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Springs of Southeastern Serbia with a Focus on the Vlasina Plateau: Different Types of Challenges for the Macroinvertebrate Community

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Small Water Bodies of the Western Balkans

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Abstract

The ecology of springs of the southeastern part of Serbia is poorly studied. The present chapter is planned as the first step towards the inventory and characterization of springs in this region. In this chapter we present the results of the investigation of macroinvertebrate communities of two groups of springs, in the valley of Niš and the Vlasina plateau, i.e. its surroundings. The investigated springs are distributed on a small spatial scale, but they are not from the same geological underground. The first group of springs is dominated by representatives of non-insect groups, while insects predominate in the springs of the Vlasina plateau. FFG analysis revealed scrappers as dominant organisms in the valley of Niš, while shredders predominated in the springs of the Vlasina region. The decisive drivers of macroinvertebrate community variability include conductivity, altitude and pH of water. Differences in environmental variables between the weakly alkaline springs of the Niš valley and the weakly to moderately acidic springs of the Vlasina plateau have an impact on macroinvertebrate communities. In thermal springs, which are numerous in the study area, water temperature, but also biotic factors, such as the presence of the invasive species Melanoides tuberculata, affected the structure of crenic assemblages. The threats to springs in the study area range from water being diverted for water supply systems of nearby settlements, use of thermal water for therapeutic purposes and surface habitat modification, to anthropogenic groundwater depletion and pollution, as well as changes caused by the ongoing climate change. In order to improve the understanding and best practices for monitoring, management and conservation of springs, it is necessary to study various aspects of these ecosystems.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš, Višegradska 33, 18000, Niš, Serbia

    Ana Savić & Vladimir Ranđelović

  2. Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš, Višegradska 33, 18000, Niš, Serbia

    Miodrag Đorđević

  3. Department of Geography, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš, Višegradska 33, 18000, Niš, Serbia

    Milan Đorđević

  4. Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Department of Biology and Department of Ecology and Environment Protection, University of Banja Luka, Mladena Stojanovića 2, 78000, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina

    Dejan Dmitrović

  5. Faculty of Sciences, University of Montenegro, Džordža Vašingtona b.b, 81000, Podgorica, Montenegro

    Vladimir Pešić

Authors
  1. Ana Savić
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  2. Miodrag Đorđević
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  3. Milan Đorđević
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  4. Vladimir Ranđelović
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  5. Dejan Dmitrović
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  6. Vladimir Pešić
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ana Savić .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Montenegro, Podgorica, Montenegro

    Vladimir Pešić

  2. Department of Biology and Ecology, University of Niš, Niš, Serbia

    Djuradj Milošević

  3. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

    Marko Miliša

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Savić, A., Đorđević, M., Đorđević, M., Ranđelović, V., Dmitrović, D., Pešić, V. (2022). Springs of Southeastern Serbia with a Focus on the Vlasina Plateau: Different Types of Challenges for the Macroinvertebrate Community. In: Pešić, V., Milošević, D., Miliša, M. (eds) Small Water Bodies of the Western Balkans. Springer Water. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-86478-1_10

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