Abstract
An ordination of the River Cadagua basin has been made using trichopteran taxa as entities. Differences between headwater reaches and lower parts of the main river and its principal tributaries are chiefly based on the downstream substitution of the species of the genus Rhyacophila by species of the genus Hydropsyche. On the plane of the first two axes from a correspondence analysis, the first station of the River Cadagua appears to be separated from the other headwater sites due to the presence of a trichopteran assemblage being only at this place and composed of Rhyacophila tristis, Lype reducta and Tinodes assimilis. Sympatric species of the genera Rhyacophila and Hydropsyche coexisted at several places, although appearing alone at other sites and showing differential preferences for the highest or lowest sites. Thus, Hydropsyche pellucidula coexisted with Hydropsyche siltalai in the middle section of the rivers, but the former was distributed further downstream than the latter which, by contrast, occupied higher reaches.
Among sites, differences in trichopteran assemblage structure are a result of both natural and antropogenic changes in the physico-chemical features of the water courses. Thus trichopteran diversity and coexistence of sympatric species increase downstream with increasing nutrient values, if the oxygen content of the water is near saturation level. However, Trichoptera disappear from sites with low oxygen content. Conductivity values do not seem to affect trichopteran distribution in natural waters, as values higher than 700 μS cm were found at the headwater of the main river containing an assemblage characteristic of these sites.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alstad, D. N.: 1987, ‘Particle Size, Resource Concentration, and the Distribution of the Net-Spinning Caddisflies’, Oecologia 71, 525–531.
Alstad, D. N.: 1987, ‘A Capture-Rate Model of Net-Spinning Caddisfly Communities’, Oecologia 71, 532–536.
Andersen, T. and Klubnes, R.: 1983, ‘The Life Histories of Hydropsyche siltalai (Dohler, 1963) and Hydropsyche pellucidula (Curtis, 1834) (Trichoptera, Hydropsychidae) in a West Norwegian River’, Aquatic Insects 5, 51–62.
Boon, P. J.: 1979, ‘Studies on the Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Larval Hydropsychidae in the North Tyne River System (Northern England)’, Archiv fur Hydrobiologie 85, 336–359.
Botosaneanu, L. and Malicky, H.: 1978, ‘Trichoptera. Limnofauna Europaea’, Illies (ed.), G. Fischer Verlag Stuttgart, pp. 333–359.
Bournaud, M., Tachet, H., and Perrin, J. F.: 1982, ‘Les Hydropsychidae (Trichoptera) du Haut-Rhone entre Geneve et Lyon’, Annls Limnol 18, 61–80.
Cummins, K. W.: 1973, ‘Trophic Relations in Aquatic Insects’, Annual Review of Entomology 18, 183–206.
Decamps, H.: 1967, ‘Ecologie des Trichopteres de la Vallée d'Aure (Hautes-Pyrénées)’, Annales de Limnologie 3, 399–577.
Edington, J. M. and Hildrew, A. G.: 1981, ‘A Key to the Caddis Larvae of the British Isles with Notes on their Ecology’, Freshwater Biological Association, Scient. Publ. 43.
Euskoiker: 1988, Caracterización Físico-Química y Biológica de la Red Hidrográfica de Bizkaia, Informe Final, Diputación Foral de Bizkaia, Bilbao.
Faessel, B.: 1985, ‘Les Trichopteres’, Bulletin Francaise de la Peche et de la Pisciculture 299, 1–41.
Fuller, R. L. and Mackay, R. J.: 1980, ‘Feeding Ecology of Three Species of Hydropsyche (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae) in Southern Ontario’, Canadian Journal of Zoology 58, 2239–2251.
Garcia de Jalon, D.: 1982, ‘Contribución a la Zoogeografia de los Tricópteros españoles’, Shilap 10, 75–78.
Giudicelli, J., Dia, A., and Legier, P.: 1980, ‘Etude Hydrobiologique d'une Riviere de Region Mediterranéenne, L'Argens (Var, France). Habitats, Hydrochimie, Distribution de la Faune Bentique’, Bijdragen tot de Dierkunde 50, 303–341.
Gonzalez, M. A., Garcia de Jalon, D., and Terra, L. W.: 1987, ‘Faunistic Studies on Iberian Trichoptera: A Historical Survey and Present State of Knowledge’, in (Bournaud and H. Tachet, eds.), Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium on Trichoptera, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, pp 85–90.
Highler, L. W. G. and Tolkamp, H. H.: 1983, ‘Hydropsychidae as Bio-Indicators’, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 3, 331–341.
Hildrew, A. G. and Edington, J. M.: 1979, ‘Factors Facilitating the Coexistence of Hydropsychid Caddis Larvae (Trichoptera) in the Same River System’, Journal Animal Ecology 48, 557–576.
Illies, J. and Botosaneanu, L.: 1963, ‘Problemes et méthodes de la classification et de la zonation écologique des eaux courantes, considerées surtout du point de vue faunistique’, Mitteilungen der Internationalen Vereinigung für Theoretische und Angewandte Limnologie 12, 1–57.
Lebart, L. and Morineau, I. A.: 1982, ‘Systeme portable pour l'analyse des donnes’, Spad, Cesia, Paris.
Mackay, R. J.: 1984: ‘Life History Patterns of Hydropsyche bronta and Hydropsyche morosa (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae) in Summer-Warm Rivers of Southern Ontario’, Canadian Journal of Zoology 62, 271–275.
Malas, D. and Wallace, J. B.: 1977, ‘Strategies of Coexistence in Three Species of Net-Spinning Caddisflies (Trichoptera) in Second-Order Southern Appalachian Streams’, Canadian Journal of Zoology 55, 1829–1840.
Martin, I. D.: 1985, ‘Microhabitat Selection and Life Cycle Patterns of two Rhyacophila Species (Trichoptera: Rhyacophilidae) in Southern Ontario Streams’, Freshwater Biology 15, 1–14.
Puig, M. A., Bautista, I., Tort, M. J. and Prat, N.: 1981, ‘Les larves de Trichoptera de la riviere LLobegrat (Catalogne, Espagne). Distribution longitudinale et relation avec la qualité del'eau’, in G.P.Morretti (ed.), Proceedings of the 3rd. International Symposium on Trichoptera, Junk, The Hague, pp. 303–310.
Rutherford, J. E. and Mackay, R. J.: 1985, ‘The Vertical Distribution of Hydropsychid Larvae and Pupae (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae) in Stream Substrates’, Canadian Journal of Zoology 63, 1306–1315.
Stroot, Ph.: 1984, ‘Faunistique et répartition longitudinale des Trichopteres dans une riviere salmonicole de basse montagne, en Belgique, Hydrobiologia 108, 245–258.
Teague, S. A., Knight, A. W., and Teague, B. N.: 1985, ‘Stream Microhabitat Selectivity, Resource Partitioning, and Niche Shifts in Grazing Caddisfly Larvae’, Hydrobiologia 128, 3–12.
Valett, H. M. and Stanford, J. A.: 1987, ‘Food Quality and Hydropsychid Caddisfly Density in a Lake Outlet Stream in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA’, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 44, 77–82.
Vannote, R. L., Minshal, G. W., Cummins, K. W., Sedell, J. R., and Cushing, C. E.: 1980, ‘The River Continum Concept’, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences’, 37, 131–162.
Verneaux, J. and Rezzouk, M.: 1974, ‘Les estructures d'un grand cours d'eau a salmonidés: La Loue (Massif du Jura). Essai typologique et problemes des relations entre especes et milieu’, Annales de Limnologie 10, 131–162.
Ward, J. V. and Stanford, J. A.: 1982, ‘Thermal Responses in the Evolutionary Ecology of Aquatic Insects’, Annual Review of Entomology 27, 97–117.
Wiggins, G. B. and Mackay, R. J.: 1978, ‘Some Relationships between Systematics and Trophic Ecology in Neartic Acuatic Insects, with Special Reference to Trichoptera’, Ecology 59, 1211–1220.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Basaguren, A., Orive, E. The relationship between water quality and caddisfly assemblage structure in fast-running rivers. The River Cadagua basin. Environ Monit Assess 15, 35–48 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00454747
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00454747