers adjacents. J'ai étudié les HAP Biohut® (ECOCEAN), composés d'une cage métallique remplie de coquilles d'huîtres, attachés aux quais ou sous les pontons dans les ports.Au chapitre 1, j'ai examiné le rôle du temps d'immersion des HAP sur la diversité et la composition des assemblages d'invertébrés dans 3 ports commerciaux. Des variations dans la composition des invertébrés ont été observées entre 6 et 18 mois d'immersion, avec une augmentation de l'abondance, de la richesse et de l'équitabilité au fil du temps. Au chapitre 2, j'ai étudié les variations géographiques et intra-portuaires de la composition et de la diversité des invertébrés. L'étude a révélé des différences dans la composition des taxons entre 2 régions caractérisées par des apports en nutriments différents et des corrélations entre la composition des assemblages et la chlorophylle-a, indicateur de la concentration en nutriments. Les assemblages d'invertébrés variaient aussi selon les zones où les HAP étaient installés, probablement à cause de différences d'accès à la lumière. Au chapitre 3, j'ai étudié la connectivité trophique entre les herbiers de P. oceanica et les ports adjacents sur 4 sites : 2 avec des ports équipés en HAP et 2 non équipés. Dans les sites non équipés, les valeurs δ15N de la matière organique particulaire à l'intérieur du port étaient les plus élevées, suggérant un enrichissement en nutriments d'origine humaine. Ces valeurs diminuaient dans les herbiers selon la distance, indiquant un effet de ces nutriments sur l'herbier proche de l'entrée du port. Les poissons (Diplodus spp.) pouvaient utiliser des ressources venant à la fois de l'herbier et du port de manière similaire sur les 4 sites. Les niches trophiques des poissons capturés dans le port équipé étaient légèrement plus grandes que celles des ports non équipés et se chevauchaient moins avec celles des poissons capturés à l'extérieur. Leurs fèces faisaient également partie de la matière organique sédimentaires des herbiers. Au chapitre 4, j'ai présenté des projets développés avec d'autres scientifiques sur la diversité fonctionnelle des espèces et les relations trophiques dans les HAP, des mesures bioacoustiques sur les AFH et une comparaison de la biodiversité entre les ports et les réserves marines à l'aide d'ADN environnemental.Mon travail a révélé des aspects susceptibles d'améliorer l'utilisation des HAP. La durée d'immersion, les conditions environnementales et les emplacements dans les ports doivent faire l'objet d'une attention particulière. Bien que je n'aie pas trouvé de différences claires dans les échanges entre habitats liés aux HAP, ces derniers semblent jouer un rôle en réduisant l'enrichissement en nutriments. L'importance des poissons dans les échanges entre habitats et le fait que les HAP favorisent leur survie suggèrent que ces HAP pourraient contribuer indirectement à la connectivité trophique
Coastal development modifies shorelines by introducing man-made habitats, which significantly impact coastal biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Ecological engineering solutions, such as artificial fish habitats (AFH), can help rehabilitate extremely modified areas, including ports, by offering shelter for fish. As a side effect, AFH provide a substrate to benthic invertebrates and macroalgae, that could improve ecosystem functioning. The effects of AFH may also extend beyond ports and modify trophic exchange with adjacent habitats via fish feeding hydrodynamics. This thesis investigates the patterns of distribution of invertebrate biodiversity associated with AFH and explores the exchange of biomass between marinas and adjacent Posidonia oceanica meadows along the French Mediterranean coast where these habitats are often adjacent.The objectives are: (1) evaluating how taxonomic diversity and composition of benthic invertebrates vary with AFH immersion time, (2) understanding how AFH types and environmental context modify benthic assemblages, and (3) exploring the exchanges of organic matter between marinas and adjacent meadows. I focused on Biohut® AFH (ECOCEAN), made of a metal cage filled with oyster shells, attached to docks or under pontoons in harbours and marinas.In chapter 1, I examined the role of immersion time in determining the diversity and composition of invertebrate assemblages colonising AFH in 3 commercial harbours. The findings indicated significant variations in invertebrate composition from 6 to 18 months, with increased abundance, taxonomic richness, and evenness over time. In chapter 2, I focused on the geographical and within-port variability in taxonomic composition and diversity of invertebrates dwelling in AFH. The study revealed differences in taxa composition between 2 large regions, characterised by different nutrient loads and correlations between assemblage composition and chlorophyll-a, a proxy for nutrient concentration. The number of taxa was the highest in the nutrient-enriched region. Additionally, invertebrate assemblages varied according to port habitats where the AFH were placed, possibly due to differences in light availability. In chapter 3, I investigated trophic connectivity between P. oceanica meadows and adjacent marinas at 4 sites where both habitats are present. Two marinas were equipped with AFH and the remaining 2 were not. At the unequipped sites, the δ15N values of the particulate organic matter within the marina were the highest indicating human-derived nutrient enrichment. The values decreased within the meadow, gradually according to the distance. This suggests a spill of nutrients over the portion of the meadow adjacent to the inlet. Fish relied on resources from both the seagrass meadow and the marina, similarly among the 4 sites, however, the trophic niches of fishes (Diplodus spp.) captured within the equipped marina were slightly larger than those within unequipped ones and overlapped less with the trophic niches of the fish captured outside. Fish faeces were also part of the organic matter sedimenting within meadows. In chapter 4, I reported initiatives developed with other scientists. They include species functional diversity and trophic relations within AFH, acoustic signatures of organisms dwelling in AFH and biodiversity comparison between ports and marine reserves using environmental DNA.My work has highlighted several aspects that could improve the effectiveness of AFH as ecological engineering solutions. Immersion time, local environmental conditions, and specific locations within ports need particular attention. Although I did not find clear differences in cross-habitat exchange related to AFH, they seemed to play a role in reducing nutrient enrichment. Moreover, since fish play an important role in cross-habitat exchanges and find refuge within AFH, this ecological engineering solution could indirectly contribute to change trophic connectivity

Connectivity, defined as the movement of individuals among populations or habitats, is a crucial ecological process that underpins the function of ecosystems. Animal movements promote a wide array of ecological outcomes, from genetic diversity to ecosystem recovery after disturbance. Therefore, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of the capabilities, scale, frequency, and locations of animal movements. In aquatic ecosystems, obtaining and analysing movement data is challenging because constantly changing environmental conditions hamper the use of traditional frameworks and methods. The study of animal movement in dynamic aquatic ecosystems also requires large volumes of data because animal movements cover different magnitudes, directions, and spatial levels of ecological organisation. As a result, new data collection and processing technologies are being developed to increase our understanding of this complex ecological process. Among new technologies, computer vision, machine learning and deep learning have received increased attention for their robust capabilities for rapidly processing large volumes of underwater imagery. Computer vision (CV) techniques are particularly suited to animal movement research because they can capture and process large amounts of raw data from underwater imagery. Despite their potential, CV techniques are only now beginning to be assessed in studies of aquatic animal movement, and their integration with appropriate statistical frameworks for behavioural analyses is required. In this thesis, I aim to identify, develop and apply CV techniques to measure animal movement in aquatic ecosystems. The focus is on measuring fish movements in connectivity corridors in estuarine systems. Fish movement research provides fundamental information about fisheries stocks, the status of protected areas, and the impact of habitat loss. Connectivity corridors are hotspots of fish migration, colonisation, feeding and reproduction. Yet much of fish behaviour in aquatic ecosystems remains hard to observe and timeconsuming to document manually. Connectivity corridors are a challenging but useful case study to test novel computer vision techniques for tracking fish. I first explored the current uses of CV techniques in fish movement studies and identified the benefits of CV for fish movement research. While the uptake of CV in fish movement studies has been slow, CV techniques provide two key benefits: 1) rapid, accurate and reliable datasets and 2) complementary information with traditional data collection techniques. Then, I developed a CV pipeline that automatically detects and tracks fish from underwater imagery. The pipeline has an 84% accuracy at detecting and subsequently tracking fish and provides large, raw movement datasets useful for ecological insight. To translate the raw movement data into behavioural events, I developed a new methodology for applying structural equation models to infer latent behavioural states of fish from observations of behavioural indicators. The statistical models accurately predicted behavioural events such as foraging (a slow, sinuous movement near the substrate) and fine-scale migrations (a fast, directional movement near the surface). Finally, I applied the CV pipeline to study the fine-scale movement and predation dynamics of fish at piped weirs in multiple estuaries. I used multi-species occupancy models to characterise fine-scale temporal changes in predator-prey co ccurrence and determined if behavioural differences could be detected at different categories of predator-prey co-occurrences. The fine-scale temporal changes of predator-prey co-occurrence varied among sampling days and locations, but I nevertheless identified that prey exhibited significantly different behaviours that depended on the probability of co-occurring predators. Overall, I bridged the gap between the development and application of new technologies for ecological research. CV can help us improve our understanding of critical interconnections among habitats and help researchers and managers increase data availability into conservation ecology and decision making. CV has the capacity to inform data-driven decisions that directly influence the health and productivity of marine ecosystems.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Environment and Sc
Science, Environment, Engineering and Technology
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Relationships between fish assemblage composition and substrate variation is poorly understood in large rivers. Information on fishes occurrence and behavior and substrate variation were examined in field observations for the Middle Wabash River and fine scale artificial streams experiments. The results from field observations suggested strong concordance for variation in abundance of fishes with habitat variation among sites, resulting in a longitudinal river gradient as dominant in the Middle Wabash River. In addition, shifts in fish behavior within artificial stream experiments demonstrated that species-specific habitat selection behaviors were influenced by interactions within a fish assemblage. The combination of artificial stream experiments and field observations can identify fine scale trends that bioassessment surveys cannot tease apart, and highlighting the need to examine species-habitat relationships at more than one scale.
Department of Biology

The physical shape or structure of a habitat is a key driver of species’ distributions and central to maintaining diversity through ecological niche differentiation. Anthropogenic influences are changing the structure of habitats and the assemblages of associated organisms globally. Understanding the links between the physical shape of habitats and the organisms they support will be essential to predicting and mitigating anthropogenic impacts. In marine ecosystems climate change, bottom trawling and marine infrastructure drive changes to the structure of habitats. While many of the observed and forecast changes to structure are incidental (e.g. loss of coral or addition of shoreline armouring), there are also concerted efforts to create ecologically beneficial structures. Ecologically informed engineering presents an opportunity to augment local ecology through changes to the physical structure of an environment. Yet much of the hard earned knowledge from past studies is not applicable to the design of habitats because structurally vague summary metrics are the standard. This aim of the research described in this study is to improve the mechanistic understanding of fish responses to structure, both natural and man-made, providing advice for the creation of future habitat and insight into the underlying ecological processes. These improvements in understanding the mechanistic relationships between fish distribution and habitat structural complexity bring us closer to actively managing habitats in the Anthropocene. By creating links between the metrics used for measuring habitat complexity and those used to create it, this thesis paves the way for further insight into building environments to augment local biota.

There are large gaps in our understanding how fish populations are affected by the anthropogenic noise and the alteration of habitat caused by the construction and operation of offshore wind farms. These issues are of great importance as the construction of offshore wind farms will increase all over the world in the near future. This thesis studies these effects with a focus on fish. The wind turbine foundations function as artificial reefs and are colonized by invertebrates, algae and fish. The epibenthic assemblages are influenced by factors such as hydrographical parameters, time of submergence, distance to natural hard bottom, material and texture (PAPER I, II). Once an epibenthic assemblage has been developed, fish utilize it for different ecosystem services such as food, shelter, and spawning and nursery area. Benthic and semi-pelagic species show a stronger response to the introduced foundation than pelagic species, as it is the bottom habitat that has mainly been altered (PAPER I, II). Pelagic species could be positively affected by the increased food availability - but it takes time and the effect is local. Construction noise like pile driving creates high levels of sound pressure and acoustic particle motion in the water and seabed. This noise induces behavioural reactions in cod (Gadus morhua) and sole (Solea solea). These reactions could occur up to tens of kilometres distance from the source (PAPER III). During power production, the wind turbines generate a broadband noise with a few dominating tones (PAPER IV, V), which are detectable by sound pressure sensitive fish at a distance of several kilometres even though intense shipping occurs in the area. Motion sensitive species will only detect the turbine noise at around a ten meter distance. Sound levels are only high enough to possibly cause a behavioural reaction within meters from a turbine (PAPER IV, V).
At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3, 4 and 5: Manuscripts.

A wave energy park has been established on the Swedish west coast outside Lysekil and pioneer work about its interactions with the marine environment has been conducted. So far, little is known about the effects of offshore energy installations on the marine environment, and this thesis assists in minimizing environmental risks as well as in enhancing potential positive effects on the marine environment. The Lysekil research site is situated about two kilometres offshore and has been under development since 2005. During this time 26 “environmental devices”, without generators, consisting of a steel buoy attached via a wire to a foundation on 25 m depth have been placed out for ecological studies on macrofauna in surrounding sediments and on colonization of the foundations and the buoys. Sediment samples to examine macrofauna in the seabed have been taken during five seasons. Biomass, abundance and diversity of infauna in the test site were generally low, but higher than in a nearby control site. The species composition was typical for the area and depth. In addition to sediment analysis, the effect of wave power concrete foundations on the marine environment has been investigated by scuba diving. The surface orientation and its effect on colonization by sessile organisms was examined on the first five foundations, placed out in 2005, and observations of habitat use by fish and crustaceans were made. The results show a succession of colonization over time (three years of investigation) with a higher cover by sessile organisms on vertical surfaces. Mobile fauna abundance on and around the foundations was generally low. Three months after the deployment of the 21 new foundations in 2007, assemblages of mobile organisms were examined visually. Also here, mobile species exhibit a low density, but still higher than on surrounding soft bottoms. The edible crab used artificial holes in the foundations frequently. The foundations were placed in two different clusters, north and south, and the degree to which early recruits covered the foundations and the succession of epibenthic communities were documented during two years. Sessile organisms colonized the northern foundations more rapidly, producing a higher diversity which suggests that the placement of wave energy devices affects colonization patterns. Biofouling on buoys was examined and blue mussels, Mytilus edulis, dominated with a cover about 90%. Wave exposed buoys were particularly favoured by M. edulis which there had a higher biomass and larger shells compared to those on sheltered buoys. Biofouling on wave power buoys, independent whether these had a cylindrical or toroidal shape, was insufficient to markedly affect their energy production. Finally, the thesis incorporates a review describing wave power projects in general pointing out the need of future research on for instance no-take zones, marine bioacoustics and electromagnetic fields. The main conclusions are that large-scale renewable wave energy conversion will cause ecological impact primarily by adding new hard substrate to an area but not by harming organisms or decreasing biodiversity within wave power parks.

RESUMEN Los peces nativos son indicadores de la salud de los ecosistemas acuáticos, y se han convertido en un elemento de calidad clave para evaluar el estado ecológico de los ríos. La comprensión de los factores que afectan a las especies nativas de peces es importante para la gestión y conservación de los ecosistemas acuáticos. El objetivo general de esta tesis es analizar las relaciones entre variables biológicas y de hábitat (incluyendo la conectividad) a través de una variedad de escalas espaciales en los ríos Mediterráneos, con el desarrollo de herramientas de modelación para apoyar la toma de decisiones en la restauración de ríos. Esta tesis se compone de cuatro artículos. El primero tiene como objetivos modelar la relación entre un conjunto de variables ambientales y la riqueza de especies nativas (NFSR), y evaluar la eficacia de potenciales acciones de restauración para mejorar la NFSR en la cuenca del río Júcar. Para ello se aplicó un enfoque de modelación de red neuronal artificial (ANN), utilizando en la fase de entrenamiento el algoritmo Levenberg-Marquardt. Se aplicó el método de las derivadas parciales para determinar la importancia relativa de las variables ambientales. Según los resultados, el modelo de ANN combina variables que describen la calidad de ribera, la calidad del agua y el hábitat físico, y ayudó a identificar los principales factores que condicionan el patrón de distribución de la NFSR en los ríos Mediterráneos. En la segunda parte del estudio, el modelo fue utilizado para evaluar la eficacia de dos acciones de restauración en el río Júcar: la eliminación de dos azudes abandonados, con el consiguiente incremento de la proporción de corrientes. Estas simulaciones indican que la riqueza aumenta con el incremento de la longitud libre de barreras artificiales y la proporción del mesohabitat de corriente, y demostró la utilidad de las ANN como una poderosa herramienta para apoyar la toma de decisiones en el manejo y restauración ecológica de los ríos Mediterráneos. El segundo artículo tiene como objetivo determinar la importancia relativa de los dos principales factores que controlan la reducción de la riqueza de peces (NFSR), es decir, las interacciones entre las especies acuáticas, variables del hábitat (incluyendo la conectividad fluvial) y biológicas (incluidas las especies invasoras) en los ríos Júcar, Cabriel y Turia. Con este fin, tres modelos de ANN fueron analizados: el primero fue construido solamente con variables biológicas, el segundo se construyó únicamente con variables de hábitat y el tercero con la combinación de estos dos grupos de variables. Los resultados muestran que las variables de hábitat son los ¿drivers¿ más importantes para la distribución de NFSR, y demuestran la importancia ecológica de los modelos desarrollados. Los resultados de este estudio destacan la necesidad de proponer medidas de mitigación relacionadas con la mejora del hábitat (incluyendo la variabilidad de caudales en el río) como medida para conservar y restaurar los ríos Mediterráneos. El tercer artículo busca comparar la fiabilidad y relevancia ecológica de dos modelos predictivos de NFSR, basados en redes neuronales artificiales (ANN) y random forests (RF). La relevancia de las variables seleccionadas por cada modelo se evaluó a partir del conocimiento ecológico y apoyado por otras investigaciones. Los dos modelos fueron desarrollados utilizando validación cruzada k-fold y su desempeño fue evaluado a través de tres índices: el coeficiente de determinación (R2 ), el error cuadrático medio (MSE) y el coeficiente de determinación ajustado (R2 adj). Según los resultados, RF obtuvo el mejor desempeño en entrenamiento. Pero, el procedimiento de validación cruzada reveló que ambas técnicas generaron resultados similares (R2 = 68% para RF y R2 = 66% para ANN). La comparación de diferentes métodos de machine learning es muy útil para el análisis crítico de los resultados obtenidos a través de los modelos. El cuarto artículo tiene como objetivo evaluar la capacidad de las ANN para identificar los factores que afectan a la densidad y la presencia/ausencia de Luciobarbus guiraonis en la demarcación hidrográfica del Júcar. Se utilizó una red neuronal artificial multicapa de tipo feedforward (ANN) para representar relaciones no lineales entre descriptores de L. guiraonis con variables biológicas y de hábitat. El poder predictivo de los modelos se evaluó con base en el índice Kappa (k), la proporción de casos correctamente clasificados (CCI) y el área bajo la curva (AUC) característica operativa del receptor (ROC). La presencia/ausencia de L. guiraonis fue bien predicha por el modelo ANN (CCI = 87%, AUC = 0.85 y k = 0.66). La predicción de la densidad fue moderada (CCI = 62%, AUC = 0.71 y k = 0.43). Las variables más importantes que describen la presencia/ausencia fueron: radiación solar, área de drenaje y la proporción de especies exóticas de peces con un peso relativo del 27.8%, 24.53% y 13.60% respectivamente. En el modelo de densidad, las variables más importantes fueron el coeficiente de variación de los caudales medios anuales con una importancia relativa del 50.5% y la proporción de especies exóticas de peces con el 24.4%. Los modelos proporcionan información importante acerca de la relación de L. guiraonis con variables bióticas y de hábitat, este nuevo conocimiento podría utilizarse para apoyar futuros estudios y para contribuir en la toma de decisiones para la conservación y manejo de especies en los en los ríos Júcar, Cabriel y Turia.
Olaya Marín, EJ. (2013). Ecological models at fish community and species level to support effective river restoration [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/28853
TESIS

Negli ultimi venti anni l’uso di metodi basati sull’intelligenza artificiale per la costruzione di modelli in ecologia si è diffuso e sviluppato grazie alla capacità di questi metodi di dar luogo, in base ad opportuni algoritmi di apprendimento e alle informazioni contenute nei dati (quindi empiricamente), a rappresentazioni dei sistemi ecologici che spesso sono più efficaci rispetto a quelle fornite dai metodi tradizionali (basati su indici o sulla statistica multivariata). Lo scopo principale di questo lavoro è stato un esame sperimentale di cinque ipotesi circa altrettante potenziali strategie di ottimizzazione di modelli costituiti da reti neurali artificiali supervisionate (percettroni) che ricostruiscono le relazioni tra componenti abiotiche (descrittori ambientali) e biotiche (presenza di specie all’interno di popolamenti ittici) in ecosistemi fluviali. I temi toccati hanno riguardato la previsione di variabili binarie (presenza/assenza delle specie), le variazioni di performance in funzione della soglia di discretizzazione dell’output, la previsione di specie rare, la previsione di specie singole o di gruppi di specie, la pre-elaborazione dei dati con particolare riferimento al partizionamento richiesto dalla tecnica dell’early stopping. I risultati dimostrano l’interesse pratico e teorico di lavorare con modelli predittivi di questo tipo, sia per l’efficacia dei modelli costruiti, che per la possibilità di suggerire nuove idee alla ricerca ecologica. Al di là dell’analisi delle ipotesi studiate, il lavoro ha prodotto un metodo e uno strumento informatico che possono essere riutilizzati per testare altre strategie di ottimizzazione e per operare con diversi data set.
The use of artificial intelligence methods for ecosystems modeling has had a considerable development in the last 20 years, due to their specific ability, in several conditions and once supported by suitable “learning” algorithms, to build from the data more effective representations of ecological systems than traditional methods (based on indexes or multivariate statistics). The main purpose of this work was an experimental examination of five hypotheses about as many potential strategies for the optimization of supervised artificial neural networks (perceptrons) which reconstruct the relations between the abiotic (environmental variables) and biological components (presence values of the species within fish assemblages) in river ecosystems. The themes we dealt with included the prevision of binary variables (species presence/absence), the variation of the performance as a function of the output discretization threshold, the prevision of rare species, the prevision of single species or group of species, data pre-processing and specifically the partitioning required by the early stopping technique. The results prove the practical and theoretical interest in working with predictive models, for both the effectiveness of the models and the possibility of giving hints to ecological research. Beyond the hypotheses studied here, the work produced a method and a computer tool that can test other optimization strategies and operate with different data set.

Grunts (Haemulidae: Percoidei) represent one of the most abundant and speciose families on western North Atlantic coral reefs including 15 diverse species from the genus Haemulon. For this dissertation focusing on Haemulon, three studies were conducted to examine 1) spatio-temporal distributions of early-life stage (newly settled and early juvenile) individuals throughout the southeast mainland Florida reefscape, 2) species-specific, depth-variable distributional patterns of newly settled individuals and the potential influence of predation on the observed patterns, and 3) the effects of burying nearshore hardbottom settlement habitat and the efficacy of mitigating for the lost habitat using limestone boulder reefs. The combined results of the studies suggest that newly settled Haemulon spp. utilize shallow reef habitats (highest densities on nearshore hardbottom) with peak abundances in summer months. While newly settled individuals were never observed on natural reef habitats below 12 m depth, studies using artificial reefs (ARs) showed that new settlers were commonly recorded at depths of 21 m. Species-specific patterns of new settler depth utilization were found when replicate ARs at three sites (8 m, 12 m, and 21 m depth) were examined. Of the three most abundant species collected during fortnightly sampling of ARs, newly settled H. flavolineatum and H. aurolineatum were found at all three sites while H. striatum was found almost exclusively at the 21-m site. Comparison of caged and noncaged ARs allowed for inferences to be made regarding depth-variable predation pressure on newly settled Haemulon spp. Results (based on delta density differences between caged and noncaged ARs at each site) suggest lower predation pressure at the 8-m site, relative to the 12-m and 21-m sites. Depth-variable predation pressure may, in part, explain the distributional patterns exhibited by newly settled Haemulon spp. on the natural reef. I examined annual change in early-stage Haemulon spp. populations on nearshore hardbottom (NHB) to assess the impact of habitat burial caused by a large-scale beach nourishment. Newly settled Haemulon spp. represented the most abundant fish taxa on NHB. Populations of this life-history stage exhibited high variability among annual surveys and no direct effect of NHB burial was detected. In contrast, early juvenile individuals showed a significant decline during the annual survey corresponding with the timing of the beach construction (burial of NHB habitat). Furthermore, the beach-nourishment activities altered the entire fish assemblage structure of the NHB adjacent to the beach fill area. This change in the NHB fish assemblage structure had not returned to pre-impact conditions three years after the conclusion of the nourishment. Limestone boulder reefs deployed to mitigate for buried habitat exhibited lower newly settled Haemulon spp. abundance than NHB. Contrastingly, early juvenile abundance was higher on the boulder reefs than on the NHB. Fish assemblage structure on the boulder reefs differed substantially from the NHB for which it was intended to resemble; with more mid- and large-bodied predators present on the boulder reefs. The results suggest mitigation boulder reefs did not provide equitable settlement habitat for Haemulon spp. Based on the combined results of this dissertation, it appears that shallow reef habitats (especially NHB) represent important settlement habitat for Haemulon spp. by providing spatial refuge from predators, which were more prevalent at deeper sites. Although burial did not appear to directly cause changes to newly settled Haemulon spp. populations on the NHB, fish assemblage structure was altered. Changes in species composition and abundance can have unforeseen ecological consequences for future Haemulon spp. populations. Relative to other reef habitats, the high densities of new settlers supported by the NHB suggests this unique habitat deserves protection from future nthropogenic impacts.

Tese de doutoramento em Biologia (Biologia Marinha e Aquacultura), apresentada à Universidade de Lisboa através da Faculdade de Ciências, 2008
This study concentrates on fish species associated to rocky inshore reefs of thesouth coast of Madeira Island in order to obtain base-line data on the structure of thefish assemblages inhabiting the very limited shallow coastal habitats surroundingMadeira Island. The faunistic features of the local fish communities were defined interms of species richness and composition; abundance; trophic, spatial and demographicstructure; and seasonal changes relating to type of substrate, depth, seasons andlocations. Three visual-census methods commonly used in similar studies performedelsewhere (transect, point-count PC and visual fast count - VFC) were used for fishassessment with further comparison and evaluation of efficiency and performance foreach of them and other methods. I determined the extent to which Garajau MarineReserve (GMR) protected different assemblages of reef fishes, the effects of riprapalong the shore of the island as fish habitat, and how protection and artificial substatecan be used in the management of inshore fish resources of Madeira Island. Censuses were seasonally conducted (three times/season) during a two-yearperiod from Spring 2002 to Spring 2004 in three locations on the south coast of MadeiraIsland, including a marine protected area (GMR), a natural non-protected area (Caniçal) and an artificial non-protected area (riprap of Madeira airport). Methods comparison showed that the total number of species recorded by theVFC was always higher than PC and transects methods in all locations, including allbottoms types and both depth; however the use of standard methods such as transect orpoint count are valuable for obtaining fish densities estimates and should be used in a future monitoring program. Diurnally active fishes (61 taxa), belonging to 33 families were recorded. Mostof the families were represented by a single species and five families included about80% of the total of species observed. Considering the total number of species andfamilies recorded in this study, the pattern of fish species diversity in Madeira Islandwas relatively low when compared with littoral areas of tropical and subtropical islandsin the Atlantic. This reinforces the statement that fish diversity characteristicallydecreases from tropical to temperate latitudes. The fact that Madeira Island has oceanicand oligotrophic surrounding waters coupled with the nearshore environment alterationsarisen from increased tourism development and the over-exploitation of fishery resources through the use of very destructive fishing practices, as happened in theneighbour Canarian archipelago, can explain the reduced species diversity. From the overall list of species observed, 34 appeared in the entire area of study,revealing high level of similarity in species composition among areas. There was aspecial-temporal dominance of a small group of species, which composed the group ofcommon species, whatever the location or any other factor considered in the samplingdesign. In that group of species were included: Abudefduf luridus, Chromis limbata,Thalassoma pavo, Sphoeroides marmoratus, Sparisoma cretense, as the most commonand abundantly observed. Moreover, the percentage of rare species in the entire area ofstudy was high; 27 species appeared in less than 25% of the visual counts. Depth and season were significant factors affecting species composition andabundance, but reserve designation did not significantly affect total abundance or meannumber of species observed. The present results indicate that species composition andstructure of the fish communities inhabiting the rocky reefs of Madeira Island wereinfluenced by reef type, namely natural vs artificial, and the total number of species andthe abundance of some demersal species observed in the artificial riprap of Madeira airport were less than in the natural locations studied. Total abundance inside the reserve was less than in fished areas, mainly due tothe presence of large schools of pelagic species outside the reserve. Though the resultsof this study showed that temporal trend in species richness was not affected by reserveeffect, the sites examined in GMR have to some extent met the objective of preservingsignificantly higher number of matured-sized fish and thereby showing potentialspawning stock. Additionally, considering just demersal fish abundance, several species,particularly exploited species such as Sparisoma cretense and Mycteroperca fusca, weremore abundant and with higher frequency of occurrence inside the reserve and thedusky grouper, a widely targeted species across its range was exclusively recorded inside the reserve area, but with very low frequency and abundance. Although this study provided base-line data for ecological management purposesit is essential that further quantitative studies be conducted on densities, size structure aswell in settlement and recruitment processes, to fully acknowledge the inshore fish communities inhabiting the island. The paucity of information obtained till date on reef fish communities ofMadeira Island can be highlighted as a failure in the establishment and assessment ofthe effects of human activities on coastal reefs resources. Hence, the combination present results with the existing from few previous works will help understanding of the coastal reefs communities of Madeira Island.
O presente trabalho visou o estudo das comunidades de peixes dos recifesrochosos da costa Sul da Ilha da Madeira com a finalidade de obter dados de referênciasobre a estrutura dos ictiopovoamentos que habitam a estreita faixa rochosa do litoralmadeirense. As comunidades foram caracterizadas em termos de riqueza específica,composição, abundância, estrutura trófica, espacial, demográfica e dinâmica sazonal,considerando os factores profundidade, tipo de substrato e localidade. Utilizaram-se trêsmétodos de contagem visuais (transecto, ponto fixo e visual fast count ),frequentemente utilizados em estudos semelhantes realizados noutras regiões do planeta,mas que aqui foram pela primeira vez aplicados em simultâneo, testando a suaeficiência e desempenho para avaliação das comunidades de peixes existentes, bemcomo uma revisão e actualização acerca deste tipo de metodologias. Avaliou-se o graude protecção das comunidades ictiológicas da Reserva Marinha do Garajau, estimandoos eventuais benefícios das medidas de protecção existentes e investigou-se também ainfluencia de determinadas intervenções humanas como é o caso da implantação deenrocamentos ao longo do litoral madeirense na estrutura das comunidades ictiológicasque estes locais agregam. Pretendeu-se também avaliar e evidenciar uma lista dosmaiores problemas associados à gestão dos recursos ictiológicos costeiros da Ilha daMadeira, identificando os parâmetros mais adequados a serem usados em decorrentesprojectos de monitorização dessas comunidades. O período de amostragem decorreu entre a Primavera de 2002 e a Primavera de 2004, em três localidades da costa Sul da Ilha da Madeira, numa área marinha protegida - Reserva Marinha do Garajau; uma área natural não protegida - Caniçal e uma área costeira submetida a intervenção humana, artificial - o enrocamento do aeroporto da Madeira.
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), (SFRH/BD5307/2001)

碩士
國立成功大學
水利及海洋工程學系
102
Recently, more and more people realize the importance of Ecology. For river restoration, ecological engineering projects that providing more suitable habitats for fish community are being designed. To sustain fish population and maintain biodiversity, understanding the relationship between fish community and physical habitat of rivers plays an important role. This study proposes a simplified method to estimate the mesohabitat composition that would favor members of a given set of fish species. Sampling data were collected form HouKu River and WuGouShui River, Taiwan. Using an autecology matrix to identify the critical environmental factors for fish and fuzzy control theory which including depth and velocity as inputs to classify habitats as shallow pool, shallow riffle, deep pool, and deep riffle. Linear regression (LR) and artificial neural networks (ANNs) were used to run the fish habitat models which are based on fish data, abiotic data and an autecology matrix. The result shows that ANNs is an appropriate tool for modeling the relationship between fish and habitat. The models results constitute a reference condition that can be used to guide stream restoration and ecological engineering decisions aimed at maintaining the natural ecological integrity and diversity of rivers.

Synthetic marine habitats such as artificial reefs (ARs) are deployed to offset marine habitat losses and aid conservation of marine communities, including species at risk. Though environmental benefit is often assumed, AR’s ability to support northern temperate marine fish communities has rarely been tested. The structural orientation and location of a reef can strongly influence biodiversity and productivity of faunal communities inhabiting it. For ARs, understanding how reef characteristics affect species and community composition are key in optimizing their use in conservation initiatives. I used ROV and sonar to survey threatened rockfish (Sebastes spp.) and other groundfish species associated with 18 ARs and natural reefs (NRs) along the northeast Pacific coastal shelf, along the coast of BC, Canada. In my second chapter, I investigate how ARs compare to NRs in achieving conservation objectives as measured by fish abundance and species richness. I found that community composition significantly differed between NRs and ARs. ARs had high variability in rockfish abundance, while NRs consistently supported intermediate rockfish abundances. Groundfish diversity was markedly greater on NRs. Depth and relief significantly explained variability in abundance and species richness. Interestingly, rockfish abundance was negatively associated with proximity to nearest rockfish conservation area. In my third chapter, I assess variation between AR fish communities on six reefs to better understand efficacy of meeting conservation objectives. I quantified structural characteristics of each reef using high-definition sonar data to create three-dimensional models and calculate measurements of reef structure. I also examined the effects of surrounding habitat associated with reef locations. I found that depth, conservation status, rugosity, and reef age significantly explained rockfish abundance. Groundfish species richness was significantly associated with conservation status, relief, reef size, and an interaction between depth and reef age. This research is a first step in proposing underlying mechanisms for differences between fish communities on ARs in BC, and which reef attributes facilitate successful contributions to conservation. Though ARs show promise in the conservation of some threatened species, the maintenance of diverse fish communities may depend on protection of heterogeneous natural reef communities. Given that a critical component of AR success is structure, using three-dimensional technologies can be used as a tool to understand species-habitat association on existing reefs and help predict the success of future reefs.
Graduate

Tese de doutoramento, Ciências do Mar, da Terra e do Ambiente, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, 2016
This multidisciplinary study aimed to assess the impact of artificial reefs (ARs) deployment off Santa Maria (Sal Island), to promote biodiversity and sustainability of the ecotourism in Cape Verde.

Despite being a highly studied carnivore, the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) still offers the opportunity to explore many aspects of its ecology and behaviour that are poorly known or have only been investigated in temperate areas. From April 2007 to October 2010, the OPA research project (Otter Project in Alentejo) was conducted in the south-central Alentejo region of Portugal, in an area of roughly 800 km2. Through the capture and subsequent radio-tracking of 16 wild Lutra lutra individuals (9 males and 7 females) for an average of 139 radio-locations per animal (about 126 days), together with the genotyping of 51 individual otters, the project aimed to provide a set of basic data on the biology and ecology of the species that were missing or limited throughout its extent of occurrence or in the Mediterranean environment. This thesis focus on some of the aspects of the referred project, such as: (1) extent of home ranges (HR) and movement patterns, including their relationships to seasonality and the availability (and its variability) of water resources; (2) genetic spatial structure, dispersal and social interactions; (3) activity rhythms; (4) habitat selection, with particular focus on the modality and frequency of use of reservoirs; (5) testing of a GPS GSM/GPRS telemetry system in riparian habitats and on free-ranging wild otters. Concerning point (1), Network K-function analyses revealed a non-uniform use of home ranges in all monitored individuals of adult size, thus showing fidelity to their annual home range (site fidelity). On average, 49 radio-locations (fixes) (corresponding to approximately 45 days of tracking) were necessary to estimate a stable home range. The estimated average linear extension of home ranges was approximately 16.8 km for females (SE = 2.8) and 38.5 km for males (SE = 2.4), or 22.5 and 92.7 Ha respectively. The maximum extension recorded was 68.1 km (78.6 km including outliers). All individuals had at least one artificial reservoir within their home ranges, representing, on average, 32% of each home range. Several measures of abundance and dispersion of water (which, in turn, also affect the dispersion of aquatic prey) were used in correlation analyses and multiple regression analyses, using Generalized Linear Models (GLM) with the extent of the monitored otters‟ home range as the response variable. The goal was to test the Resource Dispersion Hypothesis (RDH - Macdonald 1983), a hypothesis which predicts, amongst other, the extent of territories in terms of resource dispersion within them. All analyses conducted showed a general influence of abundance and dispersion on otters‟ home range size. However, the response of individuals to changes brought on by the arrival of summer drought was quite diverse. Besides sex and maturity of the animal, it was dependent on the characteristics of the main stream in which it lived and on its space use modality: animals that lived along waterways that have dried up less than the average showed smaller extents of HRs as well as those that consistently used one or a few lentic environments of limited size. Larger extents were usually associated with animals whose HRs were located in areas with high dispersion of water or with individuals which showed a less concentrated use of reservoirs. In general, it appears that the percentage of drought during the dry season determines the minimum HR size (when the otters would tend to enclose within their home ranges patches with a minimum amount of water), while during the wet season – when minimum size is already guaranteed – otters would expand their territories (home ranges) to the surrounding areas, increasing the possibilities of foraging and mating (area-minimizing strategy - Mitchell & Powell 2004, 2007). During a single night (N = 54), otters used on average 3.7 km (SD = 2.9, range: 0 - 14.3) of the annual home range, moving 2 km (SD = 2.8, range: 0 - 22.9) away from the start point of activity (always coinciding with a known resting site) and covering a cumulative distance of 8.2 km (SD = 5.2, range: 0 - 24.2), with a revisiting index ranging from 0 to 4.23 (mean = 2.44, SD = 0.91). Between two fixes of a continuous monitoring session (documented every 15 minutes), the average displacement was 183 m (SD = 355, range 0 - 4271, N = 5609), at an average speed of 712 m/h (SD = 1308; range: 0 - 16325) (N = 5904). All monitored otters (N = 19, including those tagged with GPS harnesses) showed high fidelity to the aquatic habitat, being always located (N = 10286) within a short distance from water (mean = 19 m, SD = 25, range: 0 - 521). Most of the variability observed in movement parameters was caused by interactions between sex, age and season. In particular, adult males were the most mobile category and this was especially true during the wet season, when the greater abundance of water and the return of the hydric connectivity in the previously dried watercourses led to a larger extension in their movements and expansion of home ranges, probably in an attempt to maximize reproductive opportunities. During the wet season movement parameters were generally higher in both sexes, while revisiting rates were higher in the dry season. Correlation analyses performed between movement patterns and variables concerning the dispersion and abundance of water showed that with an increase in the availability of watery sectors the otters increased the amplitude of their movements, reducing their visits to the same portions of their range; on the other side, with a greater fragmentation of the hydrography, indicated by a higher average percentage of dry sites, movements were less extensive and revisits more frequent. Such findings confirm the critical effect that the fragmentation in the availability of the water resource exerts on the biology and behaviour of otters in a Mediterranean environment. Regarding point (2), a mixed approach consisting of genetic techniques and radio-telemetry was used with the following purposes: to verify the existence of a spatial structure in the relationship between individuals of the same population; to investigate the scale of the hypothetical relationship between degree of relatedness and geographic distance; to identify events of dispersal; to verify the hypothesis of a male-biased dispersal in this species; to study the social interactions between monitored individuals. The molecular data refers to DNA extraction from 65 samples of tissue, hair, blood or fresh spraints collected during the project, which led to the genotyping of 51 individuals (28 females and 23 males). These analyses revealed that spatially closer females (N = 286 paired combinations) were more related, while the same cannot be stated for males (N = 224 paired combinations). These patterns are suggestive of male-biased dispersal. Surprisingly, the relationship between geographic distance and relatedness decreased after a threshold of about 30–40 km, suggesting the existence of isolation by distance between individuals of the study population at a fine spatial (and time) scale. The first data on dispersal by this species obtained through radio tracking techniques are presented. These data are the first from a Mediterranean area and are an addition to the only previously reported case on this species (involving a one year old male of a Scottish population marked with radio-active zinc, which dispersed 68 km). Dispersal was detected only in males (N = 4), in a sample of 7 sub-adult individuals monitored; no events of dispersion were documented in either 2 sub-adult females (F6 and F8), nor in one of the males (M4), confirming evidences about male-biased dispersal gathered through molecular analyses. The dispersal distance was on average 20 km (SD = 6), ranging from 10 to 26 km (or 34 ± 9, range: 25 - 47, when expressed as cumulative distance traveled). Possible explanations of the short dispersal distances are discussed. Interestingly, of the 4 sub-adult males of which dispersal was detected, 3 followed the same route and ended up occupying (at different times) almost the same area, although they had potentially available different parts of river catchments and directions. Still regarding the socio-spatial organization of the species, analyses of static and dynamic interactions were performed on individuals with neighbouring or overlapping home ranges. From these analyses, it appears that also in the Mediterranean study area the social organization of the species falls within the classical model of intrasexual territoriality typical of mustelids, with a polygynous breeding system. However, some discrepancies have emerged with regard to what is reported in literature. Contrary to the commonly referred solitary behaviour of the species, monitored otters showed a high degree of overlap in space and time (in some cases even sharing the same diurnal resting sites and even between a male and a female with cubs when the former was known for not being the father). By documenting a large portion of time spent together (not only during matings) by individuals of opposite sex, some flexibility in the social system of this species is highlighted. The evidence gathered confirms the idea that the sociality of a species is complex and variable, and suggests the necessity to undertake further studies on the sociality of the Eurasian otter at the individual level and fine temporal and spatial scale in diverse areas. The otters showed high levels of activity, with 45% of fixes documented as in activity and the remaining 55% at rest and the percentages rosing to 76 and 23, respectively, when considering only night fixes. The activity was, indeed, mainly nocturnal. Among the major determinants of circadian rhythms were foraging strategies (nocturnal hours are believed to present better conditions for catching the two major categories of prey: fish and red swamp crayfish), thermoregulation (to avoid extreme temperatures, both hot and cold), seasonal variability (higher activity during the wet season), age, dispersal events in young males and reproductive status in females. The onset of activity was correlated with sunset time, while the end of activity was less predictable. The hours of greatest activity were concentrated after sunset (from 21:00 to 22:00), in the middle of the night (from 2:00 to 3:00) and before dawn (around 5:00). Multiple regression analyses using generalized linear mixed-effect models (GLMM) showed a combined effect of several weather variables and micro-climatic conditions on nocturnal activity patterns. In particular, among other documented effects, extreme temperatures decrease the probability of finding an otter in activity. The same models, when applied to the width of movement undertaken by the otters, showed the influence of a smaller number of variables. It therefore seems that the decision to be active or not depends much on environmental descriptors, which may in turn regulate the activity rhythms of prey, while the choice to make a substantial move or not is mainly related to intrinsic factors such as sex, age and reproductive requirements. Such choice could also be conditioned by memory/cognitive maps related to resource location, territorial marking needs and interaction with conspecifics. Habitat selection (point 4) was analyzed on a substantial sample of radio-monitored animals through a dual methodological approach, consisting in logistic regression in generalized linear mixed-effect models (GLMM) and the more traditional method of use/availability of Neu et al. (1974). The two methods were applied both on the whole set of fixes and only on the active ones. The final model selected by the GLMM, regarding the probability of an otter visiting a specific sector (100 m) of its home range, seems to indicate that this is influenced by: the distance from the nearest known resting site (with probability decreasing the greater the distance); the type of habitat (water channels were less visited than dams, rivers and ponds), which is in turn dependent on the season (ponds are most visited during the dry season); the presence, during the dry season, of perennial pools; the distance from the site with the highest biomass of the red swamp crayfish (and, as a proxy, also of fish); the distance from the nearest dam (with probability decreasing the greater the distance); the distance from the nearest paved road (there is more chance of a site being visited the further away a road is); and the distance from home range boundaries (the farther from the boundaries, the less likely it is for an otter to visit a site). The probability of otter activity in a particular section within its home range appeared to be influenced by the same factors. However, in this model: the distance from the nearest confluence was also selected (the farther from a confluence site, the lower the probability of selection by an otter during its period of activity); increased activity was associated in decreasing order with ponds, dams and rivers, while in the first model the order was dams, rivers and ponds (it is to be noted that these three habitat types are the most selected in both models). Furthermore, there is a different order in the importance of the variables‟ effects due to slight variations in the estimates of their coefficients and some minor differences in the estimates of the coefficients of the same variables, mainly regarding to the distance from the nearest resting site, which appears greater in the first than in the second model (as expected, since the first also includes fixes during the day, when the otters are on most occasions inactive in their resting sites). All the analyses performed on habitat selection highlight a continuous use of lentic habitats by the otters throughout the year and not just during summer months as previously hypothesized in literature. Reservoirs appear to be selected in particular because of prey abundance (mainly fish, here, on average, more abundant), but, being scarce in terms of cover (therefore shelter availability), they are much less used for resting, for which otters selected streams in the majority of cases. These, however, are also used for foraging, especially for the red swamp crayfish, which is here, on average, more abundant. Ponds are used quite frequently for both activity and rest and they seem to play an important role during cubs‟ raising. The behaviour shown by monitored individuals is consistent with habitat selection already occurring at the landscape scale (second-order selection - Johnson 1980). The selection of streams (in primis) and ponds for resting seems to be due to the high availability of riparian vegetation. Results obtained here therefore highlight the need of a set of habitats for the otter in a Mediterranean context: lentic ones, which serve as main source of water and prey during the extreme summer drought, and lotic ones, richer in riparian vegetation and which therefore provide shelter and conditions for prey resilience in the intermittent isolated pools, confirming what was previously suggested by studies carried out by indirect methods (presence signs‟ surveys). A low-cost GPS GSM-GPRS system (point 5), developed by the Dutch Otterstation Foundation (Netherlands), has been tested in this project for the first time on an otter species (through the use of harnesses). This tool allowed to track animals (N = 6, 711 locations, for a mean period of 9 days and the rate of acquisition of the GPS signal 68.2%) with a high frequency (otherwise impossible based only on man-powered field work) and resulted in a good accuracy level (average error = 8.9 m, SD = 8.5). This experiment was also the first test of a GPS technology in a riparian habitat and on a fresh-water diving animal. The collection of dead animals enabled to expand the sample and to acquire some information on demographic parameters of the studied otter population as well as to perform some morphometric measurements. In particular, the population had a sex ratio of 0.8 males per one female (N = 51), broken down into 39% cubs, 39% adults and 26% sub-adult individuals (N = 40). The estimated average age was 2.2 years (SD = 2.5), with a maximum of 11 years (one female specimen). Death by anthropic causes was noticeable, the major mortality factor being represented by road accidents (62%, N = 24). Mortality events were mainly distributed in the first two months of autumn, after the summer droughts. From the morphometric measurements collected on a sample of 35 animals, the average weight of male individuals was 8.5 kg (SD = 0.9, N = 5) and that of females 6.6 kg (SD = 1.0, N = 10). Average body length was 123.6 cm (SD = 2.6) for males and 111.9 cm (DS = 3.5) for females. Estimates of otter density within individual home ranges of 5 monitored females varied from 0.23 (± 0.05) alle 0.53 (± 0.16) otters per km, depending on whether they are referred to the entire portion of the used water network or only to main rivers respectively. The number of otters captured (N = 47), in particular those equipped with intraperitoneal radio-transmitters (N = 16), together with the long-term average monitoring period per animal (401 days), were higher than those of previous studies of radio tracking of Lutra lutra. This allowed to identify a correct protocol of capture (including the testing of different trapping alarm systems), surgical implant and radio-monitoring of the species, as well as to extend the obtained inferences at a population level. The mixed approach, consisting of radio tracking and molecular techniques, combined with the collection of a fair number of deceased animals in the study area, enabled to gain a wealth of information at the individual level and for a reasonable period of time (about 3 ½ years), covering different aspects of the ecology of a population. The results here provided reveal previously unknown or little known aspects of the eco-ethology of the species, particularly in a Mediterranean environment, such as extents of home-ranges, habitat use and selection, movement and activity patterns, social interactions, dispersal, spatial structure of the relatedness between individuals and density of population. They therefore constitute a source of important information for proper management and conservation of this species in the Portuguese territory (and possibly applicable to other Mediterranean environments). Although the conservation status of otters in Portugal is reassuring, all the evidence collected during this study emphasizes that the Mediterranean populations of this species are subject to significant risks associated with their dependence on water. Different evidence on how the ecology and behaviour of the species are strongly influenced by the climatic characteristics of the Mediterranean environment and the fragmentation and high variability in the availability of the water resource caused by droughts were indeed provided. Such evidence highlight that otters are potentially affected by climate change already in the present and in many aspects of their ecology/behaviour, confirming what was recently suggested for the future distribution of the species through climate simulation models (Cianfrani et al. 2011).