Developing a multimetric index of ecological integrity based on macroinvertebrates of mountain ponds in central Italy |
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Authors: | Angelo G Solimini Marcello Bazzanti Antonio Ruggiero Gianmaria Carchini |
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Institution: | (1) European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, TP 290, 21027 Ispra, Italy;(2) Department of Animal and Human Biology, University ‘La Sapienza’, Viale dell’Università 32, 00185 Rome, Italy;(3) Laboratoire d’Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes, UMR 5177, Université Paul Sabatier, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse cedex 9, France;(4) Department of Biology, University ‘Tor Vergata’, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133 Rome, Italy |
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Abstract: | The lack of biological systems for the assessment of ecological quality specific to mountain ponds prevents the effective
management of these natural resources. In this article we develop an index based on macroinvertebrates sensitive to the gradient
of nutrient enrichment. With this aim, we sampled 31 ponds along a gradient of trophy and with similar geomorphological characteristics
and watershed use in protected areas of the central Apennines. A bioassessment protocol was adopted to collect and process
benthic samples and key-associated physical, chemical, and biological variables during the summer growth season of 1998. We
collected 61 genera of macroinvertebrates belonging to 31 families. We calculated 31 macroinvertebrate metrics based on selected
and total taxa richness, richness of some key groups, abundance, functional groups and tolerance to organic pollution. The
gradient of trophy was quantified with summer concentrations of chlorophyll a. We followed a stepwise procedure to evaluate the effectiveness of a given metric for use in the multimetric index. Those
were the pollution tolerance metric ASPT, three metrics based on taxonomic richness (the richness of macroinvertebrate genera,
the richness of chironomid taxa, and the percentage of total richness composed by Ephemeroptera, Odonata, and Trichoptera),
two metrics based on FFG attributes (richness of collector gatherer taxa and richness of scraper taxa) and the habit-based
metric richness of burrowers. The 95th percentile of each metric distribution among all ponds was trisected for metric scoring.
The final Pond Macroinvertebrate Integrity Index ranged from 7 to 35 and had a good correlation (R
2 = 0.71) with the original gradient of environmental degradation.
Guest editors: R. Céréghino, J. Biggs, B. Oertli & S. Declerck
The ecology of European ponds: defining the characteristics of a neglected freshwater habitat |
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Keywords: | Apennines Ecological integrity Macroinvertebrates Mountain ponds Bioassessment |
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