Are Intermittent Rivers in the Karst Mediterranean Region of the Balkans Suitable as Mayfly Habitats?
Intermittent rivers, common in dry parts of the world, such as the Mediterranean region, are hydrologically harsh habitats characterized by periodical flow cessation. Ephemeroptera are aquatic insects common in both lotic and lentic waterbodies, where they show a high sensitivity to anthropogenic mo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Diversity |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/2/155 |
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| author | Marina Vilenica Fran Rebrina Lea Ružanović Mario Rumišek Renata Matoničkin Kepčija Andreja Brigić |
| author_facet | Marina Vilenica Fran Rebrina Lea Ružanović Mario Rumišek Renata Matoničkin Kepčija Andreja Brigić |
| author_sort | Marina Vilenica |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Intermittent rivers, common in dry parts of the world, such as the Mediterranean region, are hydrologically harsh habitats characterized by periodical flow cessation. Ephemeroptera are aquatic insects common in both lotic and lentic waterbodies, where they show a high sensitivity to anthropogenic modifications of their habitat. Therefore, they are widely used as bio-indicators of the freshwater’s health. However, mayfly assemblages and their ecological requirements in the karst Mediterranean intermittent habitats are still not sufficiently known. Thus, the work presented here includes an analysis of mayfly assemblages and their relationship with environmental variables in the lotic phase of four intermittent rivers in the karst Mediterranean region of Croatia. Considering that the studied intermittent rivers are hydrologically extreme environments, a total of 12 recorded mayfly species could be considered as rather high species richness. Nevertheless, species richness per river was quite low (between three and six), and was highly influenced by river morphology, physico-chemical water properties (especially conductivity, water velocity, and concentrations of dissolved oxygen), and anthropogenic pressures. Our results could contribute to the mayfly species protection in karst Mediterranean intermittent freshwater habitats in the Balkans, as well as to the development of conservation measures for those threatened habitats. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:57:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ea1bed92db9c488ebbe74ff2f3ada03d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:57:26Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-ea1bed92db9c488ebbe74ff2f3ada03d2023-11-16T20:03:50ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182023-01-0115215510.3390/d15020155Are Intermittent Rivers in the Karst Mediterranean Region of the Balkans Suitable as Mayfly Habitats?Marina Vilenica0Fran Rebrina1Lea Ružanović2Mario Rumišek3Renata Matoničkin Kepčija4Andreja Brigić5Faculty of Teacher Education, University of Zagreb, Trg Matice Hrvatske 12, 44250 Petrinja, CroatiaDivision of Zoology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Rooseveltov trg 6, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaDivision of Zoology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Rooseveltov trg 6, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaDivision of Zoology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Rooseveltov trg 6, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaDivision of Zoology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Rooseveltov trg 6, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaDivision of Zoology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Rooseveltov trg 6, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaIntermittent rivers, common in dry parts of the world, such as the Mediterranean region, are hydrologically harsh habitats characterized by periodical flow cessation. Ephemeroptera are aquatic insects common in both lotic and lentic waterbodies, where they show a high sensitivity to anthropogenic modifications of their habitat. Therefore, they are widely used as bio-indicators of the freshwater’s health. However, mayfly assemblages and their ecological requirements in the karst Mediterranean intermittent habitats are still not sufficiently known. Thus, the work presented here includes an analysis of mayfly assemblages and their relationship with environmental variables in the lotic phase of four intermittent rivers in the karst Mediterranean region of Croatia. Considering that the studied intermittent rivers are hydrologically extreme environments, a total of 12 recorded mayfly species could be considered as rather high species richness. Nevertheless, species richness per river was quite low (between three and six), and was highly influenced by river morphology, physico-chemical water properties (especially conductivity, water velocity, and concentrations of dissolved oxygen), and anthropogenic pressures. Our results could contribute to the mayfly species protection in karst Mediterranean intermittent freshwater habitats in the Balkans, as well as to the development of conservation measures for those threatened habitats.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/2/155Ephemeropteradiversityenvironmental variablestemporary habitatslotic habitats |
| spellingShingle | Marina Vilenica Fran Rebrina Lea Ružanović Mario Rumišek Renata Matoničkin Kepčija Andreja Brigić Are Intermittent Rivers in the Karst Mediterranean Region of the Balkans Suitable as Mayfly Habitats? Diversity Ephemeroptera diversity environmental variables temporary habitats lotic habitats |
| title | Are Intermittent Rivers in the Karst Mediterranean Region of the Balkans Suitable as Mayfly Habitats? |
| title_full | Are Intermittent Rivers in the Karst Mediterranean Region of the Balkans Suitable as Mayfly Habitats? |
| title_fullStr | Are Intermittent Rivers in the Karst Mediterranean Region of the Balkans Suitable as Mayfly Habitats? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Are Intermittent Rivers in the Karst Mediterranean Region of the Balkans Suitable as Mayfly Habitats? |
| title_short | Are Intermittent Rivers in the Karst Mediterranean Region of the Balkans Suitable as Mayfly Habitats? |
| title_sort | are intermittent rivers in the karst mediterranean region of the balkans suitable as mayfly habitats |
| topic | Ephemeroptera diversity environmental variables temporary habitats lotic habitats |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/2/155 |
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