Hill, Matthew, Ryves, D.B., White, J.C. and Wood, P.J. (2016) Macroinvertebrate Diversity in Urban and Rural Ponds: Implications for Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation. Biological Conservation, 201. pp. 50-59. ISSN 0006-3207
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Hill et al diversity in urban and rural ponds implications for freshwater biodiversity conservation.pdf - Accepted Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (1MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Ponds are among the most biodiverse freshwater ecosystems, yet face significant threats from removal, habitat degradation and a lack of legislative protection globally. Information regarding the habitat quality and biodiversity of ponds across a range of land uses is vital for the long term conservation and management of ecological resources. In this study we examine the biodiversity and conservation value of macroinvertebrates from 91 lowland ponds across 3 land use types (35 floodplain meadow, 15 arable and 41 urban ponds). A total of 224 macroinvertebrate taxa were recorded across all ponds, with urban ponds and floodplain ponds supporting a greater richness than arable ponds at the landscape scale. However, at the alpha scale, urban ponds supported lower faunal diversity (mean: 22 taxa) than floodplain (mean: 32 taxa) or arable ponds (mean: 30 taxa). Floodplain ponds were found to support taxonomically distinct communities compared to arable and urban ponds. A total of 13 macroinvertebrate taxa with a national conservation designation were recorded across the study area and 12 ponds (11 floodplain and 1 arable pond) supported assemblages of high or very high conservation value. Pond conservation currently relies on the designation of individual ponds based on very high biodiversity or the presence of taxa with specific conservation designations. However, this site specific approach fails to acknowledge the contribution of ponds to freshwater biodiversity at the landscape scale. Ponds are highly appropriate sites outside of protected areas (urban/arable), with which the general public are already familiar, for local and landscape scale conservation of freshwater habitats.
Item Type: | Article |
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Additional Information: | Staff and students at the University of Worcester can access the full-text via the UW online library search. External users should check availability with their local library or Interlibrary Requests Service. |
Uncontrolled Discrete Keywords: | conservation value, landscape scale, reconciliation ecology,small lentic waterbodies, taxonomic richness |
Subjects: | G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GB Physical geography G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences Q Science > QL Zoology |
Divisions: | College of Health, Life and Environmental Sciences > School of Science and the Environment |
Related URLs: | |
Depositing User: | Matthew Hill |
Date Deposited: | 07 Jul 2016 15:08 |
Last Modified: | 15 Sep 2020 15:19 |
URI: | https://eprints.worc.ac.uk/id/eprint/4599 |
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