Faunistic assemblages of natural springs in different areas in the Swiss National Park
Lucas Blattner, University of Basel (CH)
We examined 36 springs in eight different areas in the Swiss National Park to understand if the macroinvertebrate assemblages of high-elevation springs are isolated or interconnected. We sampled the macroinvertebrate assemblages and monitored environmental parameters. The similarity of the macroinvertebrate assemblages of the springs within and the dissimilarities between the different areas were relatively high; a clear spatial isolation was not evident. For spring conservation, it is important to decide on an individual basis if the loss of a single spring will have severe consequences.