Effet des variables abiotiques sur la biomasse animale de sept mares temporaires d'eau douce du Québec méridional

The aim of this study was to ascertain the influence of environmental variables on the seasonal variations of total animal biomass in temporary ponds. We thus collected weekly, in seven major types of mosquito-breeding habitats, a total of 163 samples and calculated the dry weight (µg/l) of 75 taxa, using the length-weight relationships described in the literature. The total biomass was found to be more stable than the proportions of individual taxa. Multiple regression analysis showed that most of the dispersion of total animal biomass could be explained by environmental variables, especially water temperature, volume of water body and season.