Lentic chironomid performance in species-based bioassessment proving: High-level taxonomy is not a dead end in monitoring

Dorić, Valentina; Pozojević, Ivana; Vučković, Natalija; Ivković, Marija; Mihaljević, Zlatko

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.107041

Cited by 14 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…We approached the question of differences in microhabitat preferences and diversity using one of the most ubiquitous, abundant and Science Progress 106 (2) diverse groups of aquatic insects -Chironomidae (Diptera). As they are also used in the bioassessment, 43,44,61 we can immediately have an indication of the system's health. However, most of the bioassessment strategies are based on (chironomid) benthic communities of the typical lentic or lotic water bodies, 43,44,[61][62][63] whilst ponds are overlooked, which was the same with chironomid diversity studies in this floodplain.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As they are also used in the bioassessment, 43 , 44 , 61 we can immediately have an indication of the system's health. However, most of the bioassessment strategies are based on (chironomid) benthic communities of the typical lentic or lotic water bodies, 43 , 44 , 61 – 63 whilst ponds are overlooked, which was the same with chironomid diversity studies in this floodplain. Our research points out the importance of ponds as a specific environment in a floodplain aquatic network, and, furthermore, the macrophytes as another important microhabitat beside sediment, which harbours a specific chironomid community.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Chironomidae in shallow water bodies of a protected lowland freshwater floodplain ecosystem

et al. 2023

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Lowland floodplains are complex ecosystems comprised of standing and flowing waters interacting with terrestrial habitats, and the main force creating, shaping and influencing, both habitats and biotic communities, is a hydrological regime and water supply from the parent river. In areas not much altered by anthropogenic influence, the Danube creates such floodplain areas, and temporary shallow water bodies within represent biodiversity important habitats. In the Kopački Rit Nature Park floodplain in Croatia, diversity based on Chironomidae (Diptera) in both benthic and epiphytic communities was studied in eight ponds (temporary shallow water body) and at two channel locations (permanent shallow water body). At each location samples of sediment and macrophytes were taken at three sites. The benthic chironomid community was comprised of 29 taxa, most abundant being representatives of the Chironomus genus and Tanypus kraatzi in ponds, and Polypedilum nubeculosum and Cladotanytarsus sp. in channel samples. Cricotopus gr. sylvestris, Paratanytarsus sp. and Endochironomus tendens were dominant epiphytic chironomids (18 taxa). Non-metric multidimensional scaling and analysis of similarity analyses showed there was a clear grouping of sampling locations based on their position in the park and the distance from each other, more evident in the case of benthic chironomid communities. Furthermore, when the water bodies were compared based on the community structure from different locations and substrates, there was also a statistically significant separation. Community composition indicates high productivity and organic matter production of studied water bodies, but moreover, the differences in substrate preferences evident in 16 common out of 31 recorded chironomid taxa, indicate the importance of habitat complexity preservation in a floodplain.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chironomidae in shallow water bodies of a protected lowland freshwater floodplain ecosystem

et al. 2023

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“…Aside from serving as prey for other organisms, they are often well-adapted predators and play the role of ecosystem “cleaners” feeding on particulate organic matter. However, some taxa are also quite sensitive to environmental change and as such can serve as indicators of specific environmental conditions [ 20 , 21 , 22 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defining Patterns and Rates of Natural vs. Drought Driven Aquatic Community Variability Indicates the Ongoing Need for Long Term Ecological Research

Pozojević

Dorić

Miliša

et al. 2023

Biology

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Most ecologists have used climate change, as an omnipresent pressure, to support their findings in researching the vulnerability of specific taxa, communities, or ecosystems. However, there is a widespread lack of long-term biological, biocoenological, or community data of periods longer than several years to ascertain patterns as to how climate change affects communities. Since the 1950s, southern Europe has faced an ongoing trend of drying and loss of precipitation. A 13-year research program in the Dinaric karst ecoregion of Croatia aimed to comprehensively track emergence patterns of freshwater insects (true flies: Diptera) in a pristine aquatic environment. Three sites, spring, upper, and lower tufa barriers (calcium carbonate barriers on a barrage lake system that act as natural damns), were sampled monthly over 154 months. This coincided with a severe drought event in 2011/2012. This was the most significant drought (very low precipitation rates for an extended period of time) in the Croatian Dinaric ecoregion since the start of detailed records in the early 20th century. Significant shifts in dipteran taxa occurrence were determined using indicator species analysis. Patterns of seasonal and yearly dynamics were presented as Euclidian distance metrics of similarity in true fly community composition compared at increasing time intervals, to ascertain the degree of temporal variability of similarity within the community of a specific site and to define patterns of similarity change over time. Analyses detected significant shifts in community structure linked to changes in discharge regimes, especially to the drought period.

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“…All life stages (even the short-lived adults) play a vital role in aquatic and terrestrial food webs, serving as an important food source for fish, birds, bats and other arthropods ( Gratton & Zanden, 2009 ; Raunio, Heino & Paasivirta, 2011 ; Armitage, Pinder & Cranston, 2012 ; Wirta et al, 2015 ; Herren et al, 2017 ). This combination of high ecosystem functionality, high abundance, and habitat specificity of the Chironomidae to their environment makes them suitable biological indicators for ecological assessments ( e.g ., water quality control) ( Sæther, 1977 ; Lencioni, Marziali & Rossaro, 2012 ; Dorić et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite this, only a limited subset of biodiversity studies or biomonitoring surveys of aquatic habitats incorporate species- or genus-level information of the Chironomidae and oftentimes, they are neglected altogether ( Raunio, Heino & Paasivirta, 2011 ; Dorić et al, 2021 ). This is due to several factors: (i) non-biting midges are relatively difficult to identify ( Cranston, 2008 ; Proulx et al, 2013 ), (ii) only few taxonomists with the required expertise are available for species-level identification ( Cranston et al, 2013 ; Chan et al, 2014 ), (iii) traditional morphological-based species delimitations often require laborious dissection and mounting of specimens on microscope slides ( Ekrem, Stur & Hebert, 2010 ; Gadawski et al, 2022 ), and (iv) they can be extremely species rich even in relative low-diversity temperate and boreal ecosystems ( Lundström et al, 2010 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Facing the infinity: tackling large samples of challenging Chironomidae (Diptera) with an integrative approach

Chimeno

Rulik

Manfrin

et al. 2023

PeerJ

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Background Integrative taxonomy is becoming ever more significant in biodiversity research as scientists are tackling increasingly taxonomically challenging groups. Implementing a combined approach not only guarantees more accurate species identification, but also helps overcome limitations that each method presents when applied on its own. In this study, we present one application of integrative taxonomy for the highly abundant and particularly diverse fly taxon Chironomidae (Diptera). Although non-biting midges are key organisms in merolimnic systems, they are often cast aside in ecological surveys because they are very challenging to identify and extremely abundant. Methods Here, we demonstrate one way of applying integrative methods to tackle this highly diverse taxon. We present a three-level subsampling method to drastically reduce the workload of bulk sample processing, then apply morphological and molecular identification methods in parallel to evaluate species diversity and to examine inconsistencies across methods. Results Our results suggest that using our subsampling approach, identifying less than 10% of a sample’s contents can reliably detect >90% of its diversity. However, despite reducing the processing workload drastically, the performance of our taxonomist was affected by mistakes, caused by large amounts of material. We conducted misidentifications for 9% of vouchers, which may not have been recovered had we not applied a second identification method. On the other hand, we were able to provide species information in cases where molecular methods could not, which was the case for 14% of vouchers. Therefore, we conclude that when wanting to implement non-biting midges into ecological frameworks, it is imperative to use an integrative approach.

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Lentic chironomid performance in species-based bioassessment proving: High-level taxonomy is not a dead end in monitoring

Cited by 14 publications

References 37 publications

Chironomidae in shallow water bodies of a protected lowland freshwater floodplain ecosystem

Chironomidae in shallow water bodies of a protected lowland freshwater floodplain ecosystem

Defining Patterns and Rates of Natural vs. Drought Driven Aquatic Community Variability Indicates the Ongoing Need for Long Term Ecological Research

Facing the infinity: tackling large samples of challenging Chironomidae (Diptera) with an integrative approach

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