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Mayfly taxonomic and functional diversity in hydrologically extreme habitats of temporary pools in the Mediterranean karst intermittent rivers

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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.

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Data are available from the corresponding authors upon request.

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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.

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This research was funded by the Croatian Science Foundation, DinDRY to AB, grant no. UIP-2020-02-5385.

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  1. Faculty of Teacher Education, University of Zagreb, Trg Matice Hrvatske 12, Petrinja, Croatia

    Marina Vilenica

  2. Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, University of Zagreb, Horvatovac 102a, Zagreb, Croatia

    Fran Rebrina, Lea Ružanović, Mario Rumišek, Renata Matoničkin Kepčija & Andreja Brigić

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  1. Marina Vilenica
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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.

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Correspondence to Marina Vilenica or Andreja Brigić.

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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).

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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

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