An Initial Classification of the Habitats of Aquatic Coleoptera in North- East England

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Abstract
(1) Records of aquatic Coleoptera were assembled for 384 sites in north-east England and the sites were classified using two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN) and ordinated using detrended correspondence analysis (DECORANA). (2) Nine habitats were interpreted from the TWINSPAN end-groups but it was found that one habitat represented by few sites was not classified by TWINSPAN and had to be determined from the ordination plot and from the experience of the recorders. (3) Ordination of the sites suggested that in the north-east of England the major environmental influences on the formation of assemblages of water beetle species appeared to be acidity and the amount of oxygen in the water. (4) A measurement of typicalness, based on ordination plots, was calculated for each site with a view to its use as a criterion for the evaluation of sites for wildlife conservation purposes.