Abstract
Peat bogs are unique wetland ecosystems of high conservation value all over the world, yet data on the macroinvertebrates (including mayfly assemblages) in these habitats are still scarce. Over the course of one growing season, mayfly assemblages were sampled each month, along with other macroinvertebrates, in the largest and oldest Croatian peat bog and an adjacent stream. In total, ten mayfly species were recorded: two species in low abundance in the peat bog, and nine species in significantly higher abundance in the stream. Low species richness and abundance in the peat bog were most likely related to the harsh environmental conditions and mayfly habitat preferences. In comparison, due to the more favourable habitat conditions, higher species richness and abundance were observed in the nearby stream. Three of the recorded species, Caenis luctuosa from the peat bog, and Eurylophella karelica and Leptophlebia marginata from the stream are new records for the Croatian mayfly fauna. Typical Central European life cycle patterns were confirmed for several species (e.g. Baetis vernus, Nigrobaetis niger, Electrogena ujhelyii), while for several others (e.g. Habrophlebia fusca, Paraleptophlebia submarginata) some discrepancies were observed. Therefore, these results provide new and valuable information on the ecology of mayflies in peat bog habitats.
Highlights
Acidic peat bogs dominated by Sphagnum species occupy approximately 3 % of the Earth’s land surface (Kivinen and Pakarinen 1981) and contain one-third of the world’s soil carbon (Joosten and Clarke 2002)
This study shows that mayflies have low species richness and abundance in the peat bog, as already reported by several other studies (e.g. Bauernfeind and Moog 2000, Joniak and Domek 2006, Schartau et al 2008)
With three new species records for the country, this study showed that our knowledge of the Croatian mayfly fauna is still growing
Summary
Acidic peat bogs dominated by Sphagnum species occupy approximately 3 % of the Earth’s land surface (Kivinen and Pakarinen 1981) and contain one-third of the world’s soil carbon (Joosten and Clarke 2002) They play an important role in the global carbon cycle and climate change (Limpens et al 2008, Battin et al 2009). Peat bogs are widely distributed in boreal regions of the Northern hemisphere, but in the Western Balkans are in patches of isolated habitat (Spitzer and Danks 2006, Topić and Stančić 2006) These unique and environmentally extreme wetland ecosystems are characterized by diverse aquatic and semiaquatic habitats, high water table and acidity, low oxygen and nutrient levels (Spitzer and Danks 2006). Recent studies have shown that peat bogs are inhabited by unique macroinvertebrate assemblages, often containing rare and threatened species (Hannigan and Kelly-Quinn 2012, Drinan et al 2013, Baars et al 2014)
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