Publication details
LIFE CYCLES OF BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATES FROM THE ECOLOGICAL STATUS ASSESSMENT POINT OF VIEW: AN EXAMPLE OF THE EPHEMEROPTERA (INSECTA)
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| Year of publication | 2009 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Citation | |
| Description | There is no doubt that species-traits play a key role in using macroinvertebrates (as well as the whole biota) in ecological status assessment of aquatic habitat in general. While a great attention has been paid to called ecological traits, biological traits including those connected with life cycles (LC) are at present more taken into account with regards to global climate changes. We tried to determine relationships between LC type(s) on one hand and as many as possible abiotic/biotic factors on the other using the example of mayflies (Ephemeroptera), an amphinotic insect order largely employed in bioindication procedure. Based on both literature and fiel data on more than 100 European species, seasonality (non-seasonal vs winter-summer LC), voltinism (uni- vs poly- or semivoltive LC), larval growth (linear vs exponential or combined), diapause (obligatory or facultative) and plasticity (LC fixed or alternative types occur) have been evaluated with regards to both abiotic (geographic latitude, vertical distribution range, water temperature, pH, conductivity and water chemistry, preferred water body size and order, slope, current velocity, substrate roughness and others) and biotic factors (ecological body type and size, feeding type and specialization, fecundity, abundance and density, spatial distribution and others). Generally, abundant and widely distributed (but habitat specialized) species with longer (semivoltine) and fixed LC, linear growth without egg diapause, larger body and higher fecundity are better indicators. |