Factors Controlling Morphotaxa Distributions of Diptera Chironomidae in Freshwaters

Water

Matteo Montagna¹  Giulia Magoga²  Bruno Rossaro²  Angela Boggero³  Silvia Zaupa³  Laura Marziali⁴ 

[1] Dipartimento di Agraria, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Portici, Italy;Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie ed Ambientali (DISAA), Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milano, Italy;National Research Council-Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA), Corso Tonolli 50, 28922 Verbania Pallanza, Italy;National Research Council-Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA), Via del Mulino 19, 20861 Brugherio, Italy;

关键词: species;    morphospecies;    morphotype;    freshwater ecology;    lotic and lentic habitat;    self-organizing maps;   

DOI  :  10.3390/w14071014

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Many hydrobiological studies have dealt with the autecology of species within the family Chironomidae and discussed factors affecting species distribution. The aim of the present research is to consider the most important factors affecting chironomid species distribution. Habitat type (lentic, lotic, krenal, rhithral, etc.), water temperature, conductivity, and trophic status are confirmed key factors controlling their assemblage structure. Here, we introduce the term “morphotaxon” as the taxonomic level, intermediate between genus and species, more suitable to describe the ecological responses of Chironomidae. The present uncertainty related to species identification is at the base of the proposal, with the assumption that species belonging to the same morphotaxon have similar ecological needs. In this study, this hypothesis was found to be valid, with few exceptions represented by species-rich genera (e.g., Tanytarsus, Paratanytarsus). The morphotaxon can be viewed as an interim measure waiting for the implementation of new complementary approaches, such as species identification with molecular methods.

【 授权许可】

Unknown