Přidalová Marcela Sedlačková, Hamerlík Ladislav, Novikmec Milan, Slobodníková Veronika, Veselská Marta, Bitušík Peter, Svitok Marek
Department of Biology and General Ecology Technical University in Zvolen Zvolen Slovakia.
Department of Biology and Ecology Matej Bel University Banská Bystrica Slovakia.
Ecol Evol. 2024 May 5;14(5):e11354. doi: 10.1002/ece3.11354. eCollection 2024 May.
Ponds are common freshwater habitats in the European landscape that substantially contribute to local and regional biodiversity. Chironomids often dominate invertebrate communities in ponds but are usually disregarded in ecological studies due to relatively complicated taxonomy and identification issues. We present a comprehensive overview of the chironomid diversity in 246 ponds spanning a wide range of conditions extending from the Pannonian Plain to the Carpathians. Altogether, we recorded 225 taxa including 192 species from six subfamilies (Podonominae, Tanypodinae, Diamesinae, Prodiamesinae, Orthocladiinae and Chironominae). However, the chironomid taxa inventory is far from complete and about 16% of the total diversity of pond-dwelling chironomids remains undetected. Chironomid alpha diversity showed a significant unimodal pattern along the elevation gradient with the highest number of taxa per pond expected around 790 m a.s.l. Gamma diversity also peaked in mid-elevations (600-800 m), and the common chironomid taxa partitioned the 2100-m long altitudinal gradient relatively evenly. The heterogeneity of chironomid communities among ponds measured as beta diversity was significantly higher in elevations below 800 m. Temperature and the proportion of surrounding forests significantly influenced alpha diversity of chironomid communities, while urban land cover and pond size had no significant effect. Ponds with a mean annual air temperature of approximately 4.8°C and a low proportion of surrounding forests are expected to harbour the most diverse chironomid communities. Our study showed that chironomids represent a very diverse and often exceptionally rich group of pond-dwelling macroinvertebrates. Given the high diversity and broad range of occupied niches, chironomids should not be overlooked in pond ecology studies. On the contrary, they should be considered a potential model group.
池塘是欧洲地貌中常见的淡水栖息地，对当地和区域生物多样性有重大贡献。摇蚊通常在池塘的无脊椎动物群落中占主导地位，但由于分类和鉴定问题相对复杂，在生态学研究中通常被忽视。我们全面概述了246个池塘中的摇蚊多样性，这些池塘涵盖了从潘诺尼亚平原到喀尔巴阡山脉的广泛条件。我们总共记录了225个分类单元，包括来自六个亚科（多足摇蚊亚科、长足摇蚊亚科、直突摇蚊亚科、原直突摇蚊亚科、正颤蚓亚科和摇蚊亚科）的192个物种。然而，摇蚊分类单元清单远未完整，约16%的池塘栖息摇蚊总多样性仍未被发现。摇蚊的α多样性沿海拔梯度呈现出显著的单峰模式，预计每个池塘分类单元数量最多的情况出现在海拔约790米处。γ多样性也在中海拔（600 - 800米）达到峰值，常见的摇蚊分类单元相对均匀地划分了2100米长的海拔梯度。以β多样性衡量的池塘间摇蚊群落异质性在海拔800米以下显著更高。温度和周边森林比例对摇蚊群落的α多样性有显著影响，而城市土地覆盖和池塘大小没有显著影响。预计年平均气温约为4.8°C且周边森林比例较低的池塘拥有最多样化的摇蚊群落。我们的研究表明，摇蚊是一类非常多样且通常极为丰富的池塘栖息大型无脊椎动物群体。鉴于其高多样性和广泛占据的生态位，摇蚊在池塘生态学研究中不应被忽视。相反，它们应被视为一个潜在的模式类群。
