Journal of Siberian Federal University. Biology / Diversity and Structure of Oligochaete Metacommunities in the Vychegda River Model Sites

Full text (.pdf)
Issue
Journal of Siberian Federal University. Biology. 2026 19 (1)
Authors
Baturina, Maria A.; Novakovskiy, Aleksander B.
Contact information
Baturina, Maria A. : Institute of Biology of Komi Scientific Centre of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Syktyvkar, Russian Federation); ; ORCID: 0000-0002-6521-6609; Novakovskiy, Aleksander B. : Institute of Biology of Komi Scientific Centre of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Syktyvkar, Russian Federation); ORCID: 0000-0003-4105-7436
Keywords
environmental heterogeneity; river basin; metacommunity structure elements; biodiversity; aquatic invertebrates
Abstract

The article presents the results of the study of the oligochaete community structure in the upper and middle reaches of the Vychegda River (Komi Republic). The study deals with the assessment of the spatial heterogeneity of the environment using analysis of variance and multivariate statistical methods and characterization of the influence of ecological factors on the distribution and structure of oligochaete communities at various levels of the river network. A total of 77 oligochaete taxa were identified (62 to the species level). Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) revealed that the considered factors explain 17.7 % of the variability in species composition, indicating the possible influence of additional biological and stochastic factors on species distribution. The spatial distribution of dominant species was found to be associated with the hydrological and landscape characteristics of the rivers. The fauna of the upper and middle Vychegda River sections differed significantly, while α- diversity, according to the Shannon (HN), Pielou (E), and Simpson (DS) indices, showed only a minor variation. The highest β-diversity (Whittaker’s index, βw) was observed in the tributaries of the middle reaches of the Vychegda. The application of the metacommunity concept revealed that oligochaetes exhibit different types of spatial organization across the river system: from well-structured communities with high species coherence and pronounced ecological specialization (Clementsian distributions) to communities with a continuous distribution, where species exhibit individual responses to environmental factors (Gleasonian distributions). This highlights the role of both environmental selection and stochastic processes in shaping the structure of benthic communities. These findings emphasize the importance of spatial organization and landscape heterogeneity for the biological diversity of river ecosystems

Pages
52–73
EDN
MBTJHJ
Paper at repository of SibFU
https://elib.sfu-kras.ru/handle/2311/158245

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