Macroinvertebrate assemblages of small upland peatland lakes in Ireland

Using Coleoptera and Odonata as a monitoring tool for improving protected lake habitat characterisation: a case study from Ireland

“…Despite being dominated by some generalist species, 15 of the 24 sites in this study hosted at least one species included in the Irish National Red List. Agabus arcticus, Boreonectes multilineatus, Dytiscus lapponicus and Cordulia aenea are all species previously recorded from similar waterbodies (Baars et al, 2014, Drinan, 2012, Towers, 2004, highlighting that they belong to recurrent communities strongly associated with peatland catchments and regions. However, the most frequently recorded species was the dragon y Cordulia aenea (downy emerald dragon y) (10 sites in total).…”

“…Haliplus fulvus was the only Coleoptera species identi ed as an indicator species for lake habitat 3110 (Table 5). This species is among the few Haliplidae recorded in these habitat types (Baars et al, 2014;Drinan, 2012), and also a rather tolerant one, able to colonise acidic and upland waterbodies (Foster & Friday 2011, Nilsson, 1996. A similar community pattern was described by Drinan (2012) from upland and lowland peatland lakes, where the rst were characterised by a prevalence of larger Coleoptera species, whereas lowland sites included a larger diversity of dragon ies.…”

“…However, the high rate of similarity between lake habitat types based on just Odonata and Coleoptera suggests that a wider target of monitoring invertebrates should be considered to address unexplained variability between the lake habitat types. For example, Drinan (2012) found that lowland, less acidic lakes were also characterised by higher abundances of gastropod Lymnaea peregra (Müller), Baars et al (2014) identi ed 100 Chironomidae (Diptera) species from peatland lakes, while Kesti et al (2022) found an increase in Chironomidae and a parallel decrease of Asellidae (Isopoda) in humic lakes compared to clearwater sites. Therefore, in order to build a comprehensive pro le of the invertebrate communities of these protected lake habitats, future surveys should extend the characterisation to all available taxa with particular attention to the identi cation process, ensuring that specimens are identi ed at species level to facilitate habitats comparison.…”

“…Indeed, most adult Coleoptera would be expected to be present all year round (Foster & Friday, 2011), whilst dragon y larvae generally start their emergence from diapause in June in Ireland (Nelson & Thompson, 2004). Increases in diversity between seasons was also noted by Drinan (2012) in Irish peatland lakes however, Baars et al (2014) reported little seasonal change in Coleoptera richness from upland lakes in Ireland although this was not the case for other insect orders.…”

“…Differences in Odonata and Coleoptera community composition could partially be explained by the chemical and environmental character of the lake habitat type. Redundancy analysis revealed six parameters signi cantly in uenced the community structure: chloride, DO, lake area, pH, temperature and turbidity (Table S4); all parameters known to affect invertebrate composition in peatland regions (Baars et al, 2014;Drinan, 2012;Heino, 2008;Foster et al, 1992;Ranta, 1985). However, the constrained proportion explained by this model (41%) suggests that the physical and chemical attributes of the lake habitats only play a partial role in shaping the two communities and that other parameters, potentially more in uential, were not considered.…”