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The influence of catchment geology on the longitudinal distribution of macroinvertebrate assemblages in a groundwater dominated river
Author(s) -
Cannan C. E.,
Armitage P. D.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
hydrological processes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.222
H-Index - 161
eISSN - 1099-1085
pISSN - 0885-6087
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1085(19990228)13:3<355::aid-hyp743>3.0.co;2-5
Subject(s) - fauna , geology , drainage basin , group (periodic table) , hydrology (agriculture) , groundwater , structural basin , paleontology , ecology , geography , chemistry , cartography , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry , biology
Macroinvertebrate fauna were collected from 15 reaches along the length of the River Frome, a lowland groundwater‐dominated river in Dorset, southern England. The Frome arises in Upper Greensand and Gault Clay before flowing through Chalk and finally Tertiary deposits of gravel and sand. Sampling took place in the summer of 1995 and identification was taken to family level. The relation between longitudinal changes in the faunal assemblages and geology in the catchment was examined using multivariate methods. A preliminary classification of all sites was carried out using TWINSPAN analysis. The 15 sites separated into four distinct groups with all three replicates from any one site always found in the same group. Group I (comprising only the headwater site) and Group IV were associated with the mixed Upper Greensand geology, Group II with Chalk and Group III with the Tertiary gravels. These data were supported by a separate correspondence analysis and would appear to show a pattern between geology in the catchment and the distribution of fauna. However, because the geological changes along the Frome valley occur sequentially downstream, it is not possible to separate geological effects from factors related to position downstream. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.