Macroinvertebrates as ?describers? of morphological and hydrological types of aquatic ecosystems abandoned by the Rh�ne River

Abstract

Samples of aquatic macroinvertebrates were taken from abandoned beds of the river RhBne in the Brkgnier-Cordon area. This sector of the French Upper Rh6ne is particularly rich in old beds or'l6nes' which vary in age and morphological type and have more or less direct connections with the river.Samples were collected using a hand net in eight different '16nes'. The results concerned five groups of fauna: Mollusca, Crustacea, Ephemeroptera, Coleoptera, Trichoptera. The study revealed a wide range of fauna, and the fact that group of taxa can be used to describe types of Wnes' defined by morphological and hydrological characteristics. This kind of research adds to our understanding of how such aquatic ecosystems evolve, and may be applied in a more general way to other important river systems.

Reconstructing riverine paleo-flow regimes using subfossil insects (Coleoptera and Trichoptera): the application of the LIFE methodology to paleochannel sediments

“…The paleochannel in the current study therefore reflects the evolution of one channel section with a period of active flow and a second representing isolation and eventual terrestrialisation. The temporal pattern reflected in the sequences is characteristic of the spatial pattern recorded on contemporary floodplain water bodies (Castella et al 1984;Paillex et al 2007), where active channels, cut-offs and isolated backwaters may all exist in close proximity, and highlights the biological value of diverse floodplain water bodies, and paleochannels in the study of river channel evolution.…”

Development of fauna of water beetles (Coleoptera) in waters bodies of a river valley – habitat factors, landscape and geomorphology

“…Still, there is no doubt that the faunistic relations as well as the species richness of a river valley are affected by the diversity of the various water ecosystems found in such places (Stanley et al, 1997;Wissinger, 1999;Junk, 2000;Tockner et al, 2000;Robinson et al, 2002), but also their morphology and hydrological type (Castella et al, 1984).…”

“…A similar phenomenon was observed in the valley of the Narew (Biesiadka and Pakulnicka, 2004a), where a long-term drop in ground water levels restricted hydrological contact between the valley's water bodies, contributing to the deterioration of differences in groups of beetles and their achievement of faunistic individuality. Domination of beetles related to standing waters in the fauna composition is a typical effect of limited hydrological contact between valley water bodies and the main river bed (Castella et al, 1984;Van den Brink et al, 1996).…”

“…This hydrologically cohesive system of varied water bodies is best considered an integral network of mutual faunistic relations between organisms present in aquatic environments of a river valley (Stanford et al, 1996;Stanley et al, 1997;Robinson et al, 2002;Biesiadka and Pakulnicka, 2004a). That is why scientists have been showing a growing interest in relations between river-dwelling fauna and the fauna of other water bodies within the floodplains of rivers (Castella et al, 1984;Stanford et al, 1996;Van den Brink et al, 1996;Stanley et al, 1997;Ward et al, 1999;Robinson et al, 2002;Biesiadka and Pakulnicka, 2004a). Papers describing the faunistic and ecological features of hydrobiont groups are now available, and point to these being shaped by the system's lasting hydrological interconnection (Kajak, 1959;Castella et al, 1984Castella et al, , 1991Castella and Amoros, 1988;Ward et al, 2002;Biesiadka and Kurząt-kowska, 2003;Biesiadka et al, 2004;Biesiadka et al, 2004;Czachorowski, 2004;Jurkiewicz-Karnkowska, 2006;Reckendorfer et al, 2006;Obolewski et al, 2009;Stryjecki and Kowalczyk-Pecka, 2013;Zawal and Kowalik, 2013;Kowalik et al, 2014;Zawal et al, 2016d).…”

“…The question that comes to mind -what are the factors affecting the formation of groups of fauna in river valleys -has been raised not only by hydroentomologists, but also researchers of other groups of organisms (Kajak, 1959;Castella et al, 1984Castella et al, , 1991Castella and Amoros, 1988;Ward, 1998;Ward et al, 2002;Jurkiewicz-Karnkowska, 2006;Reckendorfer et al, 2006;Obolewski et al, 2009). Biesiadka and Pakulnicka (2004a) point out that for water beetles, which are usually perfect fliers and are characterized with high biological dispersal (Bilton, 1994;Lundkvist et al, 2002), faunistic integration between the river and the water bodies located on the floodplain is influenced by two mechanisms: active overflights and migration of beetles in the floodplain area in time of spate.…”