Zooplankton richness in farm ponds of Andalusia (southern Spain)a comparison with natural wetlands

Limne ica, 29 (1): x-xx (2008) Limne ica, 29 (1): 153-162 (2010) c Asociaci´ on Ib´ e ica de Limnolog´ a, Mad id. Spain. ISSN: 0213-8409 Zooplank on ichness in a m ponds o Andalusia (sou he n Spain). A compa ison wi h na u al we lands Da id Le´ on1,∗, Pa icio Pe˜ nal e 1, Jes´ us Casas2, Melcho Juan2, F ancisca Fuen es2, I ene Gallego2and Julia Toja1 1Depa men o Ecology and Plan Biology. Uni e si y o Se ille. Reina Me cedes A enue, s/n cp 41012. Se ille. Spain. 2Depa men o Plan Biology and Ecology. Uni e si y o Alme ia. 04120-Alme ia. Spain. 2 ∗Co esponding au ho : [email p o ec ed] 2 Recei ed: 15/11/08 Accep ed: 26/7/09 ABSTRACT Zooplank on ichness in a m ponds o Andalusia (sou he n Spain). A compa ison wi h na u al we lands This s udy shows he esul s o an ex ensi e su ey ca ied ou in sp ing 2007 on 120 a m ponds in Andalusia (Sou h o Spain). Pond use was di e se, bu he mos common uses we e i iga ion o as a eas o land and li es ock wa e ing. Zooplank on showed an unexpec ed ichness in hese p e iously uns udied wa e bodies which lie on p i a e p ope ies. A o al o 103 axa we e iden ied (62 o i e a, 27 cladoce a, 8 copepoda and 6 os acoda). When esul s a e compa ed wi h an ex ensi e su ey ca ied ou a he same ime in he p o ec ed we lands o Andalusia, we ound ha he e a e many species exclusi e o bo h he a m ponds and he p o ec ed we lands. This sugges s high complemen a y be ween a icial and na u al aqua ic habi a s, which highligh he ole o a m ponds in biodi e si y conse a ion. Fu he mo e, ou esul s showed ha a m ponds wi h na u al subs a e ha e a highe di e si y and species ichness o zooplank on han hose wi h a icial subs a e. Fa m ponds and o he a ming- ela ed ecosys ems a e becoming impo an in bo h ecological and managemen s udies, because hey a e inc easing in landscapes all o e he wo ld. This s udy is pa o a wide p ojec o in es iga e he en i onmen al imp o emen o small a icial wa e bodies in Andalusia and esul s will be used o p omo e a mo e use ul managemen policy o exis ing and u u e a m ponds in his egion. Key wo ds: Fa m ponds, zooplank on, managemen , subs a e, landscape. RESUMEN Riqueza del zooplanc on en balsas de iego de Andaluc´ a (su de Espa˜ na). Compa aci´ on con humedales na u ales Se p esen an esul ados de un mues eo ex ensi o de 120 balsas de iego lle ado a cabo en la p ima e a de 2007 en Andaluc´ a (Su de Espa˜ na). Los da os de zooplanc on e elan una inespe ada iqueza de especies en es os cue pos de agua, que no hab´ an sido es udiados has a la ac ualidad, po que muchos de ellos son de ecien e c eaci´ on y es ´ an en p opiedad p i ada. Su uso es a iado, u iliz´ andose p incipalmen e pa a el iego de as as ´ a eas y como ab e ade os de ganado. Se han iden icado un o al de 103 axa (62 o ´  e os, 27 clad´ oce os, 8 cop´ epodos y 6 os ´ acodos). Cuando los esul ados se compa a on con un mues eo ex ensi o lle ado a cabo en el mismo pe iodo en humedales na u ales p o egidos de Andaluc´ a, se encon a on axones exclusi os an o en las balsas como en los humedales, sugi iendo que es os nue os sis emas pod ´ an se ese o ios pa a la biodi e sidad en odo ipo de paisajes ag ´ colas. Po o a pa e, los esul ados e idencian que las balsas con sus a o na u al ienen una mayo di e sidad y iqueza de especies de zooplanc on que las balsas con sus a o a icial. Las balsas de iego y o os ecosis emas asociados a ambien es ag ´ colas es ´ an adqui iendo impo ancia en ecolog´ a y es udios de ges i´ on, ya que es ´ an p oli e ando en los paisajes de odo el mundo. Es e es udio es pa e de un p oyec o de mayo en e gadu a ace ca de la capacidad ambien al de las balsas de iego de Andaluc´ a. Es os esul ados se usa ´ an pa a p omo e una pol´  ica de ges i´ on m´ as adecuada en u u as balsas de iego de la egi´ on. Palab as cla e: Balsas de iego, zooplanc on, ges i´ on, sus a o, paisaje. 154 Le´ on e al. INTRODUCTION Ponds and o he we lands ha e been his o ically desicca ed o d ained in Eu ope and all o e he wo ld. Es ima es o nea ly 70 % ha e been eco ded in some coun ies (An ´ on-Pa do e al., 2008; C´ e ´ eghino e al., 2008; Lougheed & Chow- F aise , 2002; Oe li e al., 2002; Oe li e al., 2005; Robson & Clay, 2005; Sche e al., 2004). Since he 1970s, esea che s and p ac i ione s ha e been ying o each a consensus on how o p o ec we lands and se e al Con en ions and Di ec i es (RAMSAR, Habi a Di ec i e, Wa- e F amewo k Di ec i e) ha e been conside ed. Howe e , he loss o biodi e si y in hese sys ems s ill con inues. One o he causes o his con- inuing deg ada ion is he demand o wa e o ag icul u e. Howe e , he equi emen o wa e , p incipally in he semia id egions o he Ibe ian Peninsula, has gi en ise o an inc ease in he numbe o a m ponds associa ed wi h new i i- ga ed land (Williams e al., 2008). As such, i is possible ha hese new landscape ea u es could signican ly con ibu e o enhancing biodi e si y in a ming a eas and hei su oundings. Fu he - mo e, aqua ic sys ems in ag icul u al landscapes a e s a ing o be acknowledged as “pocke s” o biodi e si y (C´ e ´ eghino e al., 2008; Da ies e al., 2008), and we belie e ha a m ponds a e a sui able sou ce o in es iga ion o coloniza- ion a es, cumula i e ichness and ophic ela- ionships in addi ion o o he mo e adi ional a - eas, such as he Do˜ nana we lands, which has been s udied o decades (Ma ´ n Cab e a & Ga c´ a No o, 2005; Se ano e al., 2006). Few s udies ela ing o he di e si y in aqua ic sys ems in a med landscapes ha e been unde - aken al hough he e is some e idence o sug- ges ha he in e es o he esea ch commu- ni y has been s imula ed (Da ies e al., 2008; Deno¨ el & Fice ola, 2008; Ho man & Dod- son, 2005; Robson & Clay, 2005; Williams, 1997; Williams e al., 2003; Mi elbach e al., 2001). In all cases, hese esea che s conclude ha ponds ha e high species ichness and, ac- co dingly, should be aken in o accoun o s a egies o managemen and conse a ion in hose egions whe e hey occu . Andalusia (sou h o Spain) has a close ela ion- ship wi h ag icul u e, and a la ge numbe o a m ponds ha e been c ea ed in he las ew yea s (CMA, 2007). A ecen in en o y by e- mo e sensing and ae ial images has iden ied a o al o 16 543 ponds (Agencia Andaluza del Agua, 2006), and any o hese ha e been sub- jec ed o a limnological o aunal su ey (wi h he excep ion o bi ds su eys). The aim o his s udy is o in es iga e he zooplank on di e si y o a m ponds in Andalusia, and o de ec i he e is any pa e n o dis ibu ion, equi emen o manage- men o cons uc ion s a egies in hese a eas o p ese e biodi e si y. Fu he mo e, a compa i- son is made be ween a m ponds and he p o- ec ed na u al we lands o Andalusia o es he hypo hesis ha na u al a m ponds a e impo an o biodi e si y conse a ion in he ag icul u al landscape. Finally, in con as o o he s udies o aqua ic sys ems o Andalusia (Alonso, 1998; Fu es & Toja, 1987; Jun a de Andaluc´ a, 2002 and 2005; Se ano e al., 2006), no hing is known abou he zooplank on communi y in a m ponds. This s udy is pa o a wide esea ch p og am o- cussing upon he en i onmen al imp o emen o small a icial wa e bodies in Andalusia. STUDY AREA Andalusia (sou h o Spain), has an a ea o abou 8.8 million hec a es, and is loca ed in he sou h o Eu ope (Fig. 1). This geog aphic si ua ion be ween wo con inen s and wo ma ine a eas (Medi e anean Sea and A lan ic Ocean) c ea es special clima ic condi ions, and o e s an in e es - ing oppo uni y o s udy biogeog aphy and o he p ocesses o species dis ibu ion, as o he au ho s ha e done (Alonso, 1987; Mi acle, 1982). The pe cen age o s eppe, o example, co e s ap- p oxima ely 10 % o he e i o y, and i s c us- acean di e si y is mo e simila o Mo occo and o he No h-A ican coun ies han o he es o Spain and Eu ope (Alonso, 1987; Ramdani, 1988). In addi ion o s eppe landscapes, calca e- ous moun ain anges occu in he sou h eas o he egion and siliceous moun ain anges can be ound in he no h-wes wi h he Valley o Gua- Zooplank on ichness in a m ponds o Andalusia 155 Figu e 1. Geog aphical loca ion and main clima ic a eas o Andalusia. Localizaci´ on geog ´ aca y p incipales ´ a eas clim´ a icas de Andaluc´ a. dalqui i Ri e ac ing as an axis o sepa a ion be- ween hem. Al hough he Medi e anean clima e egime is pa amoun , he e a e signi ican clima ic a ia ions which con ibu e o a conside able di e - si y o a ming sys ems. Fa m ponds, in ac , ha e been c ea ed o suppo di e en a ming land uses in Andalusia; oli e c ops a e ound in he hea o he egion; he ‘dehesa’ sys em, which is a ypical Spanish landscape wi h Que cus ilex, Que cus sube and sc ub associa ed wi h ex en- si e ca le o pig anching is ound in he no he n moun ains and alleys; ci us ui s and ea ly sea- son s awbe ies a e g own in he sou h wes ; sub- opical ui s in he sou h, and p o ec ed g een- househo icul u eiscommonplacein heeas . MATERIALS AND METHODS Andalusia co e s an a ea o abou 90 000 km2. Leibold (1999) and Dodson e al. (2000) a gue ha his is a sui able scale o s udy pond land- scapes (in Mi elbach e al., 2001). An ex ensi e su ey was ca ied ou in sp ing 2007, a e a se- lec ion o a ep esen a i e numbe o a m ponds in he whole s udy a ea (Fig. 2). The p e ious se- lec ion by ae ial images and pho o-in e p e a ion was pe o med by EGMASA. This s udy e- ealed a o al o 16 543 a m ponds. 120 o hese we e selec ed as a ep esen a i e sub-sample o he di e en geog aphical and land use a eas (Fig. 2), and he su ey was ca ied ou by he Uni e si ies o Se ille, G anada and Alme ia, o co e all he a eas a once. This su ey ma ched up wi h he “Andalusia We lands P ojec ”, an ex- ensi e moni o ing campaign o o e 60 na u al we lands, which was ca ied ou by he “Con- seje ia de Medio Ambien e” h ough EGMASA. The e o e samples could be compa ed on a em- po al and a spa ial scale. As he moni o ing and iden ica ion ollowed he ecommenda ions o ou g oup, condence abou he esul s was high. Pond ca ego ies we e assigned as ollows: RUN, na u al uno a m pond c ea ed by damming o 156 Le´ on e al. Figu e 2. App oxima e dis ibu ion o a m ponds and we lands by adminis a i e p o inces compa ed in his s udy. Ci cles ep e- sen we lands, ec angles ep esen a m ponds, and hose shaded a e he sampled ones o he p esen s udy. Dis ibuci´ on ap oximada de las balsas de iego y los humedales seg´ un p o incias. Los c´  culos ep esen an los humedales, los ec ´ angulos las balsas y los colo eados aquellos que se selecciona on pa a el es udio in ensi o. a empo a y s eam; EXC, exca a ed a m pond wi h na u al subs a e; WET, na u al we lands o he Andalusia We lands P ojec ; PLA, exca a ed o ele a ed a m pond lined wi h plas ic; CON, exca a ed a m pond made o conc e e. Pe cen - age o subme ged and eme gen mac ophy es was es ima ed and o he cha ac e is ics we e mea- su ed and iden ied in si u ( o al a ea o he pond, maximum dep h, land use, wa e o igin). As mos o he a m ponds we e on p i a e land (115 o 120), a conce ed e o was made o unde s and he pond managemen decisions o each a me . Pond owne s we e in e ied in si u a he beginning o he su ey (as Robson & Clay, 2005 did). This was a i al pa o he exe cise since: he a me s a e who use he a m ponds, so hey should know wha he p ojec was abou . Fu he mo e, as one o he main objec i es o he p ojec was o de elop a pond managemen handbook wi h he aim o enhance biodi e si y conse a ion, i was impo an o keep hese i al s akeholde s ully in o med. Physico-chemical and biological samples we e aken om e e y a m pond in he same way o a oid sampling di e ences. Each a m pond was di ided in o ou o six sec ions depending o he size o he wa e body (smalle o bigge han 10 000 m2 espec i ely). The ea e we selec a andom wo o h ee sec ions (acco ding o size) o he pond o make he su ey. Finally, “cen e” and “sho e” sampling poin s we e aken in o ac- coun in e e y selec ed sec ion. In his way, he majo i y o habi a s a e sampled. Conduc i i y, pH and oxygen concen a ion we e measu ed in si u. 10 li es as a whole we e l e ed h ough a40µm ne and he l e was p ese ed in 4 % o maldehyde solu ion o he zooplank on quan- i a i e eco d. Volume om each selec ed si e was equalised, and sampling was made wi h a 6 cm diame e ube in o de o in eg a e he whole wa e column in e e y case. A zooplank on qual- i a i e sub-sample consis en in a ious ho izon- al hauls wi h a 35 µm ne was made. Mos o he axa we e iden ied o species le el, in con as o simila s udies whe e genus was he limi o iden ica ion (Lougheed & Chow-F ase , 2002). Wa e chemis y (Table 1 and 2) was analysed by he labo a o y o Jun a de Andaluc´ a. The Jacca d’s coe icien o simila i y ( he a io be ween he numbe o common axa and o al numbe o axa) was used o quan i y he simila i y be ween pai ed communi y composi ions. Pea son Zooplank on ichness in a m ponds o Andalusia 157 Table 1. Values (a e age, maximum and minimum) o di e en limnological a iables o s udied a m ponds. Fi s ow indica es p o inces (see Figu e 2) whe e a m ponds we e su eyed. They a e a anged acco ding o wes -eas axis. Valo es (medio, m´ aximo ym ´ nimo) pa a di e en es a iables limnol´ ogicas en las balsas de iego es udiadas. La p ime a la indica las p o incias (Figu a 2) donde se mues ea on. Es ´ an o denadas seg´ un el eje oes e-es e. HU CA SE CO JA MA GR AL pH 8.12 (11-3) 8.36 (9-7) 8.51 (10-7) 8.62 (10-7) 8.38 (9-8) 8.36 (9-8) 9.03 (10-8) 8.45 (10-8) HCO– 3 (meq/l) 1.14 (4.56-.01) 1.02 (2.24-.38) 1.12 (3.34-.25) 1.52 (3.28-.25) 3.25 (6.07-.52) 2.77 (4.7-.25) 2.29 (5.25-.62) 3.01 (4,7-.25) C (mS/cm) .71 (3.26-.18) 3.44 (9.65-.26) 1.96 (7.60-.08) .87 (3-.11) 5.66 (24-.42) 1.95 (4.92-.25) .74 (1.03-.56) 1.39 (2.46-.23) SS (mg/l) 1079.99 (4562.38- 105.3) 1254.71 (3468.33- 136.44) 1076.6 (2958.89- 47.95) 503.78 (1558.64- 55.01) 1791.14 (4403.6- 385.65) 1253.77 (3075.77- 153.18) 544.97 (827.22- 347.58) 1394.44 (4658.73- 116.77) Ammonia (µ µ µM) 15.42 (96.88-.29) 25.77 (154.88-.29) 12.3 (57.65-.29) 12.51 (48.47-.01) 70.39 (327.59-4.59) 23.34 (150.59-1.76) 8.14 (26.82-.29) 13.57 (105.65-1.06) Phospha e (µ µ µM) 2.75 (14.19-.48) 1.76 (9.71-.45) 2.39 (16.19-.01) 7.58 (34.48-.29) 1.39 (3.26-.52) 4.76 (29.03-.01) 12.35 (25.9-.48) 12.26 (77.52-.52) Tphospho ous (µ µ µM) 6.3 (29.97-1.58) 4.1 (14.97-1.45) 12.18 (78.23-1.29) 17.2 (59.39-.87) 3.02 (5.52-1.55) 5.33 (25.32-1.45) 19.53 (49.97-1.94) 24.29 (113.81-1.55) Chla (µ µ µg/l) 40.87 (367.31-.93) 60.91 (352.6-.05) 26.43 (89.2-1.5) 54.77 (156.46-2.76) 5.45 (14.78-.81) 6.32 (21.40-.8) 37.4 (94.6-1.6) 72.86 (489.2-.1) n11 9 17 13 9 8 4 11 coe icien was used o co ela ions be ween he o al numbe o zooplank on axa (cumula i e ichness) and pond size, wi h so wa e SPSS 11. PRIMER e sion 5 was used o es sim- ila i ies on axa composi ion be ween sam- ples (MDS and ANOSIM), as o analysis o P incipal Componen s in wa e quali y. Di e - si y alues a e e e ed o Shannon index (H). RESULTS A o al o 120 a m ponds we e isi ed du ing sp ing 2007 ac oss Andalusia (Fig. 2). Clima ic a ie y is high in he a ea and he o igin o wa- e and managemen o each pond is di e en by egions; a summa y o mainly chemical ac- o s analysed is shown in Table 1 o con as he main cha ac e is ics be ween egions. The esul s a e only ela ed o 90 a m ponds. The emain- ing 30 ponds we e selec ed in he eld and as a esul , wa e chemis y was no analysed. How- e e , hese ponds a e close o he 11 Alme ia a m ponds included in he analysis (Fig. 2, Table 1) Table 2. PCA analyses showing h ee  s axis explain- ing main a iance o da a. Fi s axis is ela ed o salini y, meanwhile second and hi d a e associa ed wi h ophic le el (chlo ophyll- o al o ganic ca bon and phospho ous). An´ alisis PCA mos ando los es ejes que explican m´ as a ianza de los da os. El p ime o se ee e a la salinidad, mien as que el segundo y el e ce o es ´ an asociados al g ado de eu oa (clo ola-ca bono o g´ anico o al y ´ os o o). Va iable PC1 PC2 PC3 pH 0.005 0.265 0.044 Alkalini y 0.118 0.040 0.034 Chlo ide 0.364 0.093 −0.008 Sulpha e 0.341 −0.159 0.008 Calcium 0.358 −0.131 0.103 Magnesium 0.353 −0.124 0.103 Sodium 0.353 0.114 0.017 Po assium 0.277 0.365 −0.075 Conduc i i y 0.379 0.030 0.007 To al dissol ed solids 0.306 −0.028 0.092 Ammonia 0.074 0.227 −0.291 Ni a e 0.145 −0.293 0.027 Ni i e −0.015 0.074 0.420 Phospha e −0.075 0.120 0.569 To al phospho us −0.078 0.080 0.605 To al o ganic ca bon 0.063 0.543 −0.047 Chlo ophyll −0.062 0.505 0.011 % a ia ion 36.4 15.4 11.7 158 Le´ on e al. Table 3. Types and numbe o a m ponds by geog aphic- adminis a i e a ea a anged by wes -eas axis. Tipo y n ´ ume o de balsas de iego po ´ a ea adminis a i a, o denado seg´ un el eje oes e-es e. HU CA SE CO JA MA GR AL To al EXC 15321 211 16 RUN 8 4 14 12 2 2 1 0 43 CON 00003 5721 36 PLA 30006 3211 25 n12 9 17 14 12 12 11 31 120 whe e eld managemen is simila and, as a con- sequence, alues a e expec ed o be simila . Zoo- plank on, o he bio ic communi ies and physico- chemical ac o s we e comple ed a all si es. All o he ponds isi ed a e used in a m- ing p ac ice (i iga ion o wa e ing place), so wa e conduc i i y was no e y high; howe e some o hem p esen ed alues which sugges ed signican salini y (Table 1). The PCA analy- sis (Table 2) showed a  s axis ela ed o wa- e salini y, sugges ing ha a m ponds a e no sui able habi a s o salini y ole an zooplank on species, as we lands, wi h highe salini y ange, a e. This p ope y could be an impo an eason o he p o ec ion o hese sys ems, because hey would complemen he lack o oligohaline habi- a s occu ing in Andalusia due o he p og es- si e saliniza ion which his o ically occu in i s na u al sys ems (CMA, 2007). Types o a m ponds by a ea and numbe alling in o each ca ego y a e shown in Table 3. The e is a signi ican endency om wes o eas in ela ion o he ype o a m pond. Na u al (NAT) ca ego ies (RUN, EXC) a e mo e common in he wes e n a eas, meanwhile a i icial (ART) ones (PLA, CON) a e ypical owa ds he eas . Rain all and ypes o a ming seem o be less impo an (Fig. 2). A o al o 64 o i e and 39 c us acean axa we e iden ied in a m ponds as a whole. This numbe is simila o o he s s udies (Fahd e al., 2000; Le´ on e al., 2004, unpublished; Lougheed & Chow-F ase , 2002; Mi acle e al., 1995; Se - ano e al., 2005; Se ano & Fahd, 2005). When compa ing a e age alues o cumula i e ich- ness (Table 4), i is obse able ha na u alized a m pond ypes (RUN, EXC) p esen a ma- jo numbe o axa han a icial ones (CON, Table 4. A e age alues o species ichness in 120 a m ponds ela ed o axROT ( axa o o i e s), axCRU ( axa o c us- aceans), axTOT ( axa o al), and DIV (Di e si y H). Valo es medios de iqueza de especies en 120 balsas de iego ela i os a axROT ( axones de o ´  e os), axCRU ( axones de c us ´ aceos), axTOT ( axones o ales) y DIV (Di e sidad H). RUN EXC PLA CON axaROT 4.65 3.73 2.13 3.51 axaCRU 3.26 3.47 2.18 2.82 axaTOT 8.00 7.20 4.27 2.37 DIV (H)1.19 1.21 1.05 0.71 PLA). To es his esul , non-pa ame ic analy- sis U-Mann Whi ney was used. Signican di e - ences ( p=0.05) appea ed be ween a icial and na u al a m ponds o axROT(numbe o o i e a axa), axCRU (numbe o c us acean axa) and di (di e si y alue), meanwhile hese di e ences we e no signi ican benea h any pai o he same ype (NAT, na u al ypes; ART, a i icial ypes). Co ela ions be ween pond size (a ea, m2) and zooplank on ichness eec ed di e ences among ypes o subs a e. These co ela ions we e high and posi i e when PLA and CON ypes ( 2=0.71, 0.61, 0.57, P <0.01) we e ex- amined and no signican when RUN and EXC we e compa ed. The e o e species-a ea hypo h- esis (Dodson, 1992; F ye , 1985; MacA hu & Wilson, 1963) was only checked o a icial a m ponds. Na u al a m pond ypes did no co - obo a e his, as in o he s udies (Deno¨ el & Fice- ola, 2008; Ho man & Dodson, 2005; Oe li e al., 2002; Williams e al., 2003). Almos 80 % o he axa iden ied we e p esen only in 10 % o he a m ponds o less. Common species (p esen in mo e han 20 % o a m ponds) we e he copepods Acan hocyclops kie e i (Chappuis, 1925), A. obus us (G.O.Sa s, 1893) and Copidodiap omus numidicus (Gu ney, 1909); Cladoce a: Daphia magna (S aus, 1820), Simocephalus e ulus (M¨ ulle , 1776), Bosmina longi os is (M¨ ulle , 1776), Daphnia galea a (G. O. Sa s, 1893) and Alonella nana (B aid, 1843) we e p esen in almos 15 % o a m ponds. Ro i e s we e ep esen ed by much mo e common species belonging o he genus B a- chionus,Ke a ella,Polya h a,Lepadella and Hexa h a, which a e ypical axa o wa e bod- ies h ough Ibe ian Peninsula (Alonso, 1996; de Zooplank on ichness in a m ponds o Andalusia 159 Table 5. Compa ed esul s on zooplank on biodi e si y be- ween we lands (WET, n= 61) and a m ponds (FPO, n= 120). RO: numbe o o i e axa, CRU numbe o c us acean axa, ROTexc and CRUexc: numbe o axa o o i e s and c us- aceans espec i ely, exclusi e o each ype o ecosys em. Re- sul ados compa ados de la biodi e sidad del zooplanc on en e humedales (WET, n= 61) y balsas de iego (FPO, n= 120). RO: n ´ ume o de axones de o ´  e os, CRU n´ ume o de axones de c us ´ aceos, ROTexc and CRUexc: n´ ume o de axones de o ´  e os and c us ´ aceos espec i amen e, exclusi os de cada ipo de ecosis ema. ROT CRU ROTexc CRUexc TOT WET 54 60 26 38 114 FPO 62 41 36 17 103 Manuel Ba ab´ n, 2000). O he a m ponds, only 7 o hem con ained no zooplank on axa. All o hem we e ART (CON, PLA) ype. Compa ison wi h we lands Resul s om he a m pond s udy we e compa ed wi h o he con empo a y su eys ca ied ou in Andalusia by EGMASA (Jun a de Andaluc´ a) o e 61 na u al we lands p o ec ed by egional egula ions (see gu e 2 o loca ion). A o al o 114 axa (54 o i e s, 60 c us aceans) we e iden- ied in his sampling, meanwhile 103 axa we e ound in a m ponds. The compa ison o esul s abou he di e en zooplank on communi ies a e p esen ed in Table 5. Mo e han 50 % o axa we e iden ied only in one o he we land ypes (exclusi e axa). The e we e species exclusi ely ound in a m ponds meanwhile o he s appea ed only in we - lands. This esul is unexpec ed because many o hese wa e bodies a e ela i ely close oge he (Fig. 2), so common species we e expec ed o be highe . Much o he exclusi e axa iden ied in we lands a e species wi h ole ance o salini y: Moina salina (Daday, 1888), Alona salina (Alonso, 1995), A emia sp., A c odiap omus salinus (Da- day, 1885), Epiphanes sp. In con as , species like Mac o h ix hi su ico nis (No man & B ady, 1867), M. la ico nis (Ju ine, 1820), Chydo us sphae i- cus (M¨ ulle , 1776), Ce iodaphnia quad angula (M¨ ulle , 1885), Dunhe edia c assa (King, 1853), ypical om ponds wi h low salini y (Alonso, 1998) we e ound exclusi ely in he a m ponds. NAT ART Figu e 3. MDS analysis showing a so ly clus e ing endency owa ds ype o ponds. NAT (na u alized) includes WET (we - lands), RUN ( uno a m ponds), EXC (exca a ed a m ponds); ART (a icial) includes PLA ( a m ponds lined wi h plas- ic) and CON ( a m ponds made o conc e e bo om). MDS mos ando una lige a ag upaci´ on ela i a al ipo de balsa. NAT (na u alizadas) incluye humedales (WET), balsas de esco - en ´ a (RUN) y balsas exca adas con sus a o na u al (EXC); ART (a iciales) incluye balsas de polie ileno (PLA) y balsas de ho mig´ on (CON). MDS analysis o zooplank on ichness wi hin he whole wa e bodies, g ouping hem by NAT (RUN, EXC, including WET, we lands) and ART (PLA, CON), indica es a clus e ing en- dency ha sepa a es he ponds wi h a icial subs a e om he ones wi h na u al subs a e (Fig. 3). The ANOSIM es did no e eal any signican di e ence in zooplank on composi- ion be ween g oups e en among geog aphic a eas (see Fig. 2 o loca ion). ANOVA one-way analysis showed no di e - ences ( p>0.05) when axTOT ( o al axa o zoo- plank on), o di e si y alue (di ) be ween WET, RUN and EXC we e examined. Mo eo e , T- S uden ea  med simila i ies in species ichness and/o di e si y be ween any NAT ype (RUN, EXC o WET) and di e ences among any NAT ype and any ART ype (CON, PLA), (Table 6). Table 6. p- alues om T-S uden analyses be ween ypes o a m ponds and we lands o species ichness and/o di e - si y. p- alo es del T-S uden en e ipos de balsas de iego y humedales pa a la iqueza de especies y/o la di e sidad. WET RUN EXC PLA CON WET .351 .530 .045 .000 RUN .543 .002 .000 EXC .058 .002 PLA .355 CON 160 Le´ on e al. DISCUSSION Al hough he numbe o p o ec ed wa e bod- ies has inc eased in he las ew yea s in Spain, i seems necessa y o de elop an en i onmen- al policy o e we lands, mainly o e ponds and o he small wa e sys ems. Ecological s udies in- cluding: seasonal pas u e we lands (Robson & Clay, 2005), i iga ion and a icial pools (La- comba & Sancho, 2008), g a el o clay ex ac- ion pools, sh p oduc ion ponds, duck a ming ese oi s (Oe li e al., 2002), di ches (Williams e al., 2003), a m ponds (C´ e ´ eghino e al., 2008), and highway s o m-wa e de en ion ponds (Sche e al., 2004) ha e appea ed in he p esen cen- u y as a esponse o his conce n. Tilman e al. (2001) expec ed ha 109ha o na u al ecosys ems will be con e ed o ag icul u e by 2050. Fo his eason, i is necessa y o main ain in es iga ions on a ming landscapes o assess he biodi e si y o hese ecosys ems and o achie e he necessa y esul s o imp o e en i onmen ally iendly man- agemen o hese specic a eas. Ou esul s sugges ha a m ponds in An- dalusia, an a ea wi h a long his o y o ag icul- u e, show a ela i ely high species ichness o zooplank on a egional scale, he e o e i is ex- pec ed o be high in o he g oups o aqua ic o - ganisms ela i ely ( esul s in p og ess). Fa m ponds in Andalusia seems o inc ease he a ailabili y o oligohaline habi a s o zooplank on species, and also o o he g oups, which is c ucial o conse a ion pu poses due o he his o ic loss and deg ada ion o hese habi a s. Fa m ponds ha e low salini y due o hei use o i iga ion and o he a ming uses. Zooplank on communi y composi ion o a m ponds is di e en when compa ed o ha o na u al we lands o e he same a ea a he same ime. Some saline ole an axa appea ed only in we lands, while many eshwa e axa we e iden i ied jus in a m ponds. In na u al we lands, low salini y axa ha e been ound o e sandy subs a e in Do˜ nana, he only complex o lagoons wi h low salini y emains in lowlands o Andalusia (A echede a e al., 2006). The e o e, a m ponds seem o be able o con ibu e keeping and expanding hei dis ibu ion a ea. This s udy shows ha na u al a m ponds a e iche in zooplank on species han a icial ones, as Sche e al. (2004) de ec ed in hei s udy. S a is ical analyses o e zooplank on ichness e- ealed signican di e ences be ween some o a icial subs a es and some o na u al ones, meanwhile hese di e ences we e no signican benea h any pai o he same ype (nei he ART ypes, no NAT ypes). Values o species ichness we e he e o e highe in na u al ypes. Mo eo e , s a is ical analyses showed no di e ences in zoo- plank on species ichness and di e si y be ween na u al a m ponds and we lands, bu di e ences we e signican when compa ed o a icial a m ponds. In ag eemen wi h Boa ida (1999), hese esul s suppo he idea ha subs a e is one o he mos impo an ac o s o conside o we - land cha ac e iza ion. Na u al subs a e gi es ise o he implemen a ion o subme ged plan s, and he e o e o he appea ance o mo e habi a s, so mo e species can colonize i . A icial subs a es (plas ic, conc e e), make i di cul o plan s o ake oo and, u he mo e, such ponds a e e- quen ly d ained, as de ec ed in he a me s in e - iews. As such, he de elopmen o habi a s uc- u al complexi y is mo e complica ed. The esul s demons a ing he absence o species in 7 a i- cial a m ponds could be due o he sub e anean o igin o wa e o maybe o he ex ended use o biocides in ha a ea (sou h wes o Andalusia). Fu he esea ch in o he colonisa ion a es o his pond ype, wi h and wi hou he use o biocides, needs o be unde aken. Rela ionship be ween a ea and species ich- ness was only p o ed o a icial ponds. Co - ela ions we e no signican o na u al ypes. This ma ches up wi h o he simila s udies, sug- ges ing ha size is no he main ac o when designing managemen policies o p ese e bio- di e si y in aqua ic sys ems a leas o small- sized o ganisms. The e a e an inc easing num- be o s udies ha e eal he impo ance o small wa e bodies as ’pocke s’ o biodi e si y, in con as o o he la ge sys ems. In conclusion, a m ponds should be aken in o accoun o s a egies o biodi e si y con- se a ion in Andalusia. The e o e, he c ea ion Zooplank on ichness in a m ponds o Andalusia 161 o new ponds wi h na u al subs a e and he p o- mo ion o en i onmen ally iendly managemen p ac ices is e y impo an o inc ease biodi e - si y. 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