NATURA MONTENEGRINA, PODGORICA, 7(2): 401-411

DISTRIBUTION OF MACROZOOBENTOS IN THE TRIBUTARIES OF RIVER IBAR IN

THE NORTHERN PART OF KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

Nebojša ŽIVIĆ 1 , Vera VUKANIĆ 2 , Tatjana BABOVIĆ-JAKŠIĆ 3 , Branko

MILJANOVIĆ 3
1
University of Pristina , Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, Kosovska Mitrovica, nebzivic@gmail.com
2
University of Novi Pazar, Faculty of science, Biology; Novi Pazar, Serbia
3
University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, Novi Sad, Tatjana_jaksic@hotmail.com

Key words: SYNOPSIS

distribution,
diversity, During 2006/2007 the research of the bottom macro
macrozoobenthos, fauna in tributary rivers of Ibar river was conducted. The
river Ibar diversity of invertebrate fauna was presented with 19 groups
and 61 taxa. The highest diversity of the taxa came from the
group of Diptera-19, then Trichoptera-11, Ephemeroptera-10,
Odonata and Coleoptera 5, gastropoda -4, Crustacea-3,
Plecoptera-2 and Hirudinea with 2 taxa. The biggest number
of the taxa was found in Josanicka river -43, then in
Socanicka river 26 and Leposavska river with 19 taxa. On the
researched sites of river Ibar before and after the mouth 10
taxa were found. The group of Crustacea was dominant with
the abundance in all sampling sites with 60-80% with
Gammarus balcanicus species, as well as group of
Ephemeroptera with Ephemera danica and Ecdyonurus
venosus species.

Kljucne reci: DISTRIBUCIJA MAKROZOOBENTOSA U PRITOKAMA REKE

distribucija, IBAR U SEVERNOM DELU KOSOVA I METOHIJE
diverzitet,
makrozoobentos, SINOPSIS
reka Ibar U period 2006/2007 godine izvedena su istrazivanja
distribucije makrofaune dna u pritokama reke Ibar. Diverzitet
makrofaune invertebrate je bio predstavljen sa 9 grupa i 61
taksonom. Najveci diverzitet taksona je imala grupa Diptera- 19,
slede Trichoptera- 11, Ephemeroptera-10, Odonata i Coleoptera po
5, Gastropoda -4 , Crustacea -3 , Plecoptera -2 i Hirudinea -2 .
Najveci broj taksona je utvrdjen u Josanickoj reci 43, sledi
Socanska reka sa 26 i Leposavska sa 19 taksona. Na lokalitetima
reke Ibar pre i posle uliva je utvrdjeno prisustvo 10 taksona. Na
svim ispitivanim lokalitetima abundantnoscu je dominantna grupa
Crustacea od 60-80 % sa vrstom Gammarus balcanicus kao i grupa
Ephemeroptera sa vrstama Ephemera danica I Ecdyonurus
venosus.
 Natura Montenegrina 7(2)

INTRODUCTION

The region of Kosovo and Metohija is characterized by a rich hydrographic

network of diverse aquatic ecosystems. The biological research of these ecosystems
began in early 1930s (Karaman 1931). In the later period there were numerous
published papers by various authors, presenting the results of analyses of aquatic
ecosystems of this region from the faunistic, floristic, biocenological and
biogeographical, saprobiological aspect (Š a p k a r e v (1975), F i l i p o v i ć (1975) ,
K a r a m a n , M.(1967),Š u k r i u (1976): D a u t i (1977), M a r i n k o v i ć – G o s p
o d n e t i ć , M. (1979) , M a l o s e j a , Ž., G e c a j , A. (1983) ).
Some of the particularly significant papers are those by U r o š e v i ć, (1994),
Ž i v i ć (1997,2007), and R a n d j e l o v i ć (1997), presenting the results of
hydrobiological studies of high-mountain aquatic ecosystems of Kosovo and Metohija.
All these studies indicated that these are specific aquatic ecosystems, and their
hydrobiological analysis represents a significant contribution to knowledge of regional
limnology.
At the northern part of Kosovo in Ibar Gorge, the right-hand tributaries of River
Ibar are Sočanska and Leposavska Rivers coming from the slopes of Mt. Kopaonik,
while the left tributary, Jošanička River, comes from the slopes of Mt. Rogozna. The
goal of the studies on these mountain rivers was to contribute to protection and
conservation of biodiversity of aquatic fauna of flowing waters by studying the
distribution and diversity of benthos community of macroinvertebrates.

MATERIJAL AND METHODS

Studies of zoobenthos were performed at three mountain-type tributaries of
River Ibar: Sočanska River (30km) – sites 1, 2 and 3; Leposavska River (20km)– sites
4 and 5; Jošanička River (18km)– sites 6, 7 and 8; as well as at two sites at River Ibar
(sites 9 and 10), before and after the confluence of the tributaries (Fig. 1). The studies
had included 4 seasonal aspects, starting with the summer of 2006 and finishing in
spring of 2007. The representative localities were chosen on the rivers in all parts
from the springs to the confluences. Number of processed samples was 40.

Fig. 1a. Area investigated river, Sočanska - I, Leposavska – II and Jošanička III.

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Živić et al: DISTRIBUTION OF MACROZOOBENTOS IN THE TRIBUTARIES OF RIVER IBAR . . .

Fig. 1b. Area investigated river, Sočanska - I, Leposavska – II and Jošanička III.

Benthos was sampled by using Surber net with catchment surface of 1200 cm 2 .
The macroinvertebrates were additionally collected from the rocks by hand (hand-
sorting). After the sampling, the organisms were conserved in 4% formaldehyde with
several drops of glycerin. The abundance of individuals was represented as number
of individuals per square meter.

RESULTS AND DISCUSION

Benthos fauna of the studied ecosystems is composed of various groups with

pronounced space and time dynamics in abundance and number of species. According
to the analysis of biocenotic composition, the studied tributaries of River Ibar may
from the limnological standpoint be classified as rithron, which includes many similar
watercourses of this region as well (M a r k o v i ć ,(1995, M i l j a n o v i ć ( 2001): ).
The area of the studied part of Ibar catchment is 536 km 2 . There is a relatively rich

403
 Natura Montenegrina 7(2)

fauna of benthic macroinvertebrates in this small area. Diversity of this fauna was
represented with 61 taxa (Tab. 1 ).

Table 1. Qualitative composition of macrozoobenthos and the average abundance of taxa in

samples from studied localities

River Sočanska Leposavska Jošanička Ibar

Localities 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Taxa ind/m²

Gastropoda

Ancylus fluviatilis (O.F. Müller ) 4 6 6 2

Radix peregra (O.F. Müller ) 8

Planorbis planorbis (Linnaeus ) 2 4 2 2

Planorbis sp. 16

Hirudinea

Erpobdella octoculata (Linnaeus ) 2 2

Dina lineata (O.F. Müller ) 4 6 6 4 2

Crustacea

Gammarus balcanicus Schaferna 54 304 404 302 189 254 164 279 112 133

Gammarus fossarum C.L.Koch 62,5 12 14

Asellus aquaticus (Linnaeus ) 2

Ephemeroptera

Ephemera danica Müller 36 33 41 6 16 29 4 12 12 29

Ephemera vulgata Linnaeus 2 2 2

Baetis scambus Eaton 2 2

Baetis rhodani (Pictet) 4 4 2

Baetis fuscatus (Linnaeus) 2 2

Baetis melanonyx (Pictet) 2 2

Ecdyonurus venosus (Fabricius) 4 8 3 8 12 8 2 4

Electrogena macedonica (Ikonomov) 8

Rhithrogena semicolorata (Curtis ) 2

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 Živić et al: DISTRIBUTION OF MACROZOOBENTOS IN THE TRIBUTARIES OF RIVER IBAR . . .

Rhithrogena carpatoalpina Klonowska,

2 2
Olechowska, Sartori & Weichselbaumer

Coleoptera

Elmis aenea (Müller ) 2

Limnius volckmari (Panzer ) 6 6 5 2 2 4

Stenelmis sp. 2

Elmis sp. 2 14 22 2 6 7 5

Platambus maculatus (Linnaeus) 2

Esolus angustatus (Müller) 2

Diptera

Hexatoma sp. 2

Erioptera sp. 2

Helius sp. 2

Tabanus sp. 2

Atherix ibis (Fabricus) 2

Psychoda sp. 2

Dicranota sp. 6

Liponeura sp. 2

Chironomidae 56 22 56 66 33 16 23 12 4 14

Cylindrostomatidae 2

Ceratopogonidae 2

Empididae 2 2

Culicoides sp. 4

Berria sp. 2

Syrphidae 2

Limonidae 2 2 2 6 2

Linmnophila sp. 2

Limonia sp. 2

Odonata

Cordulegaster boltonii (Donovan) 2 4

Ophiogomphus cecilia (Fourcroy ) 2

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 Natura Montenegrina 7(2)

Gomphus vulgatissimus (Linnaeus) 2

Onychogomphus forcipatus (Linnaeus) 2 2 2

Libellula quadrimaculata Linnaeus 2

Trichoptera

Helesus radiatus (Curtis) 2 4 2 4 4 2

Helesus sp. 2 10 2 4

Potamophylax latipennis (Curtis ) 8 4 6

Rhyacophila nubila Zetterstedt 2

Hydropsyche instabilis (Curtis) 2 2 4 4

Hydropsyche pellucidula (Curtis) 2 2

Hydropsyche angustipennis (Curtis ) 24

Sericostoma personatum (Kirby & Spence ) 4 2 2 4

Plectrocnemia conspersa (Curtis ) 2

Athripsodes bilineatus (Linnaeus ) 2

Silo pallipes (Fabricius) 2

Plecoptera

Nemoura cinerea (Retzius ) 2

Isoperla grammatica (Poda) 2

Most taxa belong to the group Insecta (82.25 %), which is a common
characteristic of fast-flowing mountain rivulets with sandy-stony bottom (Š u k r i
u,1976 ). Species Ephemera danica Müller and Gammarus balcanicus Schaferna,
with frequency of occurrence of 100% in all samples, represent the euconstant
species for the studied watercourses.
The diversity of taxa of macrozoobenthos was the greatest at Jošanička River,
followed by Sočanska and Leposavska River, respectively (Fig. 2).

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Živić et al: DISTRIBUTION OF MACROZOOBENTOS IN THE TRIBUTARIES OF RIVER IBAR . . .

50

45 43

40

35

30
26
taxa 25
19
20
16
15

10

0
river Sočanska Leposavska Jošanička Ibar

Fig.2. Diversity of species of macrozoobenthos of studied rivers

As the ecological conditions influence the succession of cenotic composition in a

watercourse (G r i f i t h i s,1991), the dynamics of changes in composition of
macrozoobenthos were also recorded in the studied tributaries of River Ibar. In most
of the upstream localities of the studied ecosystems (site 1) the diversity of taxa was
greater than at the downstream sites, while at Jošanička River there was no recorded
significant seasonal dynamic in species composition along the watercourse (Fig. 3).

lok.1 lok.2 lok.3

25
22
21
20
20 19

15 14
13
taxa

11 11
10 10
10

0
river Sočanska Leposavska Jošanička Ibar

Fig.3. Spatial dynamics of diversity of macrozoobenthos taxa.

The diversity of taxa of recorded groups was variable among the studied rivers.
At Sočanska River the greatest diversity was recorded in groups Diptera,
Ephemeroptera and Coleoptera. At Leposavska River the greatest diversity was
present in groups Ephemeroptera, Diptera and Trichoptera, while at Jošanička River
the most diverse were Diptera, Trichoptera and Ephemeroptera (Fig. 4).

407
 Natura Montenegrina 7(2)

Hirudinea Gastropoda Crustacea

Ephemeroptera Coleoptera Diptera
Odonata Trichoptera Plecoptera

12

10

8
taxa

0
river Sočanska Leposavska Jošanička Ibar

Fig. 4. Diversity of groups of macrozoobenthos.

On average, the greatest number of taxa is present in samples from Jošanička

River during the spring period (Fig. 5).

leto jesen zima proleće prosek

10

6
taxa

0
river Sočanska Leposavska Jošanička ibar

Fig. 5. Seasonal dynamics and the average number of taxa in the studied rivers.

The main carriers of abundance of macrozoobenthos of studied ecosystems

were the populations of species Gammarus balcanicus, Ephemera danica and fam.
Chironomidae, comprising 70-80 % of all individuals in the samples from these study
sites. The dominance of these taxa is characteristic for watercourses with an
abundance of water vegetation (F i l i p o v i ć ,1967).
An increase in abundance of macrozoobenthos species was recorded at the
lower (downstream) parts of studied watercourses (Fig. 6).

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Živić et al: DISTRIBUTION OF MACROZOOBENTOS IN THE TRIBUTARIES OF RIVER IBAR . . .

lok.1 lok.2 lok.3

600
541

500

399 404
400 363 363
ind/m2

300 272 274 281

195
200 159

100

0
river Sočanska Leposavska Jošanička Ibar

Fig 6. Average abundance of macrozoobenthos in samples from the studied localities.

The seasonal dynamics of macrozoobenthos abundance was recorded at all the

watercourses as a consequence of a change in ecological conditions. On average,
most individuals were recorded in the samples collected at sites of Jošanička River.
There was a pronounced high abundance recorded at the sites of Leposavska River
(Fig. 7).
leto jesen zima proleće prosek

1000

900

800

700

600
ind/m2

500

400

300

200

100

0
river Sočanska Leposavska Jošanička ibar

Fig. 7 . Average values of seasonal dynamics of abundance of macrozoobenthos of the studied

rivers.

Due to presence of species G. balcanicus all the samples of studied rivers were
dominated by the group Crustacea. It dominated the total abundance values with 65-
75%. The participation of other groups was very small (Fig. 8).

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 Natura Montenegrina 7(2)

Hirudinea Gastropoda Crustacea

Ephemeroptera Coleoptera Diptera
Odonata Trichoptera Plecoptera

70

60

50

40
%

30

20

10

0
river Sočanska Leposavska Jošanička Ibar

Fig. 8. Participation of various groups in the total abundance of macrozoobenthos.

CONCLUSION

The studied faunas of benthic macroinvertebrates in the mountain rivers,

tributaries of River Ibar, showed a relatively rich diversity represented with 61 taxa.
Most species belonged to the group of Insecta – 82.25 %. At Jošanička River the
diversity was represented by 43, at Sočanska River by 28 and at Leposavska River by
19 taxa.
The diversity of macrozoobenthos showed a tendency to decrease toward the
lower parts of studied rivers. The greatest species diversity was recorded within the
groups Diptera, Ephemeroptera, Trichoptera and Coleoptera. The benthic fauna of
macroinvertebrates within the watercourse of Leposavska River had the greatest
abundance of all the samples, and particularly in the autumn season. In spite of the
decrease in number of taxa, the lower parts of watercourses showed an increase in
number of individuals of macrozoobenthos. In all the studied samples the greatest
abundance was present in species Gammarus balcanicus 60-75%, Ephemera danica
7-9% and f.Chironomidae11%.

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