View article

Ephemeroptera larvae are recognized worldwide for their sensitivity to oxygen depletion in running waters, and are therefore commonly used as bioindicators in many monitoring programmes. Mayflies inhabiting lentic waters, like lakes and ponds, in contrary have been poorly prospected in biomonitoring. For this purpose, a better understanding of their distribution in lentic habitats and of the relations of species presence with environmental conditions are needed. Within this framework, 104 ponds were sampled in Switzerland. The Ephemeroptera are found to be an insect order particularly well represented in the ponds studied here (93% of the lowland ponds). Nevertheless, in terms of diversity, they are relatively poorly represented (mean species number = 1.9). Two species dominated: Cloeon dipterum (Baetidae) and Caenis horaria (Caenidae). The investigations contributed to the updating of the …