Environmental requirements and heterogeneity of rheophilic fish nursery habitats in European lowland rivers: Current insights and future challenges

Abstract

The large‐scale degradation of riparian ecotones and of the connectivity between rivers and their floodplains has resulted in a drastic decline of rheophilic fish populations in European temperate lowland rivers. Recent river restoration projects have had variable success in effectively restoring these fish populations. Knowledge on nursery habitat requirements is considered essential for effective population restoration. However, a detailed understanding of the role of habitat heterogeneity in young‐of‐the‐year (YOY) fish population development is limited. Therefore, we carried out a synthesis of the available knowledge on nursery habitat requirements of rheophilic fish species found in European temperate lowland rivers (

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