Beetle assemblages in ponds: effects of habitat and site age

Abstract

Summary Water beetle assemblages were sampled in each of 18 freshwater ponds, including 11 recently constructed sites designed to provide mitigation for wetlands destruction elsewhere, and seven older reference sites. There were three objectives: (a) to relate taxon richness and biomass of the beetles to the same properties of the wider aquatic invertebrate community, (b) to evaluate changes in beetle assemblage structure over time, and (c) to determine habitat effects on taxonomic composition, mean body size and trophic guild structure of the beetle assemblage. Forty‐seven beetle genera were identified, representing 77 species. The beetles represented an average of 21.5% of total generic richness, but only 3.7% of total wet biomass of the wider invertebrate community. Of all variables evaluated using canonical correspondence analysis (CCA), site age had the greatest influence on the beetle assemblage. Predatory dytiscids were early colonists at younger sites, while herbivorous curculionids and chrysomelids associated with particular types of vegetation typically occurred in older ponds. Mitigation ponds and reference ponds supported similar numbers of species. Reference sites, however, harboured substantially more unique species found at only a single site within the study area. The presence of fish was also strongly related to beetle assemblage structure. Ponds with few or no fish contained about 3‐fold higher biomass and 3‐fold greater mean wet weight per individual compared to ponds with substantial fish assemblages. Beetle assemblage composition varied among sites and sampling years, but beetle biomass, richness and species composition may be useful tools in evaluating the success of wetland mitigation efforts.

Local and landscape scale determinants of macroinvertebrate assemblages and their conservation value in ponds across an urban land-use gradient

“…They are thus recognised as metacommunities in which the shape of any one local community is contingent upon the relative influence of various factors acting at local and landscape scales (Leibold et al 2004). Several local-scale factors can potentially shape macroinvertebrate assemblages in ponds, including concentrations of macronutrients , pH (Biggs et al 2005), riparian shading (Gee et al 1997;Hassall et al 2011), pond surface area (Bronmark 1985;Heino 2000), habitat complexity (Bronmark 1985;Declerck et al 2005) and fish (Fairchild et al 2000;Scheffer et al 2006). Local factors may combine and interact to shape pond communities; for instance the effect of increased nutrient concentrations on macroinvertebrate richness is likely mediated by the presence of macrophytes (Scheffer et al 1993;Declerck et al 2005).…”

Ecological Drivers of Cladoceran Diversity in the Central European City (Łódź, Poland): Effects of Urbanisation and Size of the Waterbody

“…At a landscape-scale, older ponds appeared to support a greater diversity of species (especially Coleoptera) and number of rare species (Fairchild et al, 2000). However, pond age does not appear to be as important as other variables (Miguel-Chinchilla et al, 2014).…”

“…Fish predation has been identified to significantly reduce invertebrate richness and abundance (Diehl, 1992;Fairchild et al, 2000;Angélibert et al, 2004;Chaichana et al, 2011) although trout (low densities) did not appear to impact invertebrate abundance in Welsh ponds (Gee, 1997). Invertebrate densities in submerged macrophyte beds were not influenced by fish indicating that macrophytes can act as refugia for invertebrate taxa (Gilinsky, 1984;Diehl, 1992).…”

Development of fauna of water beetles (Coleoptera) in waters bodies of a river valley – habitat factors, landscape and geomorphology

“…The local habitat conditions of these varied types of waters have with no doubt a strong impact on the characteristics of the beetle clusters inhabiting them. Such environmental factors as water periodicity, water flow speed, water body size, type of bottom, degree to which they are overgrown with vegetation, are indicated as key factors shaping the faunistic relations of beetles inhabiting the flooded valley of the river Niemen (Pakulnicka and Nowakowski, 2012); this is true also for other types of landscapes with numerous bodies of water (Koch, 1989;Marchese and Ezcurra de Drago, 1992;Winfield Fairchild et al, 2000;Lundkvist et al, 2001;Oertli et al, 2002;Pakulnicka, 2008;Giora, 2014;Pakulnicka et al, 2015a, b).…”

“…Despite this, water environments comprising the cohesive hydrological system may still be distinguished by a certain degree of individualism (Marchese and Ezcurra de Drago, 1992;Pakulnicka and Nowakowski, 2012;Costea et al, 2013;Biesiadka and Pakulnicka, 2004a). These individual features are the result of internal environmental (site) factors, such as type of water body, type of substrate, extent of vegetation, area, age, permanence and water flow speed (Castella et al, 1991;Marchese and Ezcurra de Drago, 1992;Winfield Fairchild et al, 2000;Lundkvist et al, 2001;Oertli et al, 2002;Pakulnicka, 2008;Pakulnicka and Nowakowski, 2012;Pakulnicka et al, 2015a,b).…”