IHCantabria launches RIUCO project to study the role of thermal refuges in mountain river ecosystems

The Environmental Hydraulics Institute of the Universidad de Cantabria (IHCantabria) has initiated the project entitled “The role of thermal refuges in mountain river ecosystems” (RIUCO), a research that seeks to analyze and evaluate the importance of thermal refuges in mountain river ecosystems in order to generate new knowledge and increase the predictive capacity of the effects of global change. The RIUCO project (Reference 3193/2024) is funded by the Organismo Autónomo Parques Nacionales (Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico) and is led by Alexia María González Ferreras, a Ramón y Cajal researcher linked to IHCantabria and expert in fluvial ecology.

Mountain river ecosystems are particularly sensitive to the effects of climate change, including alterations in water temperature, which directly affect ectotherm organisms, such as fish and invertebrates, and the biodiversity they support. In this context, thermal refuges -areas of river ecosystems where thermal conditions are more stable or favorable- are considered strategic areas for the conservation of species in the face of global warming scenarios.

The RIUCO project will be carried out in six mountain National Parks distributed throughout Spain. Through an integrated approach, the research team will collect and analyze environmental and biological data already available, and will apply models to estimate incident light and water temperature in river networks. This information will allow the identification and characterization of thermal refugia through thematic maps and multi-criteria analysis. An analysis of the influence of the current thermal regime and future scenarios on the distribution of aquatic species will also be carried out.

In addition, field experiments will be conducted to study the stability and variability of the thermal regime in springs and rivers and its effect on biological communities. Based on these results, the project will develop proposals for management and conservation measures adapted to the context of global change. All this will be accompanied by a solid communication and knowledge transfer plan, both through scientific publications and dissemination activities aimed at society and managers of natural areas.

The expected impact of the RIUCO project is twofold: on the one hand, it will contribute to improve scientific understanding of the thermal regime of mountain river ecosystems and its relationship with aquatic biodiversity; and on the other hand, it will provide useful tools to design more effective conservation strategies, both in the participating National Parks and in other river ecosystems of similar characteristics at the international level.

With this project, IHCantabria consolidates its role as a reference center in research applied to sustainable water management and adaptation to climate change, while strengthening its commitment to the protection of the most fragile and valuable ecosystems of the territory.