Abstract
The conservation value of grassland and reed marsh habitats in Belgium was determined on the basis of dolichopodid communities (Diptera: Dolichopodidae). Four grassland and one reed marsh sites within the 'Bourgoyen-Ossemeersen' Nature Reserve (B.O.) (Ghent) were sampled with white water traps from March 1993 until March 1994. Subsequently, these soil faunas were compared with those of reed marsh habitats in 'Het Meetjeslandse Krekengebied' (M.K.) sampled in 1990. Comparisons of species communities were carried out by means of multivariate analysis techniques. The DCA and CCA on the B.O. sites produced a clear separation between the grassland and the reed marsh communities. Light intensity and soil humidity were among the most important factors determining species distributions. The comparison between the B.O. and M.K. communities revealed that sampling sites were clustered according to their geographical location rather than to habitat type. Overall species richness and diversity was not significantly different between grasslands and reed marshes. However, conservation quality estimates of the sites using the Site Conservation Quality Index (SCQI) indicated that reed marshes comprise a considerably larger number of rare and Red Data Book species. Moreover, besides typical reed marsh-inhabiting species, reed marshes also house species with other ecological affinities sometimes in rather high abundance. As a result, reed marshes are considered highly valuable for the survival of several wetland dolichopodid species.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Archer, M.E. (1993) Recorder's fourth report on the Aculeate Hymenoptera in Watsonian Yorkshire and the development of a quality scoring system. Naturalist 118, 13-15.
Assis Fonseca, E.C.M. (1978) Diptera Orthorrhapha Brachycera Dolichopodidae. Hdbks Ident. Br. Insects IX (Part 5), 1-90.
Barendregt, A., Oosterbroek, P., Van Steenis, W. and Zeegers, T. (1998) Rode Lijsten als instrument bij de bescherming van insecten. Ent. Ber., Amst. 58(6), 124-32.
Bährmann, R. (1987a) Untersuchungen der Dipterenfauna in naturund industrienahen Rasenbiotopen Thüringens (DDR) mittels Bodenfallen. D. ent. Zeitschr. N.F. 34, 85-105.
Bährmann, R. (1987b) Zweiflügler (Diptera Brachycera) thüringischer Rasenbiotope unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Leutratales bei Jena. Wissenschaftliche Zeitschrift Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Naturwissenschaften R. 36(3), 349-73.
Bährmann, R. (1988) Ñber den Einfluß von Luftveruntreinigungen auf Ökosysteme. XIV. Öko-faunistische Untersuchungen an Zweiflüglern (Diptera Brachycera) industrienaher Agropyron-und Puccinellia-Rasen bei Jena/Thüringen. Zool. Jb. Syst. 115, 49-68.
Bährmann, R. (1993) Zur ökologischen Einnischung einheimischer Dolichopodiden-Arten (Diptera, Dolichopodidae). D. ent. Zeitschr. 40(2), 221-43.
Brunel, C. (1986) Etude éco-entomologique des zones humides de la Chaussée-Tirancourt (Vallée de la Somme). Acta Oecol./Oecol. Appl. 7(4), 367-88.
Chandler, P.J. (ed.) (1998) Checklists of Insects of the British Isles (New Series). Part 1: Diptera. Hdbks Ident. Br. Insects 12(1), 1-234.
Crossley, R. (1996) Using Diptera in assessing site quality, with particular reference to Empidoidea-a regional perspective. Naturalist 122, 155-7.
Decleer, K. (1988) Temporary inundation as a determining factor for the spider communities of marshland habitats. Comptes Rendus du Xième Colloque d'Arachnologie (Colloque international européen), Berlin, 28 August-2 September 1988, pp. 161-7.
Decleer, Kw. (1990) Experimental Cutting of Reed marshVegetation and its Influence on the Spider (Araneae) Fauna in the Blankaart Nature Reserve, Belgium. Biol. Conserv. 52, 161-85.
Desender, K. (1996) Diversity and dynamics of coastal dune carabids. Ann. Zool. Fenn. 33, 65-75.
Ditlhogo, M.K.M., James, R., Laurence, B.R. and Sutherland, W.J. (1992) The effects of conservation management of reed beds. I.The invertebrates. J. Appl. Ecol. 29, 265-76.
Foster, G.N. (1987) The use of Coleoptera records in assessing the conservation value of wetlands. In The Use of Invertebrates in Site Assessment for Conservation (M.L. Luff ed), pp. 8-17. University of Newcastle upon Tyne, University Press.
Heijerman, T. and Turin, H. (1998) Rode Lijsten: zinvol of vol onzin? Ent. Ber., Amst. 58(6), 92-104.
Laurence, B.R. (1995) Abundance and rarity of Dolichopodidae (Diptera) in East AnglianWetlands, with an addition to the British list. Ent. mon. Mag. 131, 95-105.
Laurence, B.R., Ditlhogo, M.K.M., James, R. and Sutherland, W.J. (1992) Management and the invertebrates of a Phragmites swamp at Hickling. Trans. Norfolk Norwich Nat. Soc. 29(3), 225-33.
Lindroth, C.H. (1945) Die Fennoskandischen Carabidae. I. Spezieler Teil. Göteborgs Kungliga Vetenskaps och Vitterhets Samhälles Handlingar. Serie B4(1), 709 pp.
Londo, G. (1975) De decimale schaal voor vegetatiekundige opnamen van permanente kwadraten. Gorteria 7, 101-6.
Maelfait, J.-P., Pollet, M. and Janssen, M. (1992) Spiders of Marshland Habitats in the North of East Flanders (Belgium). Proceedings of the Fourth European Congress of Entomology and the XIII. Internationale Symposium für die Entomofaunistik Mitteleuropas, 1-6 September 1991, Gödöllö, Hungary, pp. 195-200.
Negrobov, O.P. and von Stackelberg, A. (1974a) 29. Dolichopodidae. In Die Fliegen derPalaearktischen Region (E. Lindner, ed), L. 302, pp. 303-24. Stuttgart: Nägele & Obermiller.
Negrobov, O.P. and von Stackelberg, A. (1974b) 29. Dolichopodidae. In Die Fliegen derPalaearktischen Region (E. Lindner, ed), L. 303, pp. 325-46. Stuttgart: Nägele & Obermiller.
Negrobov, O.P. (1977) 29. Dolichopodidae. In Die Fliegen der Palaearktischen Region (E. Lindner, ed), L. 316, pp. 347-86. Stuttgart: Nägele & Obermiller.
Maes, D. and Decleer, K. (1996) The Effects of Nature Management on Reed marsh Carabid Beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) in the Blankaart Nature Reserve (Belgium). Proceedings of the Colloquium on Conservation, Management and Restoration of Habitats for Invertebrates: Enhancing Biological Diversity, Killarney, Ireland 26-29 May 1996, pp. 64-73.
Magurran, A.E. (1988) Ecological diversity and its measurement. Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press.
Meuffels, H.J.G. and Grootaert, P. (1990) The identity of Sciapus contristans (Wiedemann, 1817) (Diptera: Dolichopodidae), and a revision of the species group of its relatives. Bull. Inst. Sc. Nat. Belg. 60, 161-78.
Meyer, H., Fock, H., Haase, A., Reinke, H.D. and Tulowitzki, I. (1995) Structure of the invertebrate fauna in salt marshes of the Wadden Sea coast of Schleswig-Holstein influenced by sheepgrazing. Helgoländer Meeresunters. 49, 563-89.
Meyer, H. and Heydemann, B. (1990) Faunistisch-ökologische Untersuchungen an Dolichopodiden und Empididen (Diptera-Dolichopodidae u. Empididae, Hybotidae) in Küsten-und Binnenlandbiotopen Schleswig-Holsteins. Faun.-Ökol. Mitt. 6, 147-72.
Meyer, H. and Reinke, H.-D. (1996) Veränderungen in der biozönotischen Struktur der Wirbellosenfauna von Salzwiesen durch unterschiedliche Beweidungsintensitäten mit Schafen. Faun.-Ökol. Mitt. 7, 109-51.
Morris, M.G. (1967) Differences between the invertebrate faunas of grazed and ungrazed chalk grassland. 1. Responses of some phytophagous insects to cessation of grazing. J. Appl. Ecol. 4, 459-74.
Morris, M.G. (1969) Populations of invertebrate animals and the management of chalk grassland in Britain. Biol. Conserv. 1, 225-31.
Parent, O. (1938) Diptères Dolichopodidae. Faune de France 35, 1-720.
Pollet, M. (1990) Phenetic and ecological relationships between species of the subgenus Hercostomus (Gymnopternus) in western Europe with the description of two new species (Diptera: Dolichopodidae). Syst. Entomol. 15(3), 359-83.
Pollet, M. (1992) Impact of environmental variables on the occurrence of dolichopodid flies in marshland habitats in Belgium (Diptera: Dolichopodidae). J. Nat. Hist. 26, 621-36.
Pollet, M. (1993) Morphological and ecological characterization of Hercostomus (Hercostomus) plagiatus and a sibling species, H. verbekei sp.n. (Diptera: Dolichopodidae). Zool. Scr. 22(1), 101-109.
Pollet, M. (1996) Systematic revision and phylogeny of the Palaearctic species of the genus Achalcus Loew (Diptera, Dolichopodidae) with the description of four new species. Syst. Entomol. 21(4), 353-86.
Pollet, M. (2000) Een gedocumenteerde Rode Lijst van Slankpootvliegen van Vlaanderen [A documented Red Data Book of Dolichopodidae of Flanders (Belgium)]. Mededelingen van het Instituut voor Natuurbehoud 8, Brussels, 190 pp. (in Dutch).
Pollet, M. and Grootaert, P. (1987) Ecological data on Dolichopodidae (Diptera) from a woodland ecosystem. I. Colour preference, detailed distribution and comparison of different sampling techniques. Bull. Inst. R. Sci. Nat. Belg. Ent. 57, 173-86.
Pollet, M. and Grootaert, P. (1991) Horizontal and vertical distribution of Dolichopodidae (Diptera) in awoodland ecosystem. J. Nat. Hist. 25, 1297-312.
Pollet, M. and Grootaert, P. (1994a) Optimizing the water trap technique to collect Empidoidea (Diptera). Studia Dipterologica 1(1), 33-48.
Pollet, M. and Grootaert, P. (1994b) The Dolichopodid fauna of coastal habitats in Belgium. Bull. Annls Soc. r. belge Ent. 130, 331-44.
Pollet, M. and Grootaert, P. (1994c) Dolichopodidae (Diptera) as agents for bio-indication. Abstracts of the 3th International Congress of Dipterology, August 15-19 1994, Guelph, Canada, pp. 179-80.
Pollet, M. and Grootaert, P. (1996) An estimation of the natural value of dune habitats using Empidoidea (Diptera). Biodiv. Conserv. 5(7) 859-80.
Pollet, M., Grootaert, P. and Meuffels, H. (1989) Relationship between habitat preference and distribution of dolichopodid flies in Flanders (Dipt., Dolichopodidae). Verhandelingen van het symposium 'Invertebraten van België', pp. 363-71.
Roberts, M.J. (1985a) The spiders of Great Britain and Ireland. Volume 1. Atypidae to Theridiosomatidae. Colchester. Harley Books, pp. 1-209.
Roberts, M.J. (1985b) The spiders of Great Britain and Ireland. Volume 3. Colour plates-Atypidae to Linyphiidae. Colchester. Harley Books, pp. 1-256.
Roberts, M.J. (1987) The spiders of Great Britain and Ireland. Volume 2. Linyphiidae and check list. Colchester. Harley Books, pp. 1-224.
Ter Braak, C.J.F. (1987) CANOCO-a FORTRAN Program for Canonical Community Ordination by [Partial] [Detrended] [Canonical] Correspondence Analysis, Principal Components Analysis and Redundancy Analysis (Version 2.1). ITI-TNO, Wageningen, 95 pp.
Thiele, H.U. (1977) Carabid beetles in their environments. Springer Verlag. Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, 369 pp.
Usher, M.B. (1986) Wildlife conservation evaluation: attributes, criteria and values. In Wildlife Conservation evaluation (M.B. Usher, ed.), pp. 3-44. London, Chapman & Hall.
Van Veen, M.P. and Zeegers, T. (1998) Rode en Groene Lijsten voor roofvliegen (Diptera: Asilidae): een kritische beschouwing. Ent. Ber., Amst. 58(6), 118-123.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pollet, M. Dolichopodid Biodiversity and Site Quality Assessment of Reed Marshes And Grasslands in Belgium (Diptera: Dolichopodidae). Journal of Insect Conservation 5, 99–116 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011371418903
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011371418903