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Freshwater diatom and macroinvertebrate diversity of coastal permanent ponds along a gradient of human impact in a Mediterranean eco-region

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Abstract

Mediterranean coastal areas are characterised by heavily transformed landscapes and an ever-increasing number of ponds are subjected to strong alterations. Although benthic diatoms and macroinvertebrates are widely used as indicators in freshwater ecosystems, little is still known about the diatom communities of lowland freshwater ponds in the Mediterranean region, and, furthermore, there are few macroinvertebrate-based methods to assess their ecological quality, especially in Italy. This article undertakes an analysis of benthic diatom and macroinvertebrate communities of permanent freshwater ponds, selected along a gradient of anthropogenic pressures, to identify community indicators (taxa and/or metrics) useful to evaluate the effect of human impacts. A series of 21 ponds were sampled along Tyrrhenian coast in central Italy. Five of these ponds, in a good conservations status and surrounded by woodland were selected as ‘reference sites’ for macroinvertebrates and epipelic diatoms. The remaining sixteen ponds were located in an agricultural landscape subject to different levels of human impact. The total number of macroinvertebrate taxa found in each pond was significantly higher in reference sites than in both the intermediate and heavily degraded ones, whereas the diatom species richness did not result in a good community variable to evaluate the pond ecological quality. The analysis revealed a substantial difference among the compositions of diatom communities between reference ponds and degraded ponds. The former were characterised by the presence of several species belonging to genera, such as Pinnularia sp., Eunotia sp., Stauroneis sp., Neidium sp., all of which were mostly absent from degraded ponds. Furthermore, the taxonomic richnesses of some macroinvetebrate groups (Odonata, Ephemeroptera, Trichoptera, Coleoptera), and taxa composition attributes of macroinvertebrate communities (total abundance, percentages of top three dominant taxa, percentages of Pleidae, Ancylidae, Hirudinea, Hydracarina) significantly correlated with variables linked with anthropogenic pressures. The results of the investigation suggested that diatoms tended more to reflect water chemistry through changes in community structure, whereas invertebrates responded to physical habitat changes primarily through changes in taxonomic richness. The methodologies developed for the analysis of freshwater benthic diatom and macroinvertebrate communities may have a considerable potential as a tool for assessing the ecological status of this type of water body, complying with the European Union Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC.

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Acknowledgements

The study was supported by a fellowship from Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei to V.D.B. We wish to thank E. Alleva for suggestions and continuing support. We thank J. Sala, S. Gascón and D. Boix for their help in the application of ECELS index. We are grateful to Luc Ector and to the instructors of the 1st Workshop ‘Ecology & taxonomy of benthic diatoms in oligotrophic freshwater habitats’ (Lake Tovel Limnological Station of the Trentino Nature Science Museum, 16–20 June 2008), in particular to H. Lange-Bertalot, R. Pienitz, B. Van de Vijver and K. Buczkò for their precious help in the taxonomic determination of some diatom species. We also thank, for their help in the field work, F. Russo, S. Ciadamidaro and C. Marinilli. We are also grateful to C. Rondinini for critical reading of the earlier version of the manuscript. Finally, we wish to thank the Presidential Estate of Castelporziano, Maremma Regional Park, Litorale Romano Natural State Reserve, LIPU Oasi Castel di Guido, Wood of Foglino, and landowners for the help in the identification of ponds and for granting us permission to conduct our research within their natural reserves and private properties. First version of this article was improved based on the suggestions of B. Oertli and two anonymous reviewers.

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    Valentina Della Bella & Laura Mancini

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Pond Conservation: From Science to Practice. 3rd Conference of the European Pond Conservation Network, Valencia, Spain, 14–16 May 2008

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Della Bella, V., Mancini, L. Freshwater diatom and macroinvertebrate diversity of coastal permanent ponds along a gradient of human impact in a Mediterranean eco-region. Hydrobiologia 634, 25–41 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-009-9890-x

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