Influence of hydraulic pressure on morphometric variability of riffle beetle Elmis maugetii Latreille, 1802 (Coleoptera: Elmidae)

Abstract

The paper presents the results of morphometric study of the riffle beetle Elmis maugetii Latreille, 1802 in response to hydraulic pressure. The following species morphometric characters were analyzed: head length, prothoracic width and total body length with respect to measured hydrological parameters (water level, sampling depth and current discharge). A total of 155 E. maugetii adult specimens from six typical riffle beetle streams in Serbia were examined during investigated period (2014-2015). Among measured hydrological parameters, it was found that only current discharge affects specimen size-a larger specimens were found in streams characterized by higher flow velocity. The main goal of the study is to assess the influence of current discharge on species morphometric variability.

Keywords

• riffle beetle
• elmis maugetii
• flow
• velocity
• stream
• morphometrics