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Exploring the relationship between sampling efficiency and short-range endemism for groundwater fauna in the Pilbara region, Western Australia

  1. STEFAN M. EBERHARD1,†,
  2. STUART A. HALSE1,‡,
  3. MATTHEW R. WILLIAMS2,
  4. MICHAEL D. SCANLON1,‡,
  5. JAMES COCKING1,‡,
  6. HARLEY J. BARRON1,§

Article first published online: 19 NOV 2008

DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2427.2007.01863.x

Issue

Freshwater Biology

Freshwater Biology

Special Issue: ASSESSING AND CONSERVING GROUNDWATER BIODIVERSITY Guest Editors: Janine Gibert and David C.Culver

Volume 54, Issue 4, pages 885–901, April 2009

Additional Information

How to Cite

EBERHARD, S. M., HALSE, S. A., WILLIAMS, M. R., SCANLON, M. D., COCKING, J. and BARRON, H. J. (2009), Exploring the relationship between sampling efficiency and short-range endemism for groundwater fauna in the Pilbara region, Western Australia. Freshwater Biology, 54: 885–901. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2427.2007.01863.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Environment and Conservation, Science Division, Wanneroo, WA, Australia

  2. 2

    Department of Environment and Conservation, Science Division, Bentley Delivery Centre, WA, Australia

  1. †

    Present address: Subterranean Ecology, Scientific Environmental Services, Greenwood, WA, Australia.

  2. ‡

    Present address: Bennelongia Pty Ltd, Wembley, WA, Australia.

  3. §

    Present address: Barron, 25 Durack Way, Padbury, WA, Australia.

*Dr. Stuart A. Halse, Bennelongia Pty Ltd., PO Box 384, Wembley, WA 6913, Australia. E-mail: stuart.halse@bennelongia.com.au

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 19 MAR 2009
  2. Article first published online: 19 NOV 2008
  3. (Manuscript accepted 28 July 2007)

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Keywords:

  • false negative;
  • narrow range endemism;
  • species accumulation;
  • stygofauna;
  • survey design

Summary

1. Identifying the existence of short or narrow range endemic species is an important issue when planning for conservation of groundwater fauna in the face of threats to groundwater quantity and quality.

2. Fourteen bores were sampled six times over 3 or 4 years to assess the reliability of net-hauling sampling in broad-scale survey to collect the groundwater fauna present at a site and to identify short-range endemic (SRE) species.

3. Species accumulation curves suggested that one sample from a bore collected 23% and 46% of species occurring in low and high abundance, respectively, and two samples collected 38% and 65% of such species. False-negative rates provided a slightly higher estimate of the collection probability of species with low abundances.

4. The frequent failure to collect species present at a site means that some apparent short-range endemism was probably an artefact of low sampling effort. Nevertheless, as is typical for subterranean fauna, a high proportion of the known species in the Pilbara region appeared to be SREs. About 55% had probable ranges <10 000 km2, the criterion proposed by Harvey (2002) for short-range endemism.

5. Consideration of species occurrence patterns, natural barriers and the scale of most disturbances suggest that 1000 km2 is a more satisfactory threshold for short-range endemism than 10 000 km2 but, as the threshold is reduced, more intensive sampling is required to determine whether a species qualifies as an SRE.

6. Extrapolation of the results of regional sampling suggested the Pilbara contains about 500–550 species of groundwater fauna, with the density of species being relatively uniform across the region. Attempts to use a T-S curve approach (sensuUgland & Gray, 2004) highlighted the lack of information about within-population dispersal of these species and the area of an aquifer that is effectively sampled by a bore.

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