Ecological factors affecting aquatic beetle species (Insecta: Coleoptera) (original) (raw)

Abstract

Aquatic Coleoptera plays a major role in freshwater ecosystems and is regarded as an effective bioindicator. While being widely distributed in Iran, there are few studies that use aquatic Coleoptera to determine environmental quality and conditions. With ample water resources, the province of Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari, Iran, offers an excellent opportunity to explore the effect of environmental characteristics on aquatic beetles. The purpose of this research was to investigate the structure of the community and to determine the dominant factors regulating aquatic beetles in Borujen and Lordegan (as two major provincial towns). Sampling was conducted seasonally for one year (between September 2017 and July 2018) at six stations using standard sampling tools (small net and soft paintbrush), ecological factors such as water temperature, water pH, water electrical conductivity and air temperature were also calculated at each station using appropriate tools. A total of 12 species have been described that belong to 11 genera and 4 families. The largest number of described species was contained in the Dytiscidae family and the smallest number in the Hydrophilidae family. Two species of Agabus were the most common insects, namely Agabus conspersus and Agabus bipustulatus. The study of linear regression found that water temperature with a correlation coefficient of 1,685 was the most powerful factor in the distribution of aquatic Coleoptera and the least important factor was the air temperature with a correlation coefficient of 0,39. Furthermore, canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) revealed that water pH, water electrical conductivity (EC), water temperature (WT) and air temperature (AT) had an impact on aquatic beetle distribution. Our results suggest that water quality plays a key role in aquatic beetle species abundance and can, therefore, be viewed as a freshwater ecosystem health indicator organism.

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