Abstract
A basic knowledge of regional faunas is necessary to follow the changes in macroinvertebrate communities caused by environmental influences and climatic trends in the future. We collected all the available data on water bugs in Hungary using an inventory method, a UTM grid based database was built, and Jackknife richness estimates and species accumulation curves were calculated. Fauna compositions were compared among Central-European states. As a result, an updated and annotated checklist for Hungary is provided, containing 58 species in 21 genera and 12 families. A total 66.8% of the total UTM 10 × 10 km squares in Hungary possess faunistic data for water bugs. The species number in grid cells numbered from 0 to 42, and their diversity patterns showed heterogeneity. The estimated species number of 58 is equal to the actual number of species known from the country. The asymptotic shape of the accumulative species curve predicts that additional sampling efforts will not increase the number of species currently known from Hungary. These results suggest that the number of species in the country was estimated correctly and that the species accumulation curve levels off at an asymptotic value. Thus a considerable increase in species richness is not expected in the future. Even with the species composition changing the chance of species turn-over does exist. Overall, 36.7% of the European water bug species were found in Hungary. The differences in faunal composition between Hungary and its surrounding countries were caused by the rare or unique species, whereas 33 species are common in the faunas of the eight countries. Species richness does show a correlation with latitude, and similar species compositions were observed in the countries along the same latitude. The species list and the UTM-based database are now up-to-date for Hungary, and it will provide a basis for future studies of distributional and biodiversity patterns, biogeography, relative abundance and frequency of occurrences important in community ecology, or the determination of conservation status.
Highlights
Aquatic and semi-aquatic Heteroptera are important components of aquatic ecosystems for several reasons. Water bugs act both as consumers of algae and leaf litter at lower trophic levels and as prey for fish and other organisms at higher trophic levels (McCafferty 1981, Hutchinson 1993)
Based on the results of data mining and the Hungarian surveillance monitoring, 58 water bug species representing 21 genera and 12 families are currently known from Hungary (Table 1)
Based on the shape of the species accumulation curve estimated from the entire database until 2013, it appears likely that an increase in sampling efforts will not result in an increase in the number of species currently known from Hungary
Summary
Aquatic and semi-aquatic Heteroptera (water bugs) are important components of aquatic ecosystems for several reasons. Water bugs can be found on the macrophyte stands, of the benthic region, beneath open water or on the surface Both the surface dwellers and the truly aquatic forms occupy a particular niche within an ecosystem (Savage 1989). Several species are considered as flagship or umbrella species for ecosystem protection (Whiteman and Sites 2008). In addition to their ecological role, some species even have high economic importance as top predators or food sources for protected or endangered animals (or even humans), the significance of which has probably been underestimated (Papáček 2001)
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