The influence of sampling method on the classification of wetland macroinvertebrate communities

Abstract

Macroinvertebratecommunities sampled by a corer, plankton net and sweep net from five wetlands on the Swan Coastal Plain were compared. The composition of the fauna collected in sweeps and tows was generally similar and differed from that collected in the cores. Cores caught fewer species than tows and sweeps at all wetlands and did not capture fast swimming hemipterans or less abundant taxa. The highest species richness was recorded in sweep samples in four out of the five wetlands. Classification (TWIN-SPAN) and ordination (SSH) of the samples collected in sweeps and tows gave good separation of the wetlands, whereas classification of core samples did not. Coring appeared to be the least suitable sampling method for describing the major components of the macroinvertebrate communities of these wetlands. Plankton tows were useful if the time available for sorting was limited as these samples were free of sediments and generally gave similar results to those obtained with sweeps. Sweeps appeared to be the most useful method for a large classification study as they collected more species and resulted in the best discrimination amongst wetlands.

The myth of communities: Determining ecological quality of surface waters using macroinvertebrate community patterns

“…• The number of pristine waters in the area, which, for example, is large in Twente, riguez & Wright 1991, Vinson & Hawkins 1996, the habitats included in the sample, the sampling device (Cheal et al 1993, ni 1998, Humphries et al 1998, the diversity of the sampled water ral distribution of the samples (Barbour et al 1992), the sorting and same on intensity might have differed between water samp Eph ny species indic especially in running waters (Lenat 1988). Deterioration Neth However, the survey methodology was not standardised for each taxonomic group separately.…”

Macroinvertebrate communities in sediment and plants in coastal Mediterranean water bodies (Central Iberian Peninsula).

“…The area sampled with the core is too small to evaluate the total number of species of the complex sedimentary community and the species number increases when samples are added, due to species with sparse populations. Various studies found that hand-net sweeps collect larger number of taxa than corers (Cheal et al 1993, García-Criado & Trigal 2005, although coring is appropriate in studies targeting specific benthic groups. In the sediment samples the sites with more extreme conditions (the hypertrophic ALB and the semi-permanent and brackish HON) had less marked differences between the number of species per sample and the jackknife estimator.…”

Ecological Drivers of Cladoceran Diversity in the Central European City (Łódź, Poland): Effects of Urbanisation and Size of the Waterbody

“…The pond net is a widely used piece of sampling equipment by aquatic ecologists and has been demonstrated to be a highly effective sampling tool for pond environments (García-Criado and Trigal, 2005). The sweep net collects a high abundance and diversity of macroinvertebrates facilitating the detailed analysis of the community composition (Cheal et al, 1993). In addition, it captures faster swimming and less frequently occurring taxa more effectively than other methods (Cheal et al, 1993).…”

“…The sweep net collects a high abundance and diversity of macroinvertebrates facilitating the detailed analysis of the community composition (Cheal et al, 1993). In addition, it captures faster swimming and less frequently occurring taxa more effectively than other methods (Cheal et al, 1993). To obtain a macroinvertebrate sample the net is held upright and swept through the water column for a pre-determined time period in accessible areas of the pond.…”