The use of Members of the Family Chydoridae (Anomopoda, Branchiopoda) as an Indicator of Lake Ecological Quality in Ireland

Abstract

We sampled chydorids (Branchiopoda, Anomopoda) from 29 Irish lakes between June 1996 and July 1997 in order to assess the usefulness of this group as an indicator of lake ecological quality, as required by the recently published EU Water Framework Directive. The lakes represented a wide range of the physicochemical conditions found in Irish lakes. We identified 31 species of Chydoridae from the lakes and used multivariate analysis to elucidate the relationship between the chydorids and their environment. Groups of lakes were found to have distinct chydorid communities, the structure and composition of which depended on environmental variables such as total phosphorus, total nitrogen, alkalinity, conductivity and lake size. The study highlights the potential value of this group as a biotic indicator of ecological change in Irish lakes.

Habitat type as strongest predictor of the body size distribution of Chydorus sphaericus (O. F. Müller) in small water bodies

“…Every kind of disturbance (e.g., increased pollution, afforestation, or land reclamation) in the neighborhood of the ponds can result in a change of zooplankton composition, abundance, and biomass (Jones, 1986). However, C. sphericus of high tolerance adapted to the colonization of disturbed and even temporary habitats (Mezquita and Miracle, 1997;Eyto and Irvine, 2001;Eyto et al, 2002) and environmental factors. In ponds situated within the forest, the size of C. sphaericus was smaller.…”

“…Small water bodies are often diverse in respect to their origin and morphometry, which can in turn create a wide range of environmental conditions including differences in water chemistry (Williams et al, 2003). However, C. sphericus of high tolerance adapted to the colonization of disturbed and even temporary habitats (Mezquita and Miracle, 1997;Eyto and Irvine, 2001;Eyto et al, 2002) and environmental factors.…”

Recent histories of six productive lakes in the Irish Ecoregion based on multiproxy palaeolimnological evidence

“…The remains of diatoms (Bacillariophyceae) preserved in sediments have been widely used as biological indicators of water quality (Stoermer & Smol, 1999;Battarbee et al, 2001), an approach that utilises robust relationships between diatom species and parameters such as pH (Battarbee, 1984;Jones et al, 1986;Anderson & Korsman, 1990) and TP (Hall & Smol, 1992;Bennion et al, 1996). Several species of Cladocera that preserve well and reflect the nutrient status and pH of lake water (Irvine et al, 2000;de Eyto et al, 2002) have been used in the reconstruction of aquatic conditions (Frey, 1960;Parise & Riva, 1982): Daphniidae and Bosminidae tend to be planktonic, while the Chydoridae are mainly benthic/littoral. Pollen and spores are commonly used in studies of recent environmental changes (Bennett & Willis, 2001) and here are used to estimate changing terrestrial plant cover (e.g., Edwards & Whittington, 2001).…”

Anthropocene environmental change in an internationally important oligotrophic catchment on the Atlantic seaboard of western Europe

“…Sparber (2012) reports a decline in water clarity in Feeagh, and hence the depth of the euphotic zone. Additionally de Eyto et al (2002) found a relatively depauperate cladoceran assemblage in comparison to other upland oligotrophic lakes. It is, therefore, possible that reduced water transparency and macrophyte cover could account for the decrease in the abundance of benthic cladocera reported here.…”