Life-history data in bioindication procedures, using the example of hoverflies (Diptera, syrphidae) in the Elbe floodplain

摘要

This is the first study to relate syrphid life history traits to environmental variables with a multi-trait approach. We aimed to answer two questions: 1. Do syrphid species respond to small scale changes in environmental variables in seasonally flooded grasslands in a Central European floodplain (Elbe)? 2. Can species response to environmental variables be explained by the biological characteristics of the species expressed by their life history traits? Despite their large mobility, syrphids did respond significantly to small scale changes in environmental variables (groundwater (GW) depth, cation exchange capacity, amplitude of variation of the GW-depth). On the other hand, the biological traits of the syrphids did not sufficiently explain syrphid occurrence at the sites. Possible explanations are discussed and an outlook for further studies is given.