Revue d’Ecologie (Terre et Vie), Vol. 72 (3), 2017 : 314-329

314 ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS INFLUENCING ODONATA COMMUNITIES OF THREE MEDITERRANEAN RIVERS: KEBIR-EAST, SEYBOUSE, AND RHUMEL WADIS, NORTHEASTERN ALGERIA

_ Rivers and their floodplains are characterized by high habitat heterogeneity and biodiversity (Chovanec & Waringer, 2001), but are also among the most threatened ecosystems on Earth (Abell, 2002; Dudgeon et al., 2006). These aquatic ecosystems are increasingly threatened particularly by dam construction, water abstraction, habitat modification, industrial effluents, domestic sewage, invasive species, and agricultural runoff including fertilizers and pesticides (Malmqvist & Rundle, 2002; Samways & Taylor, 2004). North African wadis are generally intermittent rivers and streams that occur in a waterstressed region where the ever-increasing local needs for freshwater are exacerbated by the poor management of this precious resource in the context of climate change that is likely to widen the current water deficit. To educate the public and provide decision-makers and managers with tools they can use in management and conservation policies, there is an urgent need to develop technically easy and low-cost methods for rapid bioassessments and monitoring of the ecological integrity of Mediterranean lotic ecosystems (Oertli, 2008; Simaika & Samways, 2012).