Abstract
Among the mammals within the current extent of the European Union, there are no truly aquatic freshwater species. There are, however, several species that are semi-aquatic and that in one way or the other are associated with or depend on freshwater habitats. There is also one seal species that inhabits brackish waters in the Baltic Sea as well as the freshwater lake Saimaa in Finland.
Sixteen species are defined as being freshwater mammals. All of them are dependent on freshwater habitats, but to different extent. Many of the species have been surveyed in a variety of areas throughout Europe. Commonly, these surveys were aiming at establishing the status of the species itself, not the condition of the habitat the species lives in.
The fact that freshwater mammals are not widely used as indicators for condition today does not mean that they cannot be used at all. However, mammals are more demanding than many other organisms. Good population estimates alone may not be very helpful. You have to know well the biology and ecology of your species to understand what in fact it may indicate.
As most of the species have a wide geographic distribution, their value as indicator may be different in different parts of their range and should be evaluated at a local or regional scale. It is also important to look at populations of the species rather than single individuals. When looking at populations, we should use long-term population dynamics to assess habitat or site condition and not put too much emphasis on single-season or 1-year observations.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bergman A, Bergstrand A, Bignert A (2001) Renal lesions in Baltic grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) and ringed seals (Phoca hispida botnica). Ambio 30:397–409
Carter P, Churchfield S (2006) Distribution and habitat occurrence of water shrews in Great Britain. Environment Agency, Science Report SC010073/SR
Dietz C, von Helversien O, Nill D (2007) Handbuch der Fledermäuse Europas und Nordwestafrikas. Franck-Kosmos, Stuttgart (in German)
Freye H-A (1978) Castor fiber (Linnaeus, 1758) – Europäischer Biber. In: Niethammer J, Krapp F (eds) Handbuch der Säugetiere Europas, vol 1. Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, Wiesbaden, pp 184–200 (in German)
Geiger H, Rudolph, B-U (2004) Wasserfledermaus Myotis daubentonii. In: Meschede A, Rudolph BU (eds) Fledermäuse in Bayern. Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart, pp 127–138 (in German)
Guillén A (1999) Myotis capaccinii (Bonaparte, 1837). In: Mitchell-Jones et al (eds), pp 106–107
IUCN (2007) European mammal assessment. Available at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/conservation/species/ema/ (accessed on 28 December 2008)
Jefferies DJ (ed) (2003) The water vole and mink survey of Britain 1996–1998 with a history of the long-term changes in the status of both species and their causes. The Vincent Wildlife Trust, Ledbury, UK
Juckwer E-A (1990) Galemys pyrenaicus (Geoffroy, 1811) – Pyrenäen-Desman. In: Niethammer J, Krapp F (eds) Handbuch der Säugetiere Europas, vol 3/1. Aula Verlag, Wiesbaden, pp 79–92 (in German)
Mattson M, Helle E (1995) Reproductive recovery and PCBs in Baltic seal populations. Eleventh biennial conference on the biology of marine mammals, 14–18 Dec 1995, Orlando, USA, p 74
Meschede A, Rudolph B-U (2004) Fledermäuse in Bayern, Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart (in German)
Mitchell-Jones AJ, Amori G, Bogdanowicz W, Krystufek B, Reijnders PJH, Spitzenberger F, Stubbe M, Thissen JBM, Vohralik V, Zima J (eds) (1999) The atlas of European mammals. Academic Press, London
Pietsch M (1982) Ondathra zibethicus (Linnaeus, 1766) – Bisamratte, Bisam. In: Niethammer J, Krapp F (eds) Handbuch der Säugetiere Europas, vol 2/1. Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, Wiesbaden, pp 177–192 (in German)
Queiroz AJ (1999) Galemys pyrenaicus (E. Geoffroy, 1811). In: Mitchell-Jones et al (eds), pp. 78–79
Saucy F (1999) Arvicola sapidus (Miller, 1908). In: Mitchell-Jones et al (eds) pp 220–221
Schneider M, Härkönen T, Hemmingsson M, Karlsson M (2009) Åtgärdsprogram för förvaltning av vikare Phoca hispida botnica. Unpublished manuscript (in Swedish with English summary)
Spitzenberger F (1990a) Neomys fodiens (Pennant, 1771) – Wasserspitzmaus. In: Niethammer J, Krapp F (eds) Handbuch der Säugetiere Europas, vol. 3/1. Aula Verlag, Wiesbaden pp 334–374 (in German)
Spitzenberger F (1990b) Neomys anomalus (Cabrera, 1907) – Sumpfspitzmaus. In: Niethammer J, Krapp F (eds) Handbuch der Säugetiere Europas, vol 3/1. Aula Verlag, Wiesbaden pp 317–333 (in German)
Spitzenberger F (1999a) Neomys fodiens (Pennant, 1771). In: Mitchell-Jones et al (eds) pp 60–61
Spitzenberger F (1999b) Neomys anomalus (Cabrera, 1907). In: Mitchell-Jones et al (eds) pp 58–59
Strachan C, Jefferies DJ, Barreto GR, Macdonald DW, Strachan R (1998) The rapid impact of resident American mink on water voles: Case studies from lowland England. In: Dunstone N, Gorman M (eds) Behaviour and ecology of riparian mammals. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 339–357
Sundström T, Olsson C (2005) Västerbottens kustfågelfauna. Länsstyrelsen Västerbotten, Meddelande 4-2005 (in Swedish)
Tattersall F (1999) Castor canadensis (Kuhl, 1820). In: Mitchell-Jones et al (eds), pp 198–199
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to Peter Reynolds for sharing his great experience of surveying otters and water voles and for updating my knowledge of the interactions of otters, American mink and water voles in Britain. Jonas Grahn gave insights into the Swedish system for monitoring within Natura 2000. Clive Hurford gave valuable comments on the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Schneider, M. (2010). Freshwater Mammals as Indicators of Habitat Condition. In: Hurford, C., Schneider, M., Cowx, I. (eds) Conservation Monitoring in Freshwater Habitats. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9278-7_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9278-7_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-9277-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-9278-7
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)