Factors governing macrozoobenthic assemblages in perennial springs in north-western Switzerland

Springs are important freshwater habitats that provide refuge for many rare species. In this study, the fauna and abiotic parameters of 20 perennial springs in north-western Switzerland were investigated. Correlation of abiotic and macrozoobenthos data showed that physicochemical parameters had litt...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Hydrobiologia 2006-09, Vol.568 (1), p.467-475
Main Authors: von Fumetti, S, Nagel, P, Scheifhacken, N, Baltes, B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Aquatic habitats
Biological and medical sciences
fauna
freshwater
Freshwater ecology
Freshwater environments
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
habitats
Macrofauna
Macroinvertebrates
multidimensional scaling
Perennial springs
Physicochemical properties
Rare species
Synecology
Water springs
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Summary:Springs are important freshwater habitats that provide refuge for many rare species. In this study, the fauna and abiotic parameters of 20 perennial springs in north-western Switzerland were investigated. Correlation of abiotic and macrozoobenthos data showed that physicochemical parameters had little impact on macrozoobenthic composition, whereas specific substrate parameters strongly influenced the composition of the macrofauna. Surprisingly, nonmetric multidimensional scaling did not reveal a grouping of springs with similar substrate composition or macrozoobenthic assemblages. However, discharge was identified as the factor significantly determining substrate and the composition of macroinvertebrate assemblages. This justifies the hypothesis that, variation in discharge is the disturbance factor governing the macrofaunal composition temporally and spatially within and between patches.
ISSN:0018-8158
1573-5117
DOI:10.1007/s10750-006-0227-8