Abstract
Stationary water traps were used to sample the aquatic invertebrates from both shallow, drought-sensitive pools and deeper, more permanent pools on blanket bog in the Flow Country, northern Scotland during 1994–1995, an area important for nature conservation. The differences in numbers of invertebrates trapped, and the differences in species composition and abundance of adult aquatic Coleoptera and Hemiptera (the two most abundant groups caught) between these two pool types, and spatially within the deeper pools, were investigated.
Using the same trapping effort, seven times more invertebrates and five times more adult Coleoptera were taken in the deep (A4) pools compared to the shallow (A3) pools, and Hemiptera were almost exclusively trapped in the A4 pools (only 2% of the catch was from A3 pools). DECORANA showed that the Coleoptera species composition of the two pool types was different, although a small overlap existed, presumably because of the proximity of the pool types and of the continuous nature of the variation between them. There was little difference in the numbers taken or species composition of Coleoptera or Hemiptera from the edges or centre of the A4 pools. Smaller Coleoptera species were found in both pool types, although one species was more common in the centre of the larger pools. Larger Coleoptera with a body length of more than 11.6 mm were not found in the A3 pools, only in the deeper A4 type. The A4 pools were found to be more stable seasonally than the shallow pools with respect to invertebrate numbers trapped, and this may be linked to the chance of drying out of the latter in dry periods.
The influence of pool stability (through water level) on invertebrate abundance, development and individual species size is discussed, as is the sampling method used, the significance of the peatland fauna and its importance to breeding bird life associated with peatland pool complexes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Coulson, J. C., L. J. Bauer, J. E. L. Butterfield, I. S. Downie, L. Cranna & C. Smith, 1995. The invertebrate fauna of the northern Scottish Flows in comparison with other peatland communities. In Thompson D. B. A., A. J. Hester & M. B. Usher (eds), Heaths and Moorland: Cultural Landscapes. HMSO, Edinburgh: 74–94.
Crisp, D. T., 1962. Some Corixidae (Hemiptera-Heteroptera) from bog and moorland waters. Trans. Soc. Br. Ent. 15: 21–28.
Downie, I. S., M. J. O'Connell & C. J. Thomas, 1996. Functional needs of peatland animals within SPA's. Report to Scottish Natural Heritage, Edinburgh, 168 pp.
Downie, I. S., G. N. Foster, J. C. Coulson & D. P. Whitfield, in press. The water beetles of Badanloch Bog, Sutherland. Glasgow Nat.
Eyre, M. D., R. Carr, R. P. McBlane & G. N. Foster, 1992. The effects of varying site-water duration on the distribution of water beetles assemblages, adults and larvae (Coleoptera: Haliplidae, Dytiscidae, Hydrophilidae). Arch. Hydrobiol. 124: 281–291.
Fernando, C. H. & D. Galbraith, 1973. Seasonality and dynamics of aquatic insects colonising small habitats. Verh. int. Ver. Limnol. 18: 1564–1575.
Foster G. N., 1986. Surveys of three rare water beetles. Contract Survey 3., Nature Conservancy Council, Peterborough, 28 pp.
Foster, G. N., 1988.Wetland Coleoptera in the Flow Country. Nature Conservancy Council, Peterborough, 15 pp.
Foster G. N., 1995. Evidence for pH insensitivity in some insects inhabiting peat pools in the Loch Fleet catchment. Chem. Ecol. 9: 207–215.
Foster, G. N. & M. G. Spirit, 1986. Oreodytes alpinus new to Britain. Balfour-Browne Newsletter 36: 1–2.
Friday, L. E., 1988. A key to the adults of British water beetles. Field Studies 7: 1–151.
Hill, M. O., 1979. DECORANA: a FORTRAN Program for Detrended Correspondence Analysis and Reciprocal Averaging. Section of Ecology and Systematics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 52 pp.
Hyman P. S. & M. S. Parsons, 1992. A review of the scarce and threatened Coleoptera of Great Britain, Part 1. UK Nature Conservation No. 3., Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough, 484 pp.
Hyman P. S. & M. S. Parsons, 1994. A review of the scarce and threatened Coleoptera of Great Britain, Part 2. UK Nature Conservation No. 12., Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough, 284 pp.
Janson, A., 1996. Heteroptera Nepomorpha, Aquatic Bugs. In Nilsson A. N. (ed.), Aquatic Insects of North Europe. Volume 1: Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Heteroptera, Megaloptera, Neuroptera, Coleoptera, Trichoptera and Lepidoptera. Apollo Books, Denmark: 91–104.
Larson, D. J. & N. L. House, 1990. Insect communities of Newfoundland bog pools with emphasis on the Odonata. Can. Ent. 122: 469–501.
Lindsay, R. A., 1995. Bogs: The ecology, classification and conservation of ombrotrophic mires. Scottish Natural Heritage, Perth, 120 pp.
Lindsay, R. A., D. J. Charman, F. Everingham, R. M. O'Reilly, M. A. Palmer, T. A. Rowell & D. A. Stroud, 1988. The Flow country: The peatlands of Caithness and Sutherland. Nature Conservancy Council, Peterborough, 174 pp.
Lindsay, R. A., J. Riggall & F. H. Burd, 1985. The use of small-scale surface patterns in the classification of British peatlands. Aquilo 21: 69–79.
McCann, A. G. & S. Moran, 1986. Freshwater invertebrates of Caithness. Caithness and Sutherland District Councils, 31 pp.
Nilsson, A. N., 1986. Life cycles and habitats of the Northern European Agabini (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae). Entomol. Basil. 11: 391–417.
Nilsson, A. N. & M. Holmen, 1995. The aquatic Adephaga (Coleoptera) of Fennoscandia and Denmark. II. Dytiscidae. Fauna Entomologia Scandinavica No. 32, Leiden, 192 pp.
Nilsson, A. N. & B. W. Svensson, 1995. Assemblages of dytiscid predators and culicid prey in relation to environmental factors in natural and clear-cut boreal swamp forest pools. Hydrobiologia 308: 183–196.
Oksanen, J. & P. R. Minchin, 1997. Instability of ordination results under changes in input data order: explanations and remedies. J. Veg. Sci. 8: 447–454.
Ribera, I. & A. N. Nilsson, 1995. Morphometric patterns among diving beetles (Coleoptera; Noteridae, Hygrobiidae and Dytiscidae). Can. J. Zool. 73: 2343–2360.
Rodwell, J. S., 1991. British Plant Communities. II: Mires and Heaths. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 628 pp.
Savage, A. A., 1989. Adults of the British Aquatic Hemiptera Heteroptera: A Key with Ecological Notes. Freshwater Biological Association Scientific Publication No. 50, Cumbria, 173 pp.
Schneider, D. W. & T. M. Frost, 1996. Habitat duration and community structure in temporary ponds. J. N. Am. Benthol. Soc. 15: 64–86.
Southwood, T. R. E., 1978. Ecological methods with particular reference to the study of insect populations. 2nd edition. Chapman and Hall, London, 524 pp.
Standen, V., D. Rees & S. D. Twiss, in press. A palmate newt population in acid bog pools in the Sutherland Flows of North Scotland. Glasgow Nat.
Stroud, D. A., T. M. Reed, M. W. Pienkowski & R. A. Lindsay, 1987. Birds, Bogs and Forestry. The Peatlands of Caithness and Sutherland. Nature Conservancy Council, Peterborough, 121 pp.
Williams, D. D., 1996. Environmental constraints in temporary fresh waters and their consequences for the insect fauna. J. N. Am. Benthol. Soc. 15: 634–650.
Williams, D. D., 1997. Temporary ponds and their invertebrate communities. Aquat. Conserv. 7: 105–117.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Downie, I.S., Coulson, J.C., Foster, G.N. et al. Distribution of aquatic macroinvertebrates within peatland pool complexes in the Flow Country, Scotland. Hydrobiologia 377, 95–105 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003267022820
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003267022820