How wide to cast the net? Cross‐taxon congruence of species richness, community similarity and indicator taxa in ponds

Abstract

1. Broad-scale assessments of biodiversity often rely on the use of surrogate taxa, whose reliability has rarely been tested, particularly in freshwater systems. Here we use data from 46 ponds in two regions of the U.K. to explore the performance of macroinvertebrate taxa as surrogates for the rapid assessment of pond biodiversity. For the four dominant taxonomic groups in these ponds (Chironomidae, Coleoptera, Gastropoda and Trichoptera) we explore cross-taxon species richness relationships in each of the two regions, and also determine the degree of concordance between the different taxa in accurately representing the similarity relationships between pond assemblages. 2. Patterns of cross-taxon congruence in species richness were highly variable among taxa and study sites, making the use of a single taxon as a predictor of overall macroinvertebrate species richness problematic. In contrast, all four taxa show >70% congruence with the pattern of community similarity between sites resulting from the entire macroinvertebrate dataset, this result being consistent within and between regions. Canonical correspondence analysis demonstrated that all taxa were related in a similar manner to measured environmental parameters, meaning that limited additional ecological information is gained by including a wider range of pond taxa in rapid site assessment. 3. Single taxonomic groups can, therefore, perform consistently as indicators of community similarity between ponds, and no one taxon dramatically outperforms any other in this respect. The relative merits of the four focal taxa as surrogates for pond invertebrate assemblage composition are discussed with reference to ease of survey, ease of identification and ecological range occupied. 4. It is suggested that Coleoptera have a number of advantages as a surrogate taxon, being diverse, easily sampled, readily identified, taxonomically stable, ecologically well understood and occurring across a wide spectrum of pond types. They are therefore recommended for use as a focal group in rapid pond biodiversity assessments, employing an approach such as ours, which examines patterns of assemblage similarity, rather than species richness alone.

The response of amphibian communities to fish and habitat features in Mediterranean permanent ponds

“…Where strong positive or negative concordance is found, a taxonomic group may be used as surrogate to indicate patterns of other taxonomic groups (Heino 2010;Paavola et al 2003). In spite of its obvious importance, community concordance has been relatively little studied in pond ecosystems (Bilton et al 2006;Landi et al 2012) and especially between fish and amphibian species.…”

Arthropods as surrogates of diversity at different spatial scales

“…However, the utility of diversity surrogates has been questioned in recent years because correlations of species richness between groups have been found to be highly variable across taxa and regions (e.g., Bilton et al, 2006;Prendergast, 1997). Several studies have suggested that complementary measures, taking other aspects of diversity into account, should be used in order to determine the surrogacy value of a group (Bilton et al, 2006;Su et al, 2004). A recently proposed approach is to look for congruence in community similarity, that is, the similarity in the species composition of the pairs of groups to be compared in different areas (Bilton et al, 2006;Su et al, 2004).…”

“…Several studies have suggested that complementary measures, taking other aspects of diversity into account, should be used in order to determine the surrogacy value of a group (Bilton et al, 2006;Su et al, 2004). A recently proposed approach is to look for congruence in community similarity, that is, the similarity in the species composition of the pairs of groups to be compared in different areas (Bilton et al, 2006;Su et al, 2004).…”

Biodiversity and Conservation of Coastal Lagoons

“…Within this group of organisms are Coleoptera and Hemiptera, two of the most common groups in these environments. Water beetles are generally considered a suitable group to assess the environmental and conservation value of wetland sites and habitats (Bilton et al, 2006;Davis et al, 1987;Eyre & Rushton, 1989;Eyre et al, 1993;Foster, 1987Foster, , 1999Foster et al, 1990;Oertli et al, 2005;Ribera & Foster, 1992;Sánchez-Fernández et al, 2006). The detailed study of the autoecology of aquatic insects, especially water beetles, has revealed the existence of many species with narrow ecological requirements including adaptations to saline environments (Foster, 2000;Greenwood & Wood, 2002).…”