Comparative Investigation of Aquatic Invertebrates in Springs in Münsterland Area (Western Germany)
1
Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
2
Department of Hydrogeology, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Gustav–Zeuner Str. 12, 09599 Freiberg, Germany
3
Department of Petroleum Engineering, Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Faculty, AL Baath University, Homs, Syria
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Rui Cortes
Water 2021, 13(3), 359; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13030359
Received: 22 November 2020
/
Revised: 24 January 2021
/
Accepted: 27 January 2021
/
Published: 30 January 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Abundance and Trophic Relationships in Freshwater Ecosystems)
The main aim of this study was to investigate the abundance of invertebrates in groundwater in relation to groundwater conditions (groundwater table, discharge, rainfall, and physio-chemical parameters), and to examine the suitable time for invertebrate sampling in springs. Thus, eight springs in two separate study areas, “Baumberge” and “Schöppinger Berg” (Münsterland area, North-Rhine Westphalia in Germany), were sampled five times (24 h for 2–5 consecutive sampling days) between November 2018 and October 2019. The results showed high spatial and temporal variance. In general, the existence of invertebrates and stygobites increased, whereas invertebrate types decreased with increasing hydraulic head and spring discharge. Therefore, investigating the abundance of invertebrates and invertebrate species is recommended to be done separately. Abundance of invertebrates was affected by different factors in both areas. Spearman correlation test (two-tailed) and factor analyses (n = 80, p ≤ 0.01) highlighted the importance of detritus as the main controlling factor for invertebrate existence and stygobite individuals in Baumberge, whereas dissolved oxygen is essential for their existence in Schöppinger Berg.
View Full-Text
Keywords:
invertebrates; abiotic variables; sampling time; springs; Germany
▼
Show Figures
Figure 1
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
- Supplementary File 1:
PDF-Document (PDF, 539 KiB)
MDPI and ACS Style
Alqaragholi, S.A.; Kanoua, W.; Göbel, P. Comparative Investigation of Aquatic Invertebrates in Springs in Münsterland Area (Western Germany). Water 2021, 13, 359. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13030359
AMA Style
Alqaragholi SA, Kanoua W, Göbel P. Comparative Investigation of Aquatic Invertebrates in Springs in Münsterland Area (Western Germany). Water. 2021; 13(3):359. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13030359
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlqaragholi, Sura A., Wael Kanoua, and Patricia Göbel. 2021. "Comparative Investigation of Aquatic Invertebrates in Springs in Münsterland Area (Western Germany)" Water 13, no. 3: 359. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13030359
Find Other Styles
Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.
