Macroinvertebrate communities of karst springs of two river catchments in the Southern Limestone Alps (the Julian Alps, NW Slovenia) |
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Authors: | Nataša Mori Anton Brancelj |
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Institution: | (1) National Institute of Biology, Večna pot 111, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia |
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Abstract: | The macroinvertebrate communities of 16 karst springs in the Southern Limestone Alps (Slovenia, SE Europe), were studied from
May to September 1999, together with the major chemical parameters of the water and selected physical characteristics of the
springs. The springs are located in an area of 800 km2, between 410 and 955 m a.s.l., and drain into two rivers whose catchments are separated by mountain ranges up to 2864 m.
The Soča river drains into the Adriatic Sea and the Sava into the Black Sea. Springs showed relatively large fluctuations
in discharge and small variations in temperature (normally about 1 °C) during the period of study. Seventy macroinvertebrate
taxa were collected. Chironomidae (Diptera), Limnephilidae (Trichoptera), Enchytraeidae (Oligochaeta), Tricladida (Turbellaria)
and Belgrandiella kuesteri (Gastropoda) were the most widespread taxa, collected from the majority of sampling sites. The environmental characteristics
showed a great heterogeneity, and there was a large variation in the taxonomic composition and relative abundance of taxa
between springs and during seasons. The coexistence of taxa with highly divergent ecological requirements is characteristic
of the spring communities studied. They range from stygobionts and spring-restricted species to ubiquitous species. The differences
observed in spring fauna in the two river catchments were probably dictated by differences in local environmental parameters
and not by the geographical location in the different river catchments. |
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Keywords: | Community analysis Ecology Freshwater Macrobenthos Springs |
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