B. Malmqvist et al., Diversity, distribution and larval habitats of North Swedish blackflies (Diptera : Simuliidae), FRESHW BIOL, 42(2), 1999, pp. 301-314
1. Blackfly species richness and community structure were analysed at fifty
-six sites in northern Sweden in two seasons. The sites were situated in a
wide range of streams and rivers from small springbrooks, bog streams and l
ake-outlet streams to medium-sized forest rivers and large rivers draining
montane regions.
2. Thirty-nine blackfly species were found, with between two and thirteen s
pecies per site. Neither species richness nor abundance could be related to
the environmental variables measured.
3. An analysis of labral fan size of blackflies indicated a clear trend for
the prevalence of larvae with small fans in large rivers and larvae with l
arger fan size in small streams. Similarly, fan size related to current vel
ocities so that large fans were associated with slow current velocities and
small fans with high velocities.
4. A strong relationship existed between species composition and habitat, a
s seen in ordination by non-metric multidimensional scaling. The relationsh
ip found between fan size and habitat size-related variables, such as chann
el width, depth, velocity and substratum particle size, along with longitud
e and altitude, in partial least squares regression analysis offered an exp
lanation of the species composition-habitat relationship.
5. In addition to testing that distributions of blackfly larvae reflect mor
phological traits, we tested two general hypotheses pertaining to distribut
ion patterns: (a) that blackfly communities show bimodal distributions; and
(b) that their distributions are nested. Neither of these two hypotheses w
as supported by our observations. However, widespread blackfly species were
locally more abundant than those found at relatively few sites, thus showi
ng a positive abundance-occupancy relationship.