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An Aquatic Invertebrate Survey of the Hen Reedbeds 53 AN AQUATIC INVERTEBRATE SURVEY OF THE HEN REEDBEDS 53 AN AQUATIC INVERTEBRATE SURVEY OF THE HEN REEDBEDS ADRIAN CHALKLEY Introduction The Hen Reedbeds were created in 1999 for Suffolk Wildlife Trust to provide new breeding habitat for bittern and other wildlife as a response to perceived future problems for coastal wetlands caused by climate change. Lying beside the tidal River Wang, the 57 hectares of Hen Reedbeds have been designated as SSSI, NNR, RAMSAR, and Natura 2000 primarily due to the importance of the habitat for birdlife. With its mosaic of reedbeds, fens, dykes and pools it also provides extensive habitat for fish and aquatic invertebrates to support the bird populations. Whilst ongoing monitoring of the avian fauna has taken place since the creation of the reserve and the Environment Agency conducted a fishery survey in 2008; this survey provides a first opportunity to assess the freshwater invertebrate community supported by the Hen Reedbeds. The survey was conducted for the Suffolk Wildlife Trust and the RSPB with funding from Touching the Tide and the Heritage Lottery Fund. The Hen Reedbeds are divided in two by the A1095 road, running from the A12 to Southwold, with Wang Marsh to the west of the road and Wolsey Marsh to the east. Sampling of aquatic invertebrates was carried out on 7 September 2012 at four sample sites, two in each marsh. Summary Simple water chemistry measurements showed that across both sites the waters are base-rich with pH values ranging between 7∙8 and 8∙7. Water temperatures on a very sunny day varied from 15∙1oC in shaded water to 24∙5oC in shallow water in full sun. Conductivity measurements referenced to 25oC showed that: Wang Marsh sites were freshwater, with measurements of 430 & 662 micro Siemens / metre Wolsey Marsh sites were brackish with readings of 2340 & 2760 micro Siemens / metre The survey followed the methodology laid out in the ISIS handbook produced by Natural England. A total of 76 species of aquatic invertebrates from 44 different families were caught and identified. The survey showed this site to have a rich beetle and bug fauna with 21 & 19 species respectively. Several of the invertebrate species are characteristic of mineral marsh, permanent wet mire or brackish marsh / ditches. Specific habitat requirements are generally well provided for by the existing site management although consideration for the needs of Silver Water Beetle larvae should be taken into account during future clearance work. After identification calculation of Biological Monitoring Working Party scores and Average Score Per Taxon showed that for aquatic invertebrates: Water quality in Wang Marsh was very good Water quality in Wolsey Marsh was good Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 49 (2013) 54 Suffolk Natural History, Vol. 49 Analysis of the species forming the aquatic invertebrate community at the Hen Reedbeds was carried out using the Community Conservation Index developed by the Environment Agency. This indicates that: Wang Marsh has very high conservation value and is potentially of national significance, which underlines the existing statutory site protection. The aquatic invertebrate community supports several rarities, including species of national importance (e.g. taxa included in the British RDBs). It is a community of very high taxon richness. Wolsey Marsh has high conservation value. The aquatic invertebrate community supports several uncommon species, some of which may be nationally rare. It is a community of high taxon richness. General Survey and Site Details The Four Sample Sites Sampling was carried out on 7 September 2012. Sample site 1 In Wang Marsh was an older, mature dyke and site 2 had been relatively recently restored. In the Wolsey Marsh sample site 3 is close to the A1095 and was covered in very dense reeds with extensive wet margins to the dykes. These margins were covered with up to 30 cm of water filled with reeds and reed debris. Site 4 was located at the opposite side of the marsh in front of the bird hide. This had fairly deep, reed-margined ditches to either side, with an area of large shallow scrapes in between the ditches. The shallow scrapes provide open water and from the hide give good views of feeding birds; they were full of hornwort, Ceratophyllum demersum. They also contained the warmest water on the site on a very hot, sunny day. The locations of these four areas are shown on the maps in Figs 1 & 2. Weather Conditions The weather on 7 September was hot and sunny with only occasional cloud. Table 1. Water Characteristics Sample Site 1 Sample Site 2 Sample Site 3 Sample Site 4 TM4686377115 TM4693077144 TM4716176978 TM4761876643 pH 8∙3 8∙7 8∙6 7∙8 Conductivity1 430 662 2340 2760 µS / m (25oC) 16∙2 (shady Temperature ditches) 15∙1 16∙6 17∙7 oC 24∙5 (shallow scrape in full sun) 1Conductivity measured in micro Siemens per metre referenced to a standard temperature of 25oC Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 49 (2013) AN AQUATIC INVERTEBRATE SURVEY OF THE HEN REEDBEDS 55 Measurements on site with a freshly calibrated digital meter showed the water to be base-rich with relatively high pH. The conductivity readings show sites 1 & 2 in Wang Marsh to be fresh water and sites 3 & 4 in Wolsey Marsh to be marginally brackish. Typically, micro Siemen values under 1,000 are considered freshwater and those between 1,000 and 10,000 are brackish. Whether the amount of salinity is great enough or persistent enough to influence the invertebrate community to any great extent is a difficult question. The most diverse and ecologically rich areas sampled were both in the freshwater area of Wang Marsh although the increased conductivity of Wolsey Marsh provides for the specialised habitat preferences for certain corixid bugs (see discussion). Methodology After discussion with the warden Alan Miller, the methodology chosen was that specified for still waters by Natural England in their ISIS2 survey tool. Still- water faunas are usually dominated by adult beetles, bugs and molluscs, for which this method produces high yields. It was felt that this methodology would be not only the most appropriate for the site, but would be easily repeatable for future surveys. The only slight deviation from the ISIS method was that, whenever open water was sampled, the water surface was first observed to establish the presence of surface dwelling invertebrates such as Pondskaters or Whirligigs. These have a habit of escaping out to open water as soon as the net enters the water; therefore, when present they were caught prior to the ISIS methodology being employed. This methodology may be summarised thus: The sampling method standardises effort by bank-sorting three qualitative hauls for 10 minutes each, giving 30 minutes of sorting. The emphasis is on free-style netting of features (microhabitats) that are likely to be the most productive. Effort is deliberately not divided in proportion to the extent of features since species are not distributed in this fashion. The net used was the standard FBA design with a rectangular frame 25 cm wide and 22 cm long, the net bag 30 cm deep with a 1 mm mesh. While standing in or at the water margin, the vegetation was netted using short jabbing thrusts in any dense emergent and raft-forming plants, and using occasional longer strokes into submerged plants and over bare substrate in deeper water. This method was repeated along the bank as netting proceeded, selecting patches of vegetation that exhibited the greatest small-scale mosaic structure since these patches yield more specimens. Netting ended when the net began to fill to the point that it became more difficult to push, usually after about one to three minutes when it was usually about a third to a half full of plant material. When duckweed or similar small plants were abundant, the net would fill within seconds, so some careful manipulation was needed to slow the rate that it was caught while probing for more productive structures beneath. 2ISIS is a computer application developed by Natural England for the recognition and scoring of invertebrate assemblage types. Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 49 (2013) 56 Suffolk Natural History, Vol. 49 Figure 1. Figure Wang Marsh Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 49 (2013) AN AQUATIC INVERTEBRATE SURVEY OF THE HEN REEDBEDS 57 Figure 2. Wolsey 2. Figure MarshWolsey Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 49 (2013) 58 Suffolk Natural History, Vol. 49 Bottom sediment was avoided since it clogs the net and contains almost no species that contribute to the analysis, though ‘grazing’ strokes across the sediment top were used to ‘put up’ invertebrates such as beetles and bugs which were then caught in the net. Once the net was full a digital timer was used to time the 10 minutes sorting time as the sample was tipped onto a white polythene sheet and spread out quickly into a thin layer. Fast-crawling beetles, bugs and dragonfly larvae were collected or identified (if recognisable) before they escaped during the spreading-out process. Many invertebrates, such as flatworms and leeches react badly to the alcohol used as a sample preservative, others such as Water Scorpion or Stick Insect are instantly identifiable. During sorting these were placed in a bucket of water. They were then identified, noted and returned alive to the water. The white sheet was then scanned for other animals as they recovered from their shock. After a few minutes, the debris was turned over and poked about, when more animals were usually found. A pool of water forms in the centre of the sheet which allows weakly swimming animals a refuge and to be seen, these were collected towards the end of each 10 minute time period.
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