Functional Feeding and Habit Organization of Macroinvertebrate Communities in Permanent and Temporary Ponds in Central Italy

ABSTRACT

The organization of functional feeding groups and habits of the invertebrate macrofauna was studied in twenty temporary and permanent ponds located in a natural reserve near Rome in order to complete the knowledge of the most relevant ecological aspects of this community, which was recently analyzed from a taxonomic perspective. Collector-gatherers, predators, sprawlers + climbers, and burrowers dominated in the ponds. Few differences between temporary and permanent ponds were evident in functional feeding groups and habits. Only collector-filterers (bivalves and some chironomids) seemed to be negatively influenced by drought, as they were more abundant in the permanent ponds. Scrapers appeared to be negatively influenced by tree cover and positively by conductivity and macrophyte cover. The abundances of sprawlers and climbers were negatively influenced by tree cover and positively by macrophyte cover, whereas swimmers and divers were positively influenced by pond depth.