| Summary: | This study analysed the impact of riparian land use in structuring the larval
ephemeropteran communities from 25 sites in streams and rivers of Kalakad-Mundanthurai
Tiger Reserve (KMTR) of the southern end of the Western Ghats, India. A total of
twenty-eight species belonging to twenty-four genera of six families were collected across
all the sites. Baetidae and Leptophlebiidae were the most numerous and ubiquitous
families, comprising eight genera in each family and eleven and nine species,
respectively. The physico-chemical parameters and species richness and abundance of
mayflies varied across streams and rivers with different riparian land-use types. Species
distribution was influenced by the environmental gradients. Canonical Correspondence
Analysis revealed a clear separation of the mayfly assemblages along water quality and
riparian land-use gradients. The results of this study suggest that Ephemeroptera taxa can
be potentially used as sensitive indicators of riparian land use in lotic ecosystems.
|
|---|