Linking watershed land uses and crustacean assemblages in Mediterranean wetlands.

The watershed land uses in Mediterranean wetlands are essential to understand the functioning of aquatic communities. This study was designed to assess the relationship between watershed land uses, wetland characteristics and zooplankton assemblages (branchiopods and copepods) in 24 Mediterranean wetlands of the southern Iberian Peninsula, which greatly differ in both wetland land uses (olive groves, pasture, scrublands, and forest) and in their morphometric and limnological features. Firstly, results from a Principal Component Analysis allowed us to classify wetlands in two categories: impacted and non-impacted. Then, one-way Analysis of Variance was performed to test differences in zooplankton species richness and a Permutational Analysis of Variance was performed to test differences in zooplankton assemblages between categories. Lastly, a Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling analysis was chosen for the lake-by-species ordination. The results support the hypothesis that zooplankton richness and composition were negatively affected by watershed land uses, mainly agriculture practices. Moreover, species zooplankton assemblages were clearly linked to the two different wetlands categories. The present study puts forward the important role of zooplankton community for testing land use effects in Mediterranean wetlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]