Studies on eucrenal-hypocrenal zonation of springs along the river mainstream: A case study of a karst canyon in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

The canyons in Dinaric karst are known to harbour a diverse aquatic fauna living in springs along the river mainstream. However, the knowledge on the ecology of these springs and also on the springs in mountainous areas of the Balkan Peninsula in general is poor. This study is focused on the macroinvertebrate assemblages of three different types of springs along the Cvrcka River (Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina). The aim of this study was to check whether existing criteria for regional spring zonations in Central Europe are applicable also for riparian springs with short springbrooks bordering high order streams. The macroinvertebrates were collected seasonally for one year at two different distances from the source: at the source, and approximately 2–3 m from the source (“springbrook”). At the spring sources, we found 59 species and higher taxa while in the springbrooks 61 species and higher taxa were recorded. Diptera represented the most abundant taxon, followed by Amphipoda and Trichoptera. No strong trend for the Margalef’s index for the spring source and springbrook was detected, while the Shannon’s diversity index increased in the springbrook of the studied springs. Our analysis did not prove significant differences between the macroinvertebrate assemblages from the source and springbrook. Based on faunistic data we suggest that small riparian springs with a short outflow likely do not exhibit true spring zonation but may show a “quasi-zonation” defined as a possible hidden differentiation between spring source and springbrook. Our study shows that criteria for spring zonation are not suitable for riparian springs bordering high order streams.

An updated checklist of leeches (Annelida: Hirudinea) from Bosnia and Herzegovina

“…Piscicola hadzii is known only from the Buna River (spring and first-order stream) in southwestern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sket 1985). Dina sketi inhabits few springs in Cvrcka river basin in north-western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Grosser et al 2014a;Pešić et al 2016). In this study we have reported this species in the springs and streams of the Crna Rijeka Basin (Table 1), about thirty kilometers southwest of the previously known localities (Figure 1).…”

The optimal time for sampling macroinvertebrates and its implications for diversity indexing in rheocrenes − case study from the Prokletije Mountains

“…In most recent studies, springs have been widely recognised as important freshwater sites maintaining high biodiversity, especially in mountainous regions (Pe sić et al, 2016;von Fumetti et al, 2017;Savić et al, 2017). They are inhabited by a number of rare, even endemic species, many of which are spring specialists, the so-called crenobionts (von Fumetti et al, 2017).…”

Ecological patterns of Odonata assemblages in karst springs in central Montenegro

“…The lower and usually stable temperature creates optimal conditions for stenothermal cold-water organisms and thus springs can highly contribute to the regional biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems (Boulton 2005;Pešić et al, 2016). Beside the temperature, the macroinvertebrate composition of springs is also influenced by various environmental factors such as hydrological conditions, physico-chemical parameters and substratum composition (Hahn, 2000;Ilmonen and Paasivirta, 2005;von Fumetti et al, 2006;von Fumetti and Nagel, 2012).…”