Diversity, distribution and habitat requirements of aquatic insect communities in tropical mountain streams (South-eastern Guinea, West Africa)

Article Article scientifique Article Diversity, distribution and habitat requirements of aquatic insect communities in tropical mountain streams (South-eastern Guinea, West Africa) eng 2016 author Edia Oi Edia 810239 author Castella Emmanuel 0000-0002-4115-4124 29171 author Konan Mexmin Koffi author Gattolliat Jean-Luc author Ouattara Allassane 285-300 10.1051/limn/2016016 0003-4088 http://www.limnology-journal.org/10.1051/limn/2016016 Considering that knowledge of the biodiversity of a region is the first step toward its conservation and given the paucity of studies on aquatic insects from the Simandou streams, the diversity of these communities was assessed. Aquatic insects were sampled with a hand-net (mesh size: 250 mm) on four occasions between March 2011 and September 2012 at 27 sites. Environmental variables were also recorded. Overall, 129 taxa belonging to 51 families and eight orders were recorded. Multivariate analyses gathered sites into three clusters in regard to aquatic insect composition. The rarefied taxonomic richness showed decreases in association with increasing levels of human impact. Cluster 1 that contained most disturbed sites displayed low taxonomic richness compared with the two others. The highest taxonomic richness was registered in cluster 2 that contained a mixture of upland and lowland sites; the latter remained minimally disturbed. These sites could be considered as reference sites in studies for assessing water quality. Generalised additive models calculated for the most frequent taxa showed that water temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity and pH were the incorporated explanatory variables. Therefore, further anthropogenic activities should preserve the surrounding forest in order to preserve the quality of Simandou streams and consequently aquatic biodiversity. West Africa Mountain streams Generalized additive models Taxonomic diversity Aquatic insects Dewey 333.7-333.9 Dewey 550 18 Institut des sciences de l'environnement 0DB 41 Département F.-A. Forel des sciences de l'environnement et de l'eau 153 false 756 Ecology and Aquatic Biology Annales de limnologie 52 ca69a864-a599-427b-92a1-e3629d3d57ea Article (Published version) Restricted Edia2016_AnnlsLimnol.pdf 783776 application/pdf restrictedAccess Centres et instituts / Institut des sciences de l'environnement Faculté des sciences / Section des sciences de la Terre et de l'Environnement / Département F.-A. Forel des sciences de l'environnement et de l'eau

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Diversity, distribution and habitat requirements of aquatic insect communities in tropical mountain streams (South-eastern Guinea, West Africa)	Annales de limnologie			2016	556	1

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