Lc. Ferrington et al., HABITAT SEPARATION AMONG CHIRONOMIDAE (DIPTERA) IN BIG-SPRINGS, Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society, 68(2), 1995, pp. 152-165
Habitat separation among Chironomidae was determined for five habitats
in Big Springs, which is located in the high plains of western Kansas
. Larvae, pupae, pupal exuviae and adults were qualitatively collected
from each habitat on seven dates over a two-year period. The five hab
itats investigated were: spring source, spring run, a large pool, spla
sh zones, and saturated soils/small seeps. Sixty-six species occurred
in the five habitats, with Chironomini being most species rich (31 spe
cies), followed by Orthodadiinae (22), Tanypodinae (9) and Tanytarsini
(4). The highest species richness was in the pool habitat (45 species
), which was dominated by Chironomini. Orthocladiinae dominated all ot
her habitats, with the spring run having second highest species richne
ss (20 species), followed by the spring source and splash zones (each
with 13 species) and the saturated soils and seeps (11 species). Forty
-eight of the species occurred in only one habitat and only three taxa
, Tanytarsus spp., Corynoneura spp. and Thienemanniella spp., were fou
nd in all five habitats. Jaccard's Coefficient showed that the composi
tion of the splash zone and spring source, and the splash zone and spr
ing run were most similar. However, an analysis of species composition
using the Simple Matching Coefficient indicated that the splash zone
and spring source were most similar, and the splash zone and saturated
soils and seeps as second most similar. Both indices, however, indica
ted that the spring source and the large pool had the least similar co
mposition. These results suggest that patterns of longitudinal zonatio
n in the composition of chironomids, and perhaps other macroinvertebra
tes, along spring and spring run gradients are strongly influenced by
physical variations in the microhabitats that occur as the groundwater
discharge merges into a well defined stream with alternating pool-rif
le habitats.