Journal article
Patterns of distribution of macroinvertebrate families in rivers of north-western Australia
Freshwater Biology, Vol.41(2), pp.299-316
1999
Abstract
1. The northern half of Western Australia is a large, sparsely populated area with a climate that ranges from monsoonal in the Kimberley to arid in the Gascoyne and Pilbara regions. The aquatic invertebrate fauna is poorly known.
2. Fifty-one sites located on 14 river systems were sampled three times between August 1994 and October 1995. A total of 90 taxa, most identified to family level, were collected. The fauna was dominated by insects, which constituted 74% of the total number of taxa collected.
3. Major habitats at each site were sampled separately and sites with more habitats tended to have a richer fauna. All habitats showed significant differences in taxonomic richness between regions. Family richness decreased with increasing latitude, being highest in the Kimberley region and lowest in the Gascoyne.
4. Despite the differences in taxon richness between regions, community composition of the aquatic invertebrate fauna at the family level did not differ greatly. Four major groups of sites were identified by cluster analysis, based on the invertebrate families present at each site, but differences between groups were small.
5. Significant temporal variation in taxon richness was found in channel habitat but not the three other habitats sampled (riffle, macrophyte, pool-rocks). Community composition in channel habitat varied temporally among groups of sites identified by cluster analysis but the pattern was not consistent.
Details
- Title
- Patterns of distribution of macroinvertebrate families in rivers of north-western Australia
- Authors/Creators
- W.R. Kay (Author/Creator) - Murdoch UniversityM.J. Smith (Author/Creator) - Department of Wildlife ConservationA.M. Pinder (Author/Creator)J.M. Mcrae (Author/Creator) - Department of Wildlife ConservationJ.A. Davis (Author/Creator) - Murdoch UniversityS.A. Halse (Author/Creator) - Department of Wildlife Conservation
- Publication Details
- Freshwater Biology, Vol.41(2), pp.299-316
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Identifiers
- 991005544702807891
- Murdoch Affiliation
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
Source: InCites
Metrics
57 Record Views
InCites Highlights
These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output
- Citation topics
- 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology
- 3.2 Marine Biology
- 3.2.62 Freshwater Fish Ecology
- Web Of Science research areas
- Ecology
- Marine & Freshwater Biology
- ESI research areas
- Plant & Animal Science