University's Institute of Biodiversity and Environment receives grant for research project on the impact of dams on rivers
The Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge of the Government of Spain grants 300,000 euros to develop this project over the next two and a half years.
FotoCedida
/Francisco Peñas, José Barquín, María Morán, Rafael Miranda, Amaya A. Rodeles, Lide de Izeta, David Galicia and Maite Telletxea.
02 | 08 | 2023
The Institute of Biodiversity and Environment of the University of Navarra has been awarded a project to carry out research on the impact of dams on fish fauna. This grant, awarded by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, will allow the Institute to investigate the conservation of Iberian fish and analyze the impact on these species of the construction or removal of dams in rivers.
The project entitled "Analysis of the ecological connectivity of dams in relation to the conservation status of Iberian fish: a multidisciplinary approach(ConnectFish)" will receive an economic endowment of 300,000 € for the next two and a half years.
The objective of this project is to evaluate the impact that dams cause on the Iberian fish fauna in a multidisciplinary way, and to measure the social perception that citizens have about dams and river restoration. The ultimate goal is to develop a tool to facilitate decision-making on the prioritization and location of future dams or the demolition of existing ones, as indicated by David Galicia, principal investigator of this project.
"The management of the river environment, especially when it comes to assessing the creation or removal of barriers, is a very complex task with a multitude of factors to consider. Through this study, we want to make it easier to incorporate available information on the conservation status of native fish populations and the role that dams play in their spatial dynamics into the management procedure."
The working team is formed by researchers from the Institute of Biodiversity and Environment of the University of Navarra, David Galicia and Ana Villarroya (main responsible), María Casas, Nora Escribano, Rafael Miranda and Juan José Pons. Researchers Amaia Angulo, José Barquin, Alexia María González, María Cristina Morán and Francisco Jesús Peñas from the Institute of Environmental Hydraulics of Cantabria also participate in this project.
Connectfish is supported by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), financed by the European Union - NextGenerationEU.
The Institute of Biodiversity and Environment of the University of Navarra is a research center that aims to respond, based on scientific evidence, to the main environmental challenges facing the world. The Institute is made up of fifty researchers working in four main areas: ecosystem management, anthropogenic impacts, global change and biodiversity, and science communication.