Abstract
Island biogeography is based on the idea that the larger an island, and the less it is isolated from other areas, the higher the biodiversity it contains. The premise of island size contributing to diversity is based on the fundamental ecological concept—the species area relationship (SAR). Wetlands and, in particular, arid zone spring wetlands can be considered islands as they are wetted habitat surrounded by a harsh and dry landscape—“girt by dirt”—forming an ideal setting to study island biogeography. While studies in spring wetlands have identified SARs that conform to the concept, others identified conflicting information. The aim of our study was to assess the relationship between spring wetland wetted area and its aquatic invertebrate taxonomic richness across three of Australia’s Great Artesian Basin spring complexes. Wetted area and aquatic invertebrates were recorded for 32 individual spring wetlands. The constraint that wetted area has on invertebrate taxonomic richness was analysed using quantile regression. ANOSIM was used to compare differences in the invertebrate community between spring complexes. No significant relationship between wetted area and taxonomic richness was identified across all springs, but the aquatic invertebrate community and taxonomic richness was significantly different across the three spring complexes. Analyses were repeated for one spring complex. Increasing wetland size was found to constrain invertebrate taxonomic richness at Edgbaston Springs. These results contrast with the basic SAR concept but can potentially be the result of a “small island effect” where the relationship is overridden by anthropogenic disturbance.
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Acknowledgements
Sara Clifford, Alisha Steward, Jaye Lobegeiger, Yemaya Smythe-McGuiness, and Annette Ritchie assisted with field sampling and laboratory identifications. We would like to acknowledge the property owners who allowed us to work on their properties. These include Bush Heritage Australia—Edgbaston Springs, Queensland National Parks, and Wildlife Service—Elizabeth Springs and Thomas Patrick Fagan—Yowah Springs. Also, thanks to Adam Kerezsy for help with accessing the springs on Edgbaston Station and keeping us entertained on fieldtrips, David Coulston (Cujo) for helping out in sticky situations, and Jessica McCabe and Giselle Pickering and two anonymous reviewers for providing helpful comments on the manuscript.
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This study was funded by the Queensland Government.
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Both authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Peter Negus and Joanna Blessing. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Peter Negus and Joanna Blessing edited the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Data is stored in and available from Queensland Government databases and can be accessed by request from the Queensland aquatic macroinvertebrate collection, https://www.chiefscientist.qld.gov.au/science-in-queensland/scientific-collections/aquatic-macroinvertebrate.
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Negus, P., Blessing, J. Girt by dirt: island biogeography and relationships between invertebrate richness and wetted area of spring wetlands. Aquat Ecol 56, 299–310 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-021-09920-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-021-09920-y