Indicator taxa for the conservation of pond invertebrate diversity

Abstract

Briers, R. A., Biggs, J. (2003). Indicator taxa for the conservation of pond invertebrate diversity. ? Aquatic Conservation-Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 13, (4), 323-330.1. Ponds are a valuable resource for the conservation of freshwater biodiversity, but are often extremely numerous in a given area, making assessment of the conservation value of individual sites potentially time consuming. 2. The use of indicator taxa, the species richness of which is representative of total site species richness, may provide one way to improve the efficiency of survey work. However, such indicators are poorly developed for freshwater systems. 3. A data set was used describing the occurrence of macroinvertebrate taxa in ponds in Oxfordshire, UK, to assess the extent to which variation in the species richness of selected taxa most consistently represented variation in all other taxa. 4. Coenagriidae (Odonata) and Limnephilidae (Trichoptera) reflected the variation in species richness of other taxa most consistently, with Coenagriidae showing the best overall performance as an indicator taxon. 5. For both suggested indicator taxa, selection of sites based solely on the presence of at least one species of indicator would represent over 95% of all species recorded across all sites. 6. Further investigation in different geographical regions is necessary to establish whether these relationships are consistent over a wider area.Peer reviewe

Benthic macroinvertebrates in Italian rice fields

“…Among Trichoptera, specimens in the family of Hydropsychidae and Limnephilidae are considered good indicators of water quality in natural ponds and rivers (Higler and Tolkamp, 1983;Briers and Biggs, 2003), but here, only the first was abundantly represented by the species Hydropsyche pellucidula (Curtis, 1834), which were found in channels and rarely in rice fields. Among Ephemeroptera, the family of Baetidae and Caenidae are also considered bioindicators in wetlands (Menetrey et al, 2008), but they were poorly detected in the investigated sites.…”

Golf courses and wetland fauna

“…Odonates (i.e., dragonflies) have been used more widely as bioindicators, especially larvae that often live several years at a site, and thus provide a means of ensuring continuity in sampling of water conditions for both running and still waters (Stewart and Samways 1998, Carchini et al 2005, Foote and Rice Hornung 2005. For example, odonates have been used as indicator species for evaluating the habitat value of ponds (Carchini et al 2005), and as a criterion for the selection of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in the United Kingdom (Briers and Biggs 2003). Because odonates inhabit both aquatic and terrestrial habitats during their life cycle, they may better reflect disturbance to the transitional riparian buffer, as compared with strict wetland obligates (Foote and Rice Hornung 2005).…”

La Estación Biológica de Torretes (Ibi, Alicante): un espacio para la conservación de odonatos

“…Se ha registrado la presencia de especies de la familia de odonatos Coenagrionidae, consideradas como buenas indicadoras de la calidad ambiental (Briers & Biggs, 2003). Además es relevante la observación de especies como Libellula depressa (Linnaeus, 1758), cuya primera cita en la provincia de Alicante se produjo en el año 2009 en la balsa nº 2 de Torretes y desde entonces se han recogido citas de numerosos ejemplares de esta especie a lo largo de años sucesivos.…”