The rheophilic fauna and invertebrate communities of the tundra zone: A case study of the Southern Yamal

Abstract

The invertebrate fauna of rivers and streams of the Southern Yamal has been studied using original specimens (122 bottom and vegetation samples). A total of 158 taxa have been recorded, many of which are new for this region. Among them, 18 types of rheophilic macrobenthic communities have been distinguished which mainly correspond to certain types of habitats and watercourses. A depletion in the set of rheophilic communities (including the loss of almost all crenal and many phytal ones), the taxonomic structure of communities (the loss of large bivalves and most gastropods, hemipterans, and dragonflies), and the total species composition of the fauna, as well as changes in the balance of life forms towards filter feeders (larvae of the family Simuliidae midges and pea clams) and leveling of the differences between the communities of large and small watercourses when compared with the communities of the Russian forest zone, have been recorded. Widespread Eurosiberian species are the most abundant in the rheophilic fauna of the examined region, Arctic species account for ∼20% of all species, and six East Siberian species have been found. No endemic species have been discovered.