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Ecological quality of small mountainous Mediterranean streams (river type R-M4) and performance of the European intercalibration metrics

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Abstract

Ten small streams of high altitude were assigned to the R-M4 intercalibration river type (small/medium Mediterranean mountainous rivers) and examined to determine their benthic macroinvertebrate fauna, their physicochemical and hydromorphological parameters and their water quality, quarterly for two consecutive years. Physicochemical variables were consistent with the mountainous character of the streams and fluctuated within the European Community legislation limits for drinking water. Benthic macroinvertebrate fauna communities were diverse and sensitive to organic pollution, and samples were grouped by time more strongly than place. Site size and catchment area influenced the macroinvertebrate community more than the rest of the measured abiotic variables. The water quality was good or high, but at the smaller streams its interpretation was affected by summer drought. The water quality boundaries of the Hellenic Evaluation System were harmonised with the water quality boundaries of a European benchmark database, according to the methodology followed by the Mediterranean Intercalibration Group.

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Acknowledgements

Part of this study was funded by the Life Programme (99/ΝΑΤ/GR/006480) entitled “Implementation of management actions for N. Plastira Lake in Greece”. We are grateful to Prof. Prat (University of Barcelona) and Dr. Munné (Catalan Water Agency) for providing us with the Guadalmed database and also to Dr. Munné for his comments on the manuscript. We also wish to thank G. Ilia and the ISRA Institute for their help with the intercalibration procedure and Dr. D. Bobori and M. Katsikatsou for their comments on a previous draft of this manuscript. We also wish to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions to improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Zoology, Department of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Vassilia Artemiadou, Xanthi Statiri & Maria Lazaridou

  2. Development Agency of Karditsa, Allamani and Blatsouka, 43100, Karditsa, Greece

    Theophilos Brouziotis

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  1. Vassilia Artemiadou
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  2. Xanthi Statiri
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  3. Theophilos Brouziotis
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  4. Maria Lazaridou
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Correspondence to Vassilia Artemiadou.

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Handling editor: R. H. Norris

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Artemiadou, V., Statiri, X., Brouziotis, T. et al. Ecological quality of small mountainous Mediterranean streams (river type R-M4) and performance of the European intercalibration metrics. Hydrobiologia 605, 75–88 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-008-9306-3

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