Ref ID : 7817
Claude Lang and Pierre Hutter; Structure, diversity and stability of two oligochaete communities according to sedimentary inputs in Lake Geneva (Switzerland). Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Hydrologie 43(2):265-276, 1981
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Two oligochaete communities were sampled monthly during one year in two 35 m deep locations of Lake Geneva (Switzerland). Organic sedimentation was lower and less variable in station 1 than in station 2 (157 versus 214 gC m2 yr-1). The oligochaete community in station 1 was more diverse and more stable (persistent over time) than in station 2, as long as the organic sedimentation was low. Diversity and stability decreased in station 1 when the organic sedimentation increased, and during an Oscillatoria bloom. The less diverse community in station 2 was more resistent to these changes. Diversity was associated with environmental stability, but resistance of perturbation was greater in the simpler community which is adapted to changing environmental conditions. The vaule of oligochaete communities as an indicator of the level of eutrophication was reassessed according to our present data. Changes in the structure of oligochaete communities were related to changes in sedimentation processes.