Abstract
Temporary pools are small and shallow freshwater habitats with a recurring dry phase and intermittent stagnant water. They are particularly well represented in semiarid and karstic regions of the world, where they form during the lentic phase of intermittent rivers and streams. Despite the increasing research interest in such habitats, community ecology studies are still rare, and thus far, have mostly focused on the lotic hydrological phase. Mayflies are among the most abundant benthic macroinvertebrates in freshwater ecosystems, showing high sensitivity to habitat degradation, which makes them widely used in bio-monitoring programs. Mayfly taxonomic and functional diversity, as well as their relationship with environmental variables, were investigated in the temporary pools formed during the lentic phase of three karst intermittent rivers in the Mediterranean. Pools were characterized by river-specific species composition. However, mayfly taxonomic and functional diversity metrics were comparable among the pools of the three rivers. They were influenced by distance from the river’s source and physicochemical water properties, particularly water temperature, conductivity, chemical oxygen demand, and nitrate concentration. Those are related to habitat morphology, substrate composition, and the level of anthropogenic impact. Although the investigated small and shallow temporary pools represent rather harsh habitats, they were inhabited by some species rare in Croatian freshwater habitats (Procloeon pennulatum and Nigrobaetis niger). Our findings suggest that the conservation value of Mediterranean intermittent rivers does not rest upon a single hydrological phase, but upon an interchange of different phases.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
Data are available from the corresponding authors upon request.
References
Amoros C, Roux AL, Reygrobellet JL, Bravard JP, Pautou G (1987) A method for applied ecological studies of fluvial hydrosystems. Regul Rivers Res Manag 1:17–36. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrr.3450010104
Baskin Y (1994) California’s ephemeral vernal pools may be a good model for speciation. Bioscience 44:384–385. https://doi.org/10.2307/1312360
Bauernfeind E, Humpesch U (2010) Die Eintagsfliegen Zentraleuropas—Bestimmung und Ökologie. Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria
Bauernfeind E, Moog O (2000) Mayflies (Insecta: Ephemeroptera) and the assessment of ecological integrity: a methodological approach. Hydrobiologia 422:71–83. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017090504518
Bauernfeind E, Soldán T (2012) The mayflies of Europe (Ephemeroptera). Apollo Books, Ollerup
Beketov M (2004) Different sensitivity of mayflies (Insecta, Ephemeroptera) to ammonia, nitrite and nitrate: linkage between experimental and observational data. Hydrobiologia 528:209–216. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-004-2346-4
Blaustein L, Schwartz SS (2001) Why study ecology in temporary pools? Isr J Zool 47:303–312
Boersma KS, Bogan MT, Henrichs BA, Lytle DA (2014) Invertebrate assemblages of pools in arid-land stream have high functional redundancy and are resistant to severe drying. Freshw Biol 59:491–501. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.12280
Bogan MT, Boersma KS, Lytle DA (2015) Resistance and resilience of invertebrate communities to seasonal and supraseasonal drought in arid-land headwater streams. Freshw Biol 60:2547–2558. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.12522
Bonacci O (1985) Hydrological investigations of the Dinaric karst at the Krčić catchment and the river Krka springs (Yugoslavia). J Hydrol 82:317–326. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(85)90024-1
Bonacci O, Jukić D, Ljubenkov I (2006) Definition of catchment area in Karst: case of the rivers Krčić and Krka, Croatia. Hydrol Sci J 51:682–699. https://doi.org/10.1623/hysj.51.4.682
Bonacci O, Terzić J, Roje-Bonacci T, Frangen T (2019) An intermittent Karst river: the case of the Čikola river (Dinaric Karst, Croatia). Water 11:2415. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11112415
Bonacci O (2014) Ecohydrology of karst poljes and their vulnerability. In: Sackl P, Durst R, Kotrošan D, Stumberger (eds) Dinaric Karst Poljes - Floods for Life. Euronatur, Radolfzell, Germany, pp 25–37
Bonada N, Rieradevall M, Prat N, Resh VH (2006) Benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages and macrohabitat connectivity in Mediterranean-climate streams of northern California. J North Am Benthol Soc 25:32–43. https://doi.org/10.1899/0887-3593(2006)25[32:BMAAMC]2.0.CO;2
Bonada N, Rieradevall M, Dallas H, Davis J, Day J, Figueroa R, Resh VH, Prat N (2008) Multi-scale assessment of macroinvertebrate richness and composition in Mediterranean-climate rivers. Freshwr Biol 53:772–788. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2427.2007.01940.x
Borg Galea A, Sadler JP, Hannah DM, Datry T, Dugdale SJ (2019) Mediterranean intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams: challenges in monitoring complexity. Ecohydrology 12(8):e2149. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.2149
Boulton AJ (1989) Over-summering refuges of aquatic macroinvertebrates in two intermittent streams in central Victoria. Trans R Soc S Aust 113:23–34
Boulton AJ (2003) Parallels and contrasts in the effects of drought on stream macroinvertebrate assemblages. Freshw Biol 48:1173–1185. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2427.2003.01084.x
ter Braak CJF, Šmilauer P (2012) Canoco reference manual and user’s guide: Software for ordination, Version 5.0. Micro-computer Power. Ithaca, USA
Brittain JE, Sartori M (2003) Ephemeroptera (Mayflies). In: Resh VH, Cardé RT (eds) Encylopedia of Insects. Academic Press, Amsterdam, pp 373–380
Buffagni A, Cazzola M, Lopez-Rodriguez MJ, Alba-Tercedor J, Armanini DG (2009) Volume 3 - Ephemeroptera. In: Schmidt-Kloiber A, Hering D (eds) Distribution and Ecological Preferences of European Freshwater Organisms. Pensoft Publishers, Sofia-Moscow, pp 1–254
Buffagni A, Armanini DG, Cazzola M, Alba-Tercedor J, Lopez-Rodriguez MJ, Murphy J, Sandin L, Schmidt-Kloiber A (2023) Dataset “Ephemeroptera”. www.freshwaterecology.info - the taxa and autecology database for freshwater organisms, version 8.0. Accessed 20 September 2023
Chester ET, Robson BJ (2011) Drought refuges, spatial scale and recolonisation by invertebrates in non-perennial streams. Freshw Biol 56:2094–2104. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2427.2011.02644.x
Clarke KR, Gorley RN (2006) Primer V6: User Manual/Tutorial. Primer-E, Plymouth
Courtwright J, May CL (2013) Importance of terrestrial subsidies for native brook trout in Appalachian intermittent streams. Freshw Biol 58:2423–2438. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.12221
Datry T, Larned ST, Fritz KM, Bogan MT, Wood PJ, Meyer EI, Santos AN (2014) Broad-scale patterns of invertebrate richness and community composition in temporary rivers: effects of flow intermittence. Ecography 37:94–104. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.2013.00287.x
Datry T, Moya N, Zubieta J, Oberdorff T (2016) Determinants of local and regional communities in intermittent and perennial headwaters of the Bolivian Amazon. Freshw Biol 61:1335–1349. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.12706
Datry T, Corti R, Heino J, Hugueny B, Rolls RJ, Ruhí A (2017) Habitat fragmentation and metapopulation, metacommunity, and metaecosystem dynamics in intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams. In: Datry T, Bonada N, Boulton A (eds) Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams: Ecology and Management. Academic Press, London, pp 377–403
Datry T, Boulton AJ, Bonada N, Fritz K, Leigh C, Sauquet E, Tockner K, Hugueny B, Dahm CN (2018) Flow intermittence and ecosystem services in rivers of the Anthropocene. J Appl Ecol 55:353–364. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12941
Drummond LR, McIntosh AR, Larned ST (2015) Invertebrate community dynamics and insect emergence in response to pool drying in a temporary river. Freshw Biol 60:1596–1612. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.12591
Državni Hidrometeorološki Zavod Hrvatske. https://hidro.dhz.hr/. Accessed 16 January 2023)
Elliott JM, Humpesch UH, Macan TT (1988) Larvae of the British Ephemeroptera: a key with ecological notes. Freshwater Biological Association, Ambleside
Espinosa ACE, Cunha EJ, Shimano Y, Rolim S, Mioli L, Juen L, Dunck B (2023) Functional diversity of mayflies (Ephemeroptera, Insecta) in streams in mining areas located in the Eastern Amazon. Hydrobiologia 850:929–945. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-022-05134-x
Ferro ML, Sites RW (2007) The Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera of Missouri State Parks, with notes on biomonitoring, mesohabitat associations, and distribution. J Kans Entomol Soc 80:105–129. https://doi.org/10.2317/0022-8567(2007)80[105:TEPATO]2.0.CO;2
Greenberg AE (1992) Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 18th ed. American Public Health Association (APHA), Washington DC, USA
Hill MJ, Milner VS (2018) Ponding in intermittent streams: a refuge for lotic taxa and a habitat for newly colonising taxa? Sci Total Environ 628(629):1308–1316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.02.162
Illies J (1978) Limnofauna Europaea. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart
Lake PS (2011) Drought and aquatic ecosystems: effects and responses. Wiley-Blackwell, West Sussex
Larned ST, Datry T, Arscott DB, Tockner K (2010) Emerging concepts in temporary-river ecology. Freshw Biol 55:717–738. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2427.2009.02322.x
Leigh C, Boulton AJ, Courtwright JL, Fritz K, May CL, Walker RH, Datry T (2016) Ecological research and management of intermittent rivers: an historical review and future directions. Freshw Biol 61:1181–1199. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.12646
Lenat DR, Penrose DL (1996) History of the EPT taxa richness metric. J North Am Benthol Soc 13:305–306
Lynch RJ, Bunn SE, Catterall CP (2002) Adult aquatic insects: potential contributors to riparian food webs in Australia’s wet-dry tropics. Austral Ecol 27:515–526. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1442-9993.2002.01208.x
Miliša M, Mihaljević Z, Pozojević I (2020) Report on fitting a macroinvertebrate classification method with the results of the completed intercalibration of the MED GIG (R-M5). Technical report. University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science. Zagreb, Croatia
Paltridge RM, Dostine PL, Humphrey CL, Boulton AJ (1997) Macroinvertebrate recolonization after rewetting of a tropical seasonally-flowing stream (Magela Creek, Northern Territory, Australia). Mar Freshw Res 48:633–645. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF97059
Quinn JM, Steele GL, Hickey CW, Vickers ML (1994) Upper thermal tolerances of twelve New Zealand stream invertebrate species. New Zeal J Mar Fresh 28:391–397. https://doi.org/10.1080/00288330.1994.9516629
Řezníčková P, Soldán T, Pařil P, Zahrádková S (2010) Comparison of mayfly (Ephemeroptera) taxocenes of permanent and intermittent Central European small streams via species traits. Biologia 65:720–729. https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-010-0067-x
Řezníčková P, Tajmrová L, Pařil P, Zahrádková S (2013) Effects of drought on the composition and structure of benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages – a case study. Acta Univ Agric Silvic Mendel Brun 61:1853–1865. https://doi.org/10.11118/actaun201361061853
Richardson WB (1990) A comparison of detritus processing between permanent and intermittent headwater streams. J Freshw Ecol 5:341–357. https://doi.org/10.1080/02705060.1990.9665247
Ricotta C, Moretti M (2011) CWM and Rao’s quadratic diversity: a unified framework for functional ecology. Oecologia 167:181–188. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-011-1965-5
Robson B, Chester E, Austin C (2011) Why life history information matters: drought refuges and macroinvertebrate persistence in non-perennial streams subject to a drier climate. Mar Freshw Res 62:801–810. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF10062
Schmedtje U, Colling M (1996) Ökologische Typisierung der aquatischen Makrofauna. Informationsberichte des Bayerischen Landesamtes für Wasserwirtschaft 4/96, München
Schmidt-Kloiber A, Hering D (2015) www.freshwaterecology.info-An online tool that unifies, standardises and codifies more than 20,000 European freshwater organisms and their ecological preferences. Ecol Indic 53:271–282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.02.007
Schriever TA, Lytle DA (2016) Convergent diversity and trait composition in temporary streams and ponds. Ecosphere 7:e01350. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1350
Šegota T, Filipčić A (2003) Köppenova podjela klima i hrvatsko nazivlje. Geoadria 8:17–37. https://doi.org/10.15291/geoadria.93
Soria M, Leigh C, Datry T, Bini LM, Bonada N (2017) Biodiversity in perennial and intermittent rivers: a meta-analysis. Oikos 126(8):1078–1089. https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.04118
StatSoft (2010) STATISTICA 10.0 for Windows. StatSoft Inc., Tulsa
Steward AL, Von Schiller D, Tockner K, Marshall JC, Bunn SE (2012) When the river runs dry: human and ecological values of dry riverbeds. Front Ecol Environ 10:202–209. https://doi.org/10.1890/110136
Storey RG, Quinn JM (2008) Composition and temporal changes in macroinvertebrate communities of intermittent streams in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. New Zeal J Mar Fresh 42(1):109–125. https://doi.org/10.1080/00288330809509941
Stubbington R (2012) The hyporheic zone as an invertebrate refuge: a review of variability in space, time, taxa and behaviour. Mar Freshw Res 63:293–311. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF11196
Stubbington R, Greenwood AM, Wood PJ, Armitage PD, Gunn J, Robertson AL (2009) The response of perennial and temporary headwater stream invertebrate communities to hydrological extremes. Hydrobiologia 630:299–312. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-009-9823-8
Stubbington R, England J, Sefton C, Wood PJ (2017a) Temporary streams in temperate zones: recognizing, monitoring and restoring transitional aquatic-terrestrial ecosystems. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Water 4:e1223. https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1223
Stubbington R, Bogan MT, Bonada N, Boulton AJ, Datry T, Leigh C, Vander Vorste R (2017b) Chapter 4.3 - The Biota of Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams: Aquatic Invertebrates. In: Datry T, Bonada N, Boulton A (eds) Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams. Academic Press, London, pp 217–243
Stubbington R, England J, Wood PJ, Sefton CEM (2017c) Temporary streams in temperate zones: recognising, monitoring and restoring transitional aquatic-terrestrial ecosystems. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Water 4:e1223. https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1223
Tilman D (2001) Functional diversity. In: Levin SA (ed) Encyclopedia of Biodiversity. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 109–120
Vilenica M, Gattolliat J-L, Mihaljević Z, Sartori M (2015) Croatian mayflies (Insecta, Ephemeroptera): species diversity and distribution patterns. ZooKeys 523:99–127. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.523.6100
Vilenica M, Rebrina F, Matoničkin Kepčija R, Šegota V, Rumišek M, Ružanović L, Brigić A (2022) Aquatic macrophyte vegetation promotes taxonomic and functional diversity of odonata assemblages in intermittent karst rivers in the mediterranean. Diversity 14:31. https://doi.org/10.3390/d14010031
Vilenica M, Rebrina F, Ružanović L, Rumišek M, Matoničkin Kepčija R, Brigić A (2023) Are intermittent rivers in the Karst Mediterranean Region of the Balkans Suitable as Mayfly Habitats? Diversity 15(2):155. https://doi.org/10.3390/d15020155
Villéger S, Mason NWH, Mouillot D (2008) New multidimensional functional diversity indices for a multifaceted framework in functional ecology. Ecology 89:2290–2301
Waltz RD, Mccafferty WP, Thomas A (1994) Systematics of Alainites n. Gen., Diphetor, Indobaetis, Nigrobaetis n. Stat., and Takobia n. Stat. (Ephemeroptera, Baetidae). Bull Soc Hist Nat Toulouse 130:33–36
Williams DD (2006) The Biology of Temporary Waters. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Williams P, Biggs J, Fox G, Nicolet P, Whitfield M (2001) History, origins and importance of temporary ponds. Freshwater Forum 17:7–15
Williams HC, Ormerod SJ, Bruford MW (2006) Molecular systematics and phylogeography of the cryptic species complex Baetis rhodani (Ephemeroptera, Baetidae). Mol Phylogenet Evol 40(2):370–382. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2006.03.004
Zacharias I, Dimitriou E, Dekker A, Dorsman E (2007) Overview of temporary ponds in the Mediterranean region: threats, management and conservation issues. J Environ Biol 28:1–9
Zaninović K, Gajić-Čapka M, Perčec Tadić M, Vučetić M, Milković J, Bajić A, Cindrić K, Cvitan L, Katušin Z, Kaučić D, Likso T, Lončar E, Lončar Ž, Mihajlović D, Pandžić K, Patarčić M, Srnec L, Vučetić V (2008) Climate atlas of Croatia 1961–1990, 1971–2000. State Hydrometeorological Institute, Zagreb
Acknowledgements
Vladimir Bartovsky and Marija Starčević are thanked for help with the sampling, Lana Židak for help with sorting the collected material, and Ivka Štefanić for help with the water chemistry analyses. Zlatko Mihaljević and the employees of the Public Institution Nature of the Šibenik-Knin County are thanked for their input during the study site selection. Two anonymous reviewers and editor are thanked for their useful comments and suggestions that markedly improved this work. This research was funded by the Croatian Science Foundation, DinDRY to AB, grant no. UIP-2020-02-5385.
Funding
This research was funded by the Croatian Science Foundation, DinDRY to AB, grant no. UIP-2020-02-5385.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
MV and AB conceived the ideas and designed methodology; MV, FR, LR, MR, RMK, and AB collected the data; MV and AB analyzed and visualized the data; and MV and AB led the writing of the manuscript. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Ethics approval statement
This research was conducted following the ethical guidelines of the Croatian Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development (permit no. UP/I-612-07/20-48/210; 517-05-1-1-21-5).
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Vilenica, M., Rebrina, F., Ružanović, L. et al. Mayfly taxonomic and functional diversity in hydrologically extreme habitats of temporary pools in the Mediterranean karst intermittent rivers. Aquat Sci 86, 37 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-024-01058-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-024-01058-x