The Effect of Spatial Scale on Aquatic Insect Communities in Peatlands

COCKWELL, IMOGEN

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The Effect of Spatial Scale on Aquatic Insect Communities in Peatlands / IMOGEN COCKWELL

Swansea University Author: IMOGEN COCKWELL

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Copyright: the author, Imogen Kate Cockwell, 2025. Distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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Abstract

Despite their ecological importance, 50% of Europe’s peatlands have been degraded.Restoration efforts include rewetting, however, the effects on aquatic insects are poorly understood. This study investigated aquatic insect diversity, community similarity and spatial synchrony across newly-created pe...

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Published:	Swansea 2025
Institution:	Swansea University
Degree level:	Master of Research
Degree name:	MRes
Supervisor:	Harris, W. E., and Bull, J. C.
URI:	https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71071

first_indexed	2025-12-04T09:40:06Z
last_indexed	2025-12-05T18:13:22Z
id	cronfa71071
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spelling	2025-12-04T09:40:05.2795832 v2 71071 2025-12-04 The Effect of Spatial Scale on Aquatic Insect Communities in Peatlands 6708820c0e9336c9a3d2151b61c14aee IMOGEN COCKWELL IMOGEN COCKWELL true false 2025-12-04 Despite their ecological importance, 50% of Europe’s peatlands have been degraded.Restoration efforts include rewetting, however, the effects on aquatic insects are poorly understood. This study investigated aquatic insect diversity, community similarity and spatial synchrony across newly-created peatland pools at the Castell Nos Habitat Restoration Area, South Wales. The questions addressed were: Does pool diversity change with distance from a source? Does distance between pools affect community similarity? Does spatial synchrony between neighbouring pools change with distance from a source?One hundred pools at varying distances from an established source pond (64-377 m) were sampled as 25 clusters of four. Aquatic insects were collected by standardised dip-netting, preserved in ethanol, and identified to species or family level. Pool temperature, pH, TDS and depth were measured. Abundance and richness were recorded per pool, with associated coefficients of variation calculated per cluster. Generalised linear models investigated variation with distance from source. Simpson’s similarity index was calculated between pairwise pools, and a Mantel test analysed correlation with pairwise distance.Twenty-eight species were identified representing 13 families, with Chironomidae being most abundance and Dytiscidae most widespread. Neither abundance nor richness varied with distance, suggesting strong dispersal by key taxa. Community similarity between pools decreased weakly with increasing distance, but this was only significant at very short ranges.Coefficient of variation in abundance and richness increased significantly with increasing distance from source, indicating a homogenising effect of the pond on nearby communities.Findings suggest that, whilst strong dispersal ability may enable widespread colonisation, local patterns of community similarity and synchrony can be shaped by fine-scale spatial structure.For effective peatland conservation, restoration efforts should consider creating well-connected landscapes with environmental heterogeneity to promote asynchrony and enhance community resilience and diversity. Future research should examine patterns on larger spatial and temporal scales to inform long-term management. E-Thesis Swansea Entomology, Ecology, Peatland Restoration, Metacommunity, Biodiversity, Spatial Synchrony, Community Similarity 9 9 2025 2025-09-09 COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Harris, W. E., and Bull, J. C. Master of Research MRes 2025-12-04T09:40:05.2795832 2025-12-04T09:34:53.3937102 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences IMOGEN COCKWELL 1 71071__35749__b9ed8f1b43d4451fbae18d209ff4fcc0.pdf 2025_Cockwell_I.final.71071.pdf 2025-12-04T09:39:24.2751564 Output 2308293 application/pdf E-Thesis – open access true Copyright: the author, Imogen Kate Cockwell, 2025. Distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 License (CC BY-NC 4.0). true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
title	The Effect of Spatial Scale on Aquatic Insect Communities in Peatlands
spellingShingle	The Effect of Spatial Scale on Aquatic Insect Communities in Peatlands IMOGEN COCKWELL
title_short	The Effect of Spatial Scale on Aquatic Insect Communities in Peatlands
title_full	The Effect of Spatial Scale on Aquatic Insect Communities in Peatlands
title_fullStr	The Effect of Spatial Scale on Aquatic Insect Communities in Peatlands
title_full_unstemmed	The Effect of Spatial Scale on Aquatic Insect Communities in Peatlands
title_sort	The Effect of Spatial Scale on Aquatic Insect Communities in Peatlands
author_id_str_mv	6708820c0e9336c9a3d2151b61c14aee
author_id_fullname_str_mv	6708820c0e9336c9a3d2151b61c14aee_***_IMOGEN COCKWELL
author	IMOGEN COCKWELL
author2	IMOGEN COCKWELL
format	E-Thesis
publishDate	2025
institution	Swansea University
college_str	Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id	facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title	Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id	facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title	Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str	School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences
document_store_str	1
active_str	0
description	Despite their ecological importance, 50% of Europe’s peatlands have been degraded.Restoration efforts include rewetting, however, the effects on aquatic insects are poorly understood. This study investigated aquatic insect diversity, community similarity and spatial synchrony across newly-created peatland pools at the Castell Nos Habitat Restoration Area, South Wales. The questions addressed were: Does pool diversity change with distance from a source? Does distance between pools affect community similarity? Does spatial synchrony between neighbouring pools change with distance from a source?One hundred pools at varying distances from an established source pond (64-377 m) were sampled as 25 clusters of four. Aquatic insects were collected by standardised dip-netting, preserved in ethanol, and identified to species or family level. Pool temperature, pH, TDS and depth were measured. Abundance and richness were recorded per pool, with associated coefficients of variation calculated per cluster. Generalised linear models investigated variation with distance from source. Simpson’s similarity index was calculated between pairwise pools, and a Mantel test analysed correlation with pairwise distance.Twenty-eight species were identified representing 13 families, with Chironomidae being most abundance and Dytiscidae most widespread. Neither abundance nor richness varied with distance, suggesting strong dispersal by key taxa. Community similarity between pools decreased weakly with increasing distance, but this was only significant at very short ranges.Coefficient of variation in abundance and richness increased significantly with increasing distance from source, indicating a homogenising effect of the pond on nearby communities.Findings suggest that, whilst strong dispersal ability may enable widespread colonisation, local patterns of community similarity and synchrony can be shaped by fine-scale spatial structure.For effective peatland conservation, restoration efforts should consider creating well-connected landscapes with environmental heterogeneity to promote asynchrony and enhance community resilience and diversity. Future research should examine patterns on larger spatial and temporal scales to inform long-term management.
published_date	2025-09-09T05:31:01Z
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score	11.089572

The Effect of Spatial Scale on Aquatic Insect Communities in Peatlands / IMOGEN COCKWELL

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