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Inter- and intra-annual variations of macroinvertebrate assemblages are related to the hydroperiod in Mediterranean temporary ponds

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Abstract

Macroinvertebrate assemblages of 22 temporary ponds with different hydroperiod were sampled monthly during a dry year (2005–2006) and a wet year (2006–2007). Coleopteran and Heteropteran adults were most abundant at the end of the hydroperiod, while Coleopteran larvae, mainly Dytiscidae, were mostly recorded in spring. Macroinvertebrate assemblages differed between study years. The shorter hydroperiod of ponds in the dry year constrained the length of the aquatic period for macroinvertebrates, and three distinct wet phases of community composition could be distinguished: filling phase, aquatic phase and drying phase. In the wet year, with a longer pond hydroperiod, five phases could be identified, with the aquatic phase differentiated into winter, early spring and late spring phases. Dispersers such as Anisops sardeus, Berosus guttalis or Anacaena lutescens were typical during the filling phase and Corixa affinis or Enochrus fuscipennis during the drying phase. The ponds with intermediate hydroperiod showed a similar composition (mainly dispersers) at the beginning and end of their wet period; this is not being seen in early drying or long hydroperiod ponds. A general pattern was detected, with similar variation between both years, which may be associated with the life histories of the macroinvertebrate taxa recorded.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Azahara Gómez Flores, Alexandre Portheault and Carlos Marfil Daza for assistance in fieldwork. We are grateful to David Bilton for identifying Bagous spp. and reviewing the language, and the anonymous referees for comments which have improved the manuscript. We wish to thank the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and EU Feder Funds (CGL2006-04458/BOS and Fellowship grants CSIC-I3P to M.F. and AP-2001-3475 to C.G.-R.) and Junta de Andalucía (Excellence Research Project 932). The fellowship grant to M.F. was funded by European Union Social Fund.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Doñana Biological Station-CSIC, P.O. Box 1056, 41080, Seville, Spain

    Margarita Florencio, Carola Gómez-Rodríguez & Carmen Díaz-Paniagua

  2. Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, University of Seville, P.O. Box 1095, 41080, Seville, Spain

    Laura Serrano

  3. Department of Ecology and Hydrology, University of Murcia, Campus Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain

    Andrés Millán

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  1. Margarita Florencio
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  2. Laura Serrano
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  5. Carmen Díaz-Paniagua
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Correspondence to Margarita Florencio.

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Guest editors: B. Oertli, R. Cereghino, A. Hull & R. Miracle

Pond Conservation: From Science to Practice. 3rd Conference of the European Pond Conservation Network, Valencia, Spain, 14–16 May 2008

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Florencio, M., Serrano, L., Gómez-Rodríguez, C. et al. Inter- and intra-annual variations of macroinvertebrate assemblages are related to the hydroperiod in Mediterranean temporary ponds. Hydrobiologia 634, 167–183 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-009-9897-3

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