| Abstract | The development of benthic quality indices for European lakes is hindered by the lack of information concerning many national lake types and pressures. Most information is from north European lakes stressed by acidification and from deep lakes subjected to eutrophication; for other lake types (the ones included in the Mediterranean areas for example) and for other pressures (hydro-morphological altera-tion, toxic stress) there is practically no information about the response of benthic macro-invertebrates; this hinders the possibility of an intercalibration of the indices among the member states (MS) in the EU. In the present communication three benthic quality indices are proposed considering the littoral, sublittoral and profundal zone in 5 reference and 7 non reference lakes from the Alpine region in response to eutrophication. The sensitivity values of the 177 species found in these lakes were calcu-lated taking a weighted average of the values of environmental variables from lakes in which the species were present. The indicator taxa which prevailed in these lakes were Chironomids and Oligochaetes. A coinertia analysis emphasized the importance of trophic variables (transparency, nitrates, total phosphorous) in explaining the species distribution, but geographic (altitude) and morphometric (depth, volume) variables were also important. The indices enabeled a separation of reference from non-refer-ence lakes and to assign the non-reference lakes to different quality classes in agreement with the Water Framework Directive. |
| Text | 192933 2012 10.5324/fn.v31i0.1364 Chironomids Biological indicators Oligochaetes Lakes Benthic macroinvertebrates A benthic quality index for European alpine lakes Bruno Rossaro; Angela Boggero; Brigitte Lods Crozet; Gary Free; Valeria Lencioni; Laura Marziali; Georg Wolfram Rossaro, Bruno DeFENS Department of Food Environmental and Nutritional Sciences, Universita degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 2 I 20133 Milano, Italy; Boggero, Angela CNR ISE, Pallanza Verbania; Lods Crozet, Brigitte Service des Eaux, Sols et Assainissement, Chemin des Boveresses 155, CH 1066 Epalinges, Switzerland; Free, Gary Aquatic Environment, Environmental Protection Agency, Mc Cumiskey House, Richview, Clonskeagh Road, Dublin 14, Ireland; Lencioni, Valeria MTSN Museo Tridentino Scienze Naturali, via Calepina 14, I 38122 Trento, Italia; Marziali, Laura CNR IRSA, Brugherio; Wolfram, Georg DWS Hydro Oekologie GmbH, Zentagasse 47, A 1050 Vienna, Austria The development of benthic quality indices for European lakes is hindered by the lack of information concerning many national lake types and pressures. Most information is from north European lakes stressed by acidification and from deep lakes subjected to eutrophication; for other lake types the ones included in the Mediterranean areas for example and for other pressures hydro morphological altera tion, toxic stress there is practically no information about the response of benthic macro invertebrates; this hinders the possibility of an intercalibration of the indices among the member states MS in the EU. In the present communication three benthic quality indices are proposed considering the littoral, sublittoral and profundal zone in 5 reference and 7 non reference lakes from the Alpine region in response to eutrophication. The sensitivity values of the 177 species found in these lakes were calcu lated taking a weighted average of the values of environmental variables from lakes in which the species were present. The indicator taxa which prevailed in these lakes were Chironomids and Oligochaetes. A coinertia analysis emphasized the importance of trophic variables transparency, nitrates, total phosphorous in explaining the species distribution, but geographic altitude and morphometric depth, volume variables were also important. The indices enabeled a separation of reference from non refer ence lakes and to assign the non reference lakes to different quality classes in agreement with the Water Framework Directive. 31 A benthic quality index for European alpine lakes 1364_6170_1_PB.pdf Articolo in rivista Museum of Natural History and Archaeology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology 1502 4873 Fauna Norvegica Trykt utg. Fauna Norvegica Trykt utg. Fauna Norv. Trykt utg. Fauna Norvegica. Trykt utg. angela.boggero BOGGERO ANGELA laura.marziali MARZIALI LAURA TA.P04.016.004 Ecologia teorica e applicata degli ecosistemi acquatici TA.P04.032.003 La risposta delle comunita acquatiche bioindicatori e WFD |
