freshwater invertebrate recorder’s report

93 FRESHWATER INVERTEBRATES

Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 48 (2012)

FRESHWATER INVERTEBRATE RECORDER’S REPORT ADRIAN CHALKLEY

Various family health problems have meant very little recording for me this year so I am using my report to begin a review of the current state of knowledge of Suffolk freshwater invertebrates which I hope to continue in future editions of Transactions. It is not a bad idea, as the King said to the White Rabbit, to “Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.” Hence we shall start with the freshwater zooplankton, concentrating on the Cladocera or Waterfleas.

Zooplankton, its role within aquatic habitats and Suffolk recording A major component of aquatic systems worldwide the zooplankton forms the base layer of the food web in pond, lake or river. These tiny creatures support the higher invertebrates, fish and, indirectly, the birds such as the Bittern for which our wetlands are perhaps better known. Recording the zooplankton therefore has an obvious importance but also there are difficulties to be overcome. All zooplankton are tiny and identification to species level needs the use of microscopes and specialised keys which are not always easily available and can be complex to use. We can divide the zooplankton into four main groups: Protists (Protista), Rotifers (Rotifera), Copepods (Crustacea: Copepoda) and Cladocerans (Crustacea: Cladocera).

Protists and Rotifers The majority of Protists are truly microscopic and not easy to describe or classify but may be thought of as comprising the single celled algae, the slime moulds and the protozoa. This places us at the evolutionary boundary separating the plant and animal kingdoms, indeed some of the protozoa exhibit characteristics of both. The Rotifers are microscopic animals mostly less than 1 mm long and many less than a tenth of that size, they are present in all types of aquatic environments; in open water, mud, moist sand, damp moss and aquatic vegetation. Identification of both Protists and Rotifers to even group level is not easy and to species requires specialist knowledge. This means there are practically no records on my county database.

Copepods The current state of recording of Copepods is, unfortunately, the same as Protists and Rotifers. Although they are very commonly found when sampling freshwater, the complexity and time required to record to species level means that no attempt has been made to analyse the county fauna as yet.

Copepods inhabit both marine and freshwater systems and can be found at almost all altitudes, longitudes and latitudes. Their recently estimated species diversity is around 13,000 at a global scale with 2,814 representatives in lakes and ponds (Boxshall & Defaye, 2007). They are thought to have originated in marine environments and colonized freshwater afterwards (Huys & Boxshall, 1991; Boxshall & Jaume, 2000).

Whilst the county database has little to say to us about the composition and distribution of these first three types of zooplankton the author welcomes any records that may be sent in by those with the necessary specialist knowledge and interest to contribute.


Suffolk Natural History, Vol. 48 94

Cladocera Of all the zooplankton groups, the bulk of scientific publications have dealt with cladocerans, also known as water fleas. Most of the taxon is confined to freshwater systems, though three genera are found in marine environments (Scourfield & Harding, 1994). Cladocera are usually transparent with a disc-shaped body. The majority are very small, up to 1 mm in size, with some species reaching 4 mm although Leptodora kindti, which to date has not been recorded in Suffolk, reaches 18 mm. Worldwide there are 620 listed species of Cladocera (Forro et al., 2008) but the real number is thought to be two to four times higher and research continues to produce on going taxonomic revision. In the UK the probable number of Cladocera according to the revised species list from The Cladocera Interest Group (CIG, 2011) is 94, of which we have recorded 50 in Suffolk.

Due to their size, relatively larger than most zooplankton, they are much easier to observe under lower power microscopes and, for the most part, neither need staining nor more advanced techniques such as phase contrast microscopy for species identification. There is also great potential for finding new species of cladocerans in the UK or to prove the existence of species thought to be part of the British fauna but needing confirmation (so called species inquirenda). Cladocera are easily found and caught in almost all sizes and types of water body and resting eggs can remain viable for as much as 100 years in the bottom mud of ponds. This means they can be used for paleolimnological studies by raising viable eggs from dried mud or identifying their sub-fossil remains in shallow lakes or ponds. From the data obtained in this way historical changes in pond ecosystems can often be inferred since cores from the bed can be dated rather like tree rings

Unfortunately the last key to cladocera of the UK was published in 1966 and the 1994 reprint by the FBA contained no revisions (Scourfield & Harding, 1994). The problems with this are as follows:

• Some species are included which later work has shown either not to occur in the British Isles or to be synonyms.

• A number of the species names have been revised since 1966 as taxonomy has progressed.

• The reference list is of course woefully out of date by now.

More information on the above is available on the website of the Cladocera Interest Group, www.cladocera.org.uk along with some other hints on identification and updated reference lists. Unfortunately the group has not been in existence long and has yet to restart a recording scheme for the UK and Ireland, though that is the aim. If however this report awakens anybody’s interest in the group then the author would be pleased to receive records, give advice or to identify specimens collected in Suffolk; whether you collect them as the warden of an SSSI or as an enthusiast with an ordinary garden pond! The RA31 Cladocera record card from the BRC has been replaced by RA32 which may be downloaded from the BRC website at:

www.brc.ac.uk/record_cards.asp



Suffolk Cladocera Records The information below represents all the current data on Suffolk species of Cladocera from the earliest archive entry by Claude Morley in 1903 to modern records up to 2011. In all we have 626 records of 50 species from 114 individual sites. To save space full location details have been omitted but can be obtained from the author on request. Recorders are shown by their initials as follows:

SUPERORDER CLADOCERA

Order Ctenopoda Family Sididae

Diaphanosoma

Diaphanosoma brachyurum (Lieven, 1848)

1 Record from 1 Site Fritton Lake in 1903 CM

Sida Sida crystallina (Müller, 1776) (Plate 13) 3 Records from 3 Sites Flatford Mill 1959 CH: Carlton Marshes 2005 RB: Lound 2006 AC

Order Anomopoda Family Daphniidae

Ceriodaphnia Ceriodaphnia dubia (Richard,1894) 1 Record from 1 Site Elveden 2008 AC Ceriodaphnia laticaudata (Müller, 1867) 1 Record from 1 Site Fritton Lake 1902 CM Ceriodaphnia megops (Sars, 1862) 4 Records from 4 Sites Fritton Lake 1903 CM: Barn Creek Flatford 1961 CH: 2 lakes at Elveden 1992 AC Ceriodaphnia pulchella (Sars, 1862) 16 Records from 13 Sites Fritton Lake & Oulton 1903 CM: 10 Lakes at Elveden between 1992 & 2010 AC: Bixley Decoy 2010 AC Ceriodaphnia quadrangula (Müller, 1785) 4 Records from 4 Sites Fritton Lake 1903 CM: Flatford 1958 PA: 2 lakes at Elveden 2007 & 2009 AC

AC = Adrian Chalkley JW = J M Walker

AH = A Hopson KA&JB = Keith Alexander & John Bratton

CH = Ceri Hopkins PA = P. Armitage

CM = Claude Morley RB = Roy Baker

D&R = Druce & Rye RD = R. H. L. Disney

JM = J. J. Moore RM = Robert Morgan



Ceriodaphnia quadrangula f. hamata (Sars) 1 Record from 1 Site 1 lake at Elveden 2007 AC Ceriodaphnia reticulata (Jurine, 1820) 15 Records from 13 Sites Fritton Lake 1903 CM: 2 Ponds Flatford 1958 AH: Flatford Mill 1958 & 1959 CH: Boxford 1993, Theberton 1994, Redgrave 2002, 2 lakes at Elveden 2006, 1 pond Elveden 2006 & 2008 all AC: Carlton Marsh 2010 AC: Grove Farm 2011 AC

Daphnia Daphnia atkinsoni (Baird, 1859) 2 Records from 2 Sites Herringfleet 1901 & Fritton Lake 1903 CM Daphnia cucullata (Sars, 1862) 6 Records from 6 Sites Breydon 1920 & Fritton 1903 CM: 4 lakes at Elveden 2008 to 2010 AC Daphnia curvirostris (Eylmann, 1887) 3 Record from 3 Site East End Pond Flatford 1958 PA: Somerleyton Village Pond 1993 PL: Brewers Pond Boxford 2007 AC: Grove Farm 2011 AC: Daphnia hyalina (Leydig, 1860) 6 Record from 6 Site Fritton 1903 CM: Redgrave 2002 AC: Carlton Marshes 2005 RB: 2 Lakes at Elveden 2007 AC Daphnia longispina (Müller, 1785) 75 Records from 43 Sites Oulton & Fritton 1903 CM: Breydon 1920 CM: 2 ponds Flatford 1958 PA: 70 records 1992 to 2011 by AC from Barnham, Boxford, Bures, Capel St Andrew, Elveden, Framlingham, Hopton, Lakenheath, Melton, Milden, Nowton, Rushbrooke, Sudborne & Theberton Daphnia magna (Straus, 1820) 11 Records from 9 Sites Fritton & Ploughmans Ham 1903 CM: Flatford Mill 1955 D&R: Boxford 1993 AC: Framlingham 199 & 2001 AC: Milden Hall 2003 AC: Wheelhouse Pond, Naughton 2005 AC: Elveden 2010 AC Daphnia obtusa (Kurz, 1874) 26 Records from 20 Sites Flatford 1958 AH: 4 ponds at Boxford 1992, 1993, 1994 AC: Pond Leavenheath 1994 AC: Tunstall Forest 1994 AC: Milden Hall 2003 AC: Wherstead 2006 AC: 3 Ponds Boxford 2007 AC: Rushbrooke 2008 AC: 5 Lakes Elveden 1996, 2007, 2008 2009, 2010 AC Daphnia pulex (DeGeer, 1778) 26 Records from 22 Sites Fritton 1903, Oulton 1907 CM: Breydon 1920 CM: Monk Soham 1929 & 1932 CM: Pond Flatford 1958 AH: 2 Ponds Flatford 1959 PA: Wolves Wood 1990 KA&JB: Groton Wood 1990 & 1991 AC: Black Bourne 1993 AC: Pond Boxford



1993 AC: Somerleyton Village Pond 1993 PL: Redgrave 2001, 2002 AC: Milden Hall 2001 AC: 2 ponds Elmsett 2006 AC: Lound 2006 AC: 2 ponds Boxford 2007 AC: lake at Elveden 2008 AC: Carlton Marshes 2010 AC: Grove Farm 2011 AC

Megafenestra Megafenestra aurita (Fischer, 1849) 2 Records from 1 Site Herringfeet 1903 & 1904 CM

Scapholeberis Scapholeberis mucronata (Müller, 1785) 19 Records from 17 Sites Fritton Lake 1903 CM: 7 lakes 1 pond at Elveden 1992, 1993, 1996, 2009, 2010 AC: Little Paddocks, Boxford 1993 AC: River Tang & 3 ponds 1994 AC: Barnham Heath 1999 AC: Blyford Bridge 2000 AC: Framlingham Heath 2001 AC: pond at Wherstead 2006: Bixley Decoy 2010 AC: Scapholeberis mucronata f. cornuta (Müller, 1785) 25 Records from 18 Sites Flatford Mill pond 1957 & 1958 PA: Dedham Mill pond 1959 CH: Lake Boxford 1992 AC: 7 lakes Elveden 1992, 1993, 1996, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 AC: pond Ipswich 1998 AC: Blyford Bridge 2000 AC: Milden Hall 2003, 2004 & 2008 AC: Barton Mills 2006 AC: Lound 2006 AC: Bixley Decoy 2010 AC

Simocephalus Simocephalus exspinosus (Koch, 1841) 20 Records from 17 Sites Blundeston 1903, Somerleyton Village pond 1903 CM: Holbrook Lake, Victory Pond, Flatford & Dedham Mill pond 1958 AH: Dead River, Flatford 1959 JW Tiger Hill, Bures 1992 AC: 3 ponds Boxford 1993 AC: 3 lakes at Elveden 1993 & 2006 AC: Pond Leavenheath 1994 AC: Framligham Mere 1999 & 2000 AC: Milden Hall 2004 AC: Homey Bridge, Polstead 2004 AC: Grove Farm 2011 AC: Simocephalus vetulus (Müller, 1776) (Plate 14) 103 Records from 63 Sites Fritton Lake, lowestoft & Oulton 1903 CM: 2 ponds & Barn Creek at Flatford 1958 AH: Victory Pond Flatford 1958 JM: New Dyke, Flatford 1962 RD: 85 records 1993 to 2010 by AC from Bixley Decoy, Boxford, Carlton Marshes, Drinkstone, Elmsett, Elveden, Framlingham Mere, Glevering Bridge Wickham Market, Grove Farm, Hadleigh, Icklingham, Ipswich, Lakenheath, Lound, Milden, Mildenhall, Minsmere, Newbourne, Redgrave, Rushbrooke, West Stow: Carlton Marshes 2005 RB

Family Moinidae

Moina Moina brachiata (Jurine, 1820) 3 Records from 3 Sites Herringfleet & Hopton 1903, CM: pond Boxford 2007, AC



Family Bosminidae

Bosmina Bosmina longirostris (Müller, 1785) 20 Records from 14 Sites Fritton Lake & Oulton 1903, CM: 6 lakes Elveden 1992, 1994, 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2010 AC: Framlingham Mere 2001 AC: pond Elmsett 2006 AC: Lound Reservoir 2006 AC: Barton Mills 2006 AC: Boxford 2007 AC Bosmina longirostris var. cornuta (Jurine) 46 Records from 20 Sites Flatford Mill 1958 PA: Brantham Decoy Pond 1961 CH: 11 lakes at Elveden 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 2006, 2007 AC: Barton Mills 2006 AC: Lound Reservoir AC: Boxford 2007 AC: Bixley Decoy 2010 AC

Family Ilyocryptidae

Ilyocryptus Ilyocryptus sordidus (Lieven, 1848) 1 Record from 1 Site Oulton 1903 CM

Family Eurycercidae

Eurycercus Eurycercus lamellatus (Müller, 1785) (Plate 15) 44 Records from 27 Sites Fritton Lake & Lowestoft 1903 : Cattle Troughs at Flatford 1957 JW: East End Pond 1958 AH: Liston Garden 1960 CH: New Dyke Flatford RD: River Brett Hadleigh 1990, 1993 & 2005 AC: Locks Lane Shipmeadow 1990 MJ: Lake at Boxford 1992 AC: West Stow 1993 AC: River Tang 1994 AC: Chad Brook Long Melford 1994 AC: Pond Ipswich 1998 AC: Blyford Bridge 2000 AC: R. Waveney Redgrave 2001 & 2002 AC: Carlton Marshes 2006 RB & 2009 AC: Lound Reservoirs 2006 AC: Glevering Bridge Wickham Market 2009 AC

Family Chydoridae

Acroperus Acroperus harpae (Baird, 1835) 8 Records from 7 Sites 6 lakes at Elveden 1993, 1994 & 1996 AC: 3 ponds along River Tang 1994 AC

Alona Alona affini (Leydig, 1860) 11 Records from 8 Sites Little Paddocks Boxford 1993 AC: 4 Lakes Elveden 1992, 1994, AC: 3 ponds on River Tang 1994 AC: lound Reservoirs 2006 AC: Carlton Marshes 2009 AC Alona costata (Sars, 1862) 2 Records from 2 Sites Lound Reservoirs 2006 AC: Alona guttata (Sars, 1862) 2 Records from 2 Sites Fritton Lake 1903 CM: Little Paddocks Boxford 1993 AC:



Alona quadrangularis (Müller, 1785) 2 Records from 1 Site Fritton Lake 1903 CM

Alonella Alonella excisa (Fischer, 1854) 7 Records from 6 Sites Lake at Elveden 1992 AC: West Stow 1993 AC: Temple Bridge 1993 & 1995 AC: pond Ipswich 1998 AC: Framlingham Mere 2001: pond Boxford 2007 AC Alonella exigua (Lilljeborg, 1853) 2 Records from 2 Sites Hadleigh 1993 AC: Milden Hall 2004 AC

Chydorus Chydorus ovalis (Kurz, 1874) 3 Records from 3 Sites Flatford mill 1958 AH: Carlton Marshes 2006 RH: pond Wherstead 2006 AC Chydorus sphaericus (Müller, 1785) 51 Records from 35 Sites Fritton lake & Oulton, 1903 CM: Lowestoft 1907 CM: Breydon 1920 CM: Victory Pond Flatford AH: Somerleyton Village Pond 1993 PL: Carlton Marshes 2006 RB: 43 records 1993 to 2011 by AC from Blyford, Boxford, Capel St Andrew, Elveden Grove Farm, Hadleigh, Icklingham, Mildenhall, Bixley Decoy, West Stow

Coronatella Coronatella rectangula (Sars, 1862) 1 Record from 1 Site Fritton Lake 1903 CM

Disparalona Disparalona rostrata (Koch,1841) 8 Records from 6 Sites Lake Boxford 1992, 2006 AC: 3 ponds on River Tang 1994 AC: 2 Lakes Elveden 2006 & 2007 AC: lound Reservoirs 2007 AC

Graptoleberis Graptoleberis testudinaria (Fischer, 1848) 1 Record from 1 Site Lake Boxford 1992 AC

Leydigia Leydigia leydigi (Schoedler, 1862) 3 Records from 3 Sites Fritton Lake 1903 CM: Lake Boxford 1993 AC: Lake Elveden 2005 AC

Oxyurella Oxyurella tenuicaudis (Sars, 1862) 2 Records from 1 Site Herringfleet 1903 & 1904 CM



Pleuroxus Pleuroxus aduncus (Jurine, 1820) 5 Records from 5 Sites Fritton Lake & Oulton 1903 CM: 3 Lakes at Elveden 1993 AC Pleuroxus denticulatus (Birge, 1879) 1 Record from 1 Site 1 Lake Elveden 2007 AC Pleuroxus trigonellus (Müller, 1785) 12 Records from 9 Sites Fritton 1903 CM: 4 ponds Boxford 1993, 1994 & 1995 AC: Hadleigh 1993 AC: 2 Lakes Elveden 1996 & 2006 AC: pond Ipswich 1998 AC Pleuroxus truncates (Müller, 1785) 7 Records from 7 Sites Victory Pond Flatford 1957 JW: Flatford Mill pond 1958 PA: Barn Creek 1959 CH: pond Boxford 1995 AC: Bixley Decoy 2010 AC: Pleuroxus uncinatus (Baird,1850) 5 Records from 4 Sites Flatford Mill 1958 & 1959 PA: West Stow 1993 AC: Lake Elveden 2006 AC: Lound Reservoir 2006 AC

Pseudochydorus Pseudochydorus globosus (Baird, 1843) 4 Records from 4 Sites Litle Paddocks Boxford 1993 AC: pond Ipswich 1998 AC: 2 Lakes Elveden 2009 AC

Tretocephala Tretocephala ambigua (Lilljeborg, 1900) 1 Record from 1 Site Herringfleet 1904 CM

Family Macrothricidae

Macrothrix Macrothrix laticornis (Jurine,1820) 2 Records from 2 Sites Lound Reservoir 1903 CM: Duzeley's Pond Flatford 1960 CH

Order Onychopoda Family Polyphemidae

Polyphemus Polyphemus pediculus (Linnaeus, 1761) (Plate 16) 2 Records from 2 Sites Lound Reservoir 2006 AC: River Stour Flarford 2011 RM:

Collecting Cladocera As has been mentioned above Cladocera can be found in almost all water bodies and most readers will have noticed clouds of them, especially in the Spring sunshine, in a garden pond or at the edge of a lake during a nature ramble. Should anyone wish to collect water fleas in order to send in any samples for identification then the following procedure may be used which needs no special equipment.



1. Use a large jam jar, ice cream tub or similar to obtain a sample of the water containing some of the water fleas.

2. Pour the sample through a fine tea strainer to concentrate the water fleas.

3. Transfer the sample into a small tube or other waterproof container using a plastic teaspoon. Do not add any pond water but fill with preservative.

The normal preservative would be 70% alcohol. However if this is not available then neat vodka works perfectly well. Very little is needed in a small tube! Another alternative which works well, so long as the sample is sent fairly soon, is to use vinegar which will preserve the cladocera until they can be identified. White vinegar is preferable to malt if it is available in your kitchen!

Samples may be sent to: Adrian Chalkley, 37 Brook Hall Road, Boxford. CO10 5HS Please include a return address or preferably an email address in order to be informed which species you have collected, and please include your post code or an Ordnance Survey reference in order that the record can be mapped.

Email: [email protected] or Email: [email protected]

References Boxshall, G. A. & Defaye, D. (2007). Global diversity of copepods (Crustacea:

Copepoda) in freshwater. Hydrobiologia, 595: 195–207. Boxshall, G. A. & Jaume, D. (2000). Making waves: the repeated colonization

of fresh water by copepod crustaceans. Advances in Ecological Research 31: 61–79.

Davidson, T. A., Sayer, C. D., Perrow, M., Bramm, M. & Jeppesen, E. (2010). The simultaneous inference of zooplanktivorous fish and macrophyte density from sub-fossil cladoceran assemblages: a multivariate regression tree approach. Freshwater Biology 55: 546–564. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Forró, L., Korovchinsky, N. M., Kotov, A. A. & Petrusek, A. (2008). Global diversity of cladocerans (Cladocera; Crustacea) in freshwater. Hydrobiologia 595: 177–184.

Huys, R. & Boxshall, G. A. (1991). Copepod Evolution. The Ray Society, London.

Scourfield, D. J. & Harding, J. P. (1966). A key to the British species of freshwater Cladocera - 3rd Edition. Scientific Publications, Freshwater Biological Association, No 5.

The Cladocera Interest Group (CIG, 2011) Revised British List of Cladocera. Available from: <http://www.boxvalley.co.uk/nature/cladocera/files/Clad_list.pdf>

Adrian Chalkley 37 Brook Hall Road Boxford Suffolk CO10 5HS

Plate 13: Sida cystallina (p. 95).

P.

Gre

ave

s

Plate 15: Eurycercus lamellatus (p. 98).

Plate 14: Simocephalus vetulus (p. 97).

P. G

rea

ves

G.

Ma

tth

ew

s

Plate 16: Polyphemus pediculus (p. 100).

P.

Gre

ave

s

freshwater invertebrate recorder’s report

Documents