Abstract
The aim of this study was to explore the differences between taxa groups
with different ecological strategies for persistence, regarding their
responses to environmental factors and seasonal variation. We studied
the relationship between the seasonal patterns and habitat attributes of
the Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera (EPT) and the Colepotera,
Heteroptera (CH) assemblages. Sampling was carried out in May, July and
October of 2009. Samples were taken according to the AQEM protocol at 10
stream sections in the Mecsek Mountains. Based on multivariate analyses
(RDA, pRDA), distinctive differences were found between the EPT and the
CH taxa groups regarding their response to local chemical variables and
variables describing the riparian vegetation. The measured
environmental variables had a higher relative influence on the
distribution patterns of EPT and CH assemblages than spatial variation
of species patterns. The physical structure of aquatic habitats,
including the type of bedrock, had greater effects on CH than EPT
patterns, whereas the structure of riparian vegetation was more
important for EPT than CH. Average density and average taxon richness of
EPT were seasonally variable, but CH assemblages were not.
Keywords
aquatic insect assemblages, near-natural headwaters, environmental variables, spatial and seasonal distribution, Partial Redundancy Analysis
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