Relationships between littoral microcrustacea and aquatic macrophyte communities on the Isle of Skye (Scotland), with implications for the conservation of standing waters

Littoral microcrustacean (Ctenopoda, Anomopoda, Onchyopoda) samples, aquatic macrophyte data and chemical measurements were collected from 51 freshwater lochs in the Isle of Skye, Scotland, during the summer of 1989. Canonical correspondence analysis was employed to investigate correlations between the environmental data, the microcrustacean assemblages, and the aquatic macrophyte community types used for floristic classification of standing waters. Cluster analysis was used to classify lochs based on their microcrustacean assemblages. The major trends in microcrustacean distributions were related to pH, catchment area, macrophyte diversity and the distance from the sea. There was little correlation between the plant community types and microcrustacean assemblages. These results support the case for the development of an integrated approach to lake surveys so that correlations can be made between environmental variables and the distribution and abundance patterns of the plant and animal taxa of conservation interest.