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Habitat characteristics of an alien species Elodea canadensis in Slovenian watercourses

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Abstract

The distribution, abundance and habitat characteristics of an alien species, Elodea canadensis, were surveyed in watercourses in Slovenia. The accompanying plant community was also examined. Distribution and abundance of macrophytes were assessed in reaches of different length, and habitat assessment is based on 12 parameters of the Riparian, Channel, and Environmental (RCE) Inventory. E. canadensis thrived in 132 out of 1,227 reaches examined and in 12 of the 39 watercourses surveyed. It grew in the company of a variety of species, most frequently with different species of Potamogeton. It was rarely found as the prevailing, and never as the only species in any reach. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) of reaches with E. canadensis revealed that the presence of detritus, retention structures and properties of the riparian zone explained most of the variance in community composition. Habitat analysis of well-established stands of E. canadensis showed that its preferred habitats were watercourses flowing through agricultural landscape, with a narrow, more or less disturbed riparian zone, with moderate presence of retention structures, and with sediment that was a mixture of gravel, sand and silt with either coarse or fine organic matter. It was not found in the parts of streams with the most dynamic flow, and was absent from watercourses in the karst region, due to the frequent and extreme water level fluctuations. The alien species E. canadensis did not express its invasive character in heterogeneous watercourses with rich macrophyte communities.

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Acknowledgments

This research was financed by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology of the Republic of Slovenia, through the programmes “Biology of plants” (P1-0212) and “Young researchers” (3311-04-831246). The financial support is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Večna pot 111, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Urška Kuhar, Mateja Germ & Alenka Gaberščik

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  1. Urška Kuhar
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  2. Mateja Germ
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  3. Alenka Gaberščik
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Correspondence to Mateja Germ.

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Guest editors: A. Pieterse, S. Hellsten, J. Newman, J. Caffrey, F. Ecke, T. Ferreira, B. Gopal, J. Haury, G. Janauer, T. Kairesalo, A. Kanninen, K. Karttunen, J. Sarvala, K. Szoszkiewicz, H. Toivonen, L. Triest, P. Uotila and N. Willby / Aquatic Invasions and Relation to Environmental Changes: Proceedings of the 12th International Symposium on Aquatic Weeds, European Weed Research Society

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Kuhar, U., Germ, M. & Gaberščik, A. Habitat characteristics of an alien species Elodea canadensis in Slovenian watercourses. Hydrobiologia 656, 205–212 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0438-x

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