The use of water beetles in habitat assessment
The use of water beetles in habitat assessment
The use of water beetles in habitat assessment
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<strong>The</strong> <strong>use</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>water</strong> <strong>beetles</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>habitat</strong><br />
<strong>assessment</strong>: progress towards an<br />
Irish manual<br />
Brian Nelson & Á<strong>in</strong>e O Connor NPWS<br />
Garth Foster <strong>The</strong> Aquatic Coleoptera Conservation Trust
Acknowledgments<br />
GF wishes to acknowledge NPWS for f<strong>in</strong>ancial<br />
support – also NIEA (EHS) and CEDaR for help<br />
<strong>in</strong> the past<br />
Really, if the lower orders don’t set us a good example,<br />
what on earth is the <strong>use</strong> <strong>of</strong> them<br />
Wilde – <strong>The</strong> Importance <strong>of</strong> be<strong>in</strong>g Earnest
Water <strong>beetles</strong> <strong>in</strong> Ireland/Red List<br />
Whirligigs - Gyr<strong>in</strong>idae 10 3<br />
Div<strong>in</strong>g <strong>beetles</strong> et al. – the other<br />
Hydradephaga<br />
“palpicorns” – Hydrophiloidea +<br />
Hydraenidae<br />
riffle and relatives - Dryopoidea<br />
leaf <strong>beetles</strong> and weevils -<br />
Chrysomeloidea<br />
101<br />
70<br />
12<br />
26+<br />
28<br />
26<br />
1<br />
10<br />
Scirtidae 13 4
History<br />
• 1992 Classification and Rank<strong>in</strong>g paper * published<br />
recognised 10 <strong>water</strong> beetle assemblage types based on<br />
DECORANA/TWINSPAN <strong>of</strong> 289 site lists from 6,000 records<br />
• 2007/8 ASSI <strong>assessment</strong>s <strong>in</strong> Northern Ireland<br />
recognised value <strong>of</strong> us<strong>in</strong>g the analysis to def<strong>in</strong>e changes, if<br />
any, <strong>in</strong> the fauna s<strong>in</strong>ce designation<br />
• 2008 Irish Red List published<br />
• 2010 – 40,000 Irish records available<br />
• now – re<strong>assessment</strong> <strong>of</strong> potential to produce a new<br />
classification and rank<strong>in</strong>g system<br />
*Foster, G.N., Nelson, B.H., Bilton, D.T., Lott, D.A., Merritt, R., Weyl, R.S. & Eyre, M.D., 1992.<br />
A classification and evaluation <strong>of</strong> Irish <strong>water</strong> beetle assemblages.<br />
Aquatic Conservation: Mar<strong>in</strong>e & Fresh<strong>water</strong> Ecosystems 2 185-208
Core DECORANA/Fuzzy Set classification <strong>of</strong> 476 lough lists<br />
7<br />
Latratus<br />
Os anmark<br />
6<br />
5<br />
Bmultili Dlapponi Iaenes ce<br />
A arcticu<br />
Eaff<strong>in</strong>is4<br />
Ps cutell<br />
Gm<strong>in</strong>utus<br />
Hpunctat<br />
S lepidus<br />
Gs ubs tri<br />
S duodeci<br />
Nas s imil<br />
Hfulvus<br />
Dcras s ip<br />
Htris tis<br />
Hmelanar<br />
Gdis t<strong>in</strong>c<br />
Dobs cura<br />
Gaeratus<br />
3<br />
Hgyllenh<br />
Hflavipe<br />
Os eptent<br />
Hnovemli<br />
Ndepres s<br />
Herythro<br />
Ifulig<strong>in</strong> Gbil<strong>in</strong>ea<br />
H<strong>in</strong>cogni<br />
Rexs olet<br />
Ovillos u<br />
Lvolckma<br />
Gpictus<br />
Hflavico<br />
Hgracili<br />
Hclypeal 2<br />
Ps ericea<br />
Pdis colo<br />
Gmar<strong>in</strong>us<br />
Imontanu<br />
Hqu<strong>in</strong>que Hconf<strong>in</strong>i Bs ignati Otubercu<br />
Eparalle<br />
Htes s ell<br />
Gpaykull Dluridus<br />
Hrufipes<br />
Pl<strong>in</strong>eatu<br />
Lhaemorr<br />
Iater<br />
Obicolon<br />
1<br />
Eochropt<br />
A labiatu<br />
Iguttige<br />
Rfrontal<br />
Hignicol<br />
Ncras s ic<br />
Hobliquu<br />
Iquadrig<br />
Onils s on<br />
Eaenea<br />
Ggranula Corbicul<br />
Etes tace<br />
Lcolon Mappendi<br />
0<br />
A canalic<br />
A aff<strong>in</strong>isALoblongu<br />
unguicu<br />
S hemis ph<br />
Rgrapii<br />
-2.5 -1.5 -0.5 0.5 1.5 2.5 Hvariega 3.5 4.5Lhyal<strong>in</strong>u<br />
5.5 6.5 7.5<br />
Hdecorat<br />
Eexs culp<br />
Hglabriu<br />
Blutulen<br />
-1<br />
Cpunctip<br />
-2<br />
<strong>The</strong> truth is rarely pure, and never simple<br />
Wilde – <strong>The</strong> Importance <strong>of</strong> be<strong>in</strong>g Earnest
peat bogs<br />
head<strong>water</strong>s<br />
fast rivers<br />
4<br />
3<br />
montane loughs<br />
2<br />
Axis 2<br />
1<br />
0<br />
vegetated<br />
lough shores<br />
loughs with<br />
open shores<br />
slow<br />
rivers<br />
brackish<br />
<strong>water</strong>s<br />
cutover<br />
mesotrophic fens<br />
All great truths beg<strong>in</strong> as<br />
blasphemies<br />
0 1 2 3 4 5 6<br />
GBS<br />
Axis 1<br />
turloughs<br />
ponds, puddles and<br />
ditches<br />
canals<br />
telmata
Rank<strong>in</strong>g system<br />
• <strong>use</strong> presence <strong>of</strong> Red List species<br />
• develop species quality scores based on<br />
commonness 1 to rarity 10 <strong>in</strong> data-base<br />
• calculate mean quality score for each list<br />
• 3.4 or more appears to <strong>in</strong>dicate good<br />
ecological status across a range <strong>of</strong> <strong>habitat</strong>s<br />
• so, even if a site is assigned to the “wrong”<br />
<strong>habitat</strong>, it still has a mean<strong>in</strong>gful score
Ochthebius nilssoni <strong>in</strong> the Burren
Brackish <strong>water</strong><br />
Our description Fossitt Habitats Directive<br />
Seepages on coastal cliffs<br />
Rockpools<br />
~CS1/CS3<br />
sea cliffs<br />
LR1/LR2<br />
rocky shores<br />
not covered<br />
not covered<br />
Driftl<strong>in</strong>es none available not covered<br />
Intertidal mud flats with<br />
algal wefts<br />
LS littoral sediment<br />
1140 mudflats<br />
Intertidal saltmarsh turf CM saltmarshes 1330 Atlantic salt<br />
meadows (part)<br />
Upper saltmarsh CM2 Upper salt marsh 1330 Atlantic salt<br />
meadows (part)
A beetle may or may not be <strong>in</strong>ferior to a<br />
man – the matter awaits demonstration;<br />
but if he were <strong>in</strong>ferior to a man by 10,000<br />
fathoms, the fact rema<strong>in</strong>s that there is<br />
probably a beetle view <strong>of</strong> th<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>of</strong> which<br />
a man is entirely ignorant
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