Seasonal dynamics of macrozoobenthic community in the wetland of the Natural Regional Reserve of the Isonzo River mouth, Northeast Italy: a three-years analysis

Abstract

This study was seasonally performed over a three year period in a large freshwater temporary pond to investigate (a) seasonal trends of the main abiotic factors, (b) the most important abiotic drivers in shaping macrobenthic invertebrate communities and (c) the structures of these communities among different years. As the study area was placed within a Natural Reserve, the leaf bag technique was used as non invasive sampling method in order to reduce disturbance. The results of chemical and physical investigations point out a clear seasonal trend, while macrobenthic communities differ signifi cantly from year to year, and their main shape drivers were identifi ed to be conductivity, temperature and dissolved oxygen