The use of water beetles in habitat

assessment: progress towards an

Irish manual

Brian Nelson & Áine O Connor NPWS

Garth Foster The Aquatic Coleoptera Conservation Trust

Acknowledgments

GF wishes to acknowledge NPWS for financial

support – also NIEA (EHS) and CEDaR for help

in the past

Really, if the lower orders don’t set us a good example,

what on earth is the use of them?

Wilde – The Importance of being Earnest

Water beetles in Ireland/Red List

Whirligigs - Gyrinidae 10 3

Diving beetles et al. – the other

Hydradephaga

10128

“palpicorns” – Hydrophiloidea +

Hydraenidae

7026

riffle and relatives - Dryopoidea12

1

leaf beetles and weevils -

Chrysomeloidea

26+10

Scirtidae 13 4

History

• 1992 Classification and Ranking paper * published

recognised 10 water beetle assemblage types based on

DECORANA/TWINSPAN of 289 site lists from 6,000 records

• 2007/8 ASSI assessments in Northern Ireland

recognised value of using the analysis to define changes, if

any, in the fauna since designation

• 2008 Irish Red List published

• 2010 – 40,000 Irish records available

• now – reassessment of potential to produce a new

classification and ranking system

*Foster, G.N., Nelson, B.H., Bilton, D.T., Lott, D.A., Merritt, R., Weyl, R.S. & Eyre, M.D., 1992.

A classification and evaluation of Irish water beetle assemblages.

Aquatic Conservation: Marine & Freshwater Ecosystems 2 185-208

AcanalicA affinis

A arc ticu

A labiatu

Aunguicu

Blutulen

Bs ignati

Bmultili

Corbicul

Cpunctip

Dcras s ip

Dobs cura

Dluridus

Dlapponi

Eaenea

Eexs culp

Eaffinis

Eochropt

Etes tace

Eparalle

Gbilinea

Ggranula

Gpic tus

GaeratusGdis tinc

Gmarinus

Gminutus

Gpaykull

Gs ubs tri

Hconfini

Hflavico

Hfulvus

Hobliquu

Hvariega

Hpunctat

Hflavipe

Hgrac ili

Hrufipes

Hignicol

Herythro

Hglabriu

Hgyllenh

Hincogni

Hmelanar

Htes s ell

Htris tis

Hc lypeal

Hdecorat

Hnovemli

Hquinque

Iaenes ce

Iater

Ifuligin

Iguttige

Imontanu

Iquadrig

Latratus

Lcolon

LhyalinuLoblongu

Lvolckma

Lhaemorr

Mappendi

Nas s imil

Ndepres s

Ncras s ic

Obicolon

Onils s on

Ovillos u

Os anmark

Os eptent

Otubercu

Ps cutell

Pdis coloPs ericea

Plineatu

Rexs olet

Rfrontal

RgrapiiS hemis ph

S lepidus

S duodec i

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

-2.5 -1.5 -0.5 0.5 1.5 2.5 3.5 4.5 5.5 6.5 7.5

Core DECORANA/Fuzzy Set classification of 476 lough lists

The truth is rarely pure, and never simple

Wilde – The Importance of being Earnest

Axis 1

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Axis

2

0

1

2

3

4

loughs with

open shores

slow

rivers

fast riversheadwaters

montane loughs

peat bogs

vegetated

lough shores

cutovercanals

turloughsmesotrophic fens

brackish

waters

telmata

ponds, puddles and

ditches

All great truths begin as

blasphemies

GBS

headwaters

Ranking system

• use presence of Red List species

• develop species quality scores based on

commonness 1 to rarity 10 in data-base

• calculate mean quality score for each list

• 3.4 or more appears to indicate good

ecological status across a range of habitats

• so, even if a site is assigned to the “wrong”

habitat, it still has a meaningful score

Ochthebius nilssoni in the Burren

Brackish water

Our description Fossitt Habitats Directive

Seepages on coastal cliffs ~CS1/CS3

sea cliffs

not covered

Rockpools LR1/LR2

rocky shores

not covered

Driftlines none available not covered

Intertidal mud flats with

algal wefts

LS littoral sediment 1140 mudflats

Intertidal saltmarsh turf CM saltmarshes 1330 Atlantic salt

meadows (part)

Upper saltmarsh CM2 Upper salt marsh 1330 Atlantic salt

meadows (part)

A beetle may or may not be inferior to a

man – the matter awaits demonstration;

but if he were inferior to a man by 10,000

fathoms, the fact remains that there is

probably a beetle view of things of which

a man is entirely ignorant