Distribution patterns of aquatic oligochaetes inhabiting watercourses in the Northwestern Iberian Peninsula

Distribution patterns of aquatic oligochaeta assemblages, inhabiting largely unpolluted watercourses, in the Northwestern Iberian Peninsula, and their relationships with chemical and physiographical characteristics were analyzed by means of multivariate analyses. Qualitative and quantitative samples...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Hydrobiologia 1996-10, Vol.334 (1-3), p.73-83
Main Authors: MARTINEZ-ANSEMIL, E, COLLADO, R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Autoecology
Biological and medical sciences
Freshwater
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Oligochaeta
Protozoa. Invertebrata
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Summary:Distribution patterns of aquatic oligochaeta assemblages, inhabiting largely unpolluted watercourses, in the Northwestern Iberian Peninsula, and their relationships with chemical and physiographical characteristics were analyzed by means of multivariate analyses. Qualitative and quantitative samples from 47 stations were obtained seasonally during 1983/84 and 1988/90. The variables included in this study were altitude, order number, distance from the origin, mean width, mean depth, substrate, current velocity, oxygen content, pH, conductivity, alkalinity and concentration of different ions. From a chemical point of view, major changes in the structure of oligochaete assemblages were related to water mineralization. The correlation between faunal distribution and environmental variables showed a great increase when physiographic parameters were included in the analyses. Substrate type and current velocity are the principal variables explaning the community structure.
ISSN:0018-8158
1573-5117
DOI:10.1007/bf00017355