Does littoral substrate affect macroinvertebrate assemblages in Mediterranean lakes?

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of substrate type in macroinvertebrate assemblages in Mediterranean lakes. Samplings have taken place in the littoral zone of 21 lakes in Greece, between 2015 and 2018. We compared benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages among three substrate types of their littoral zones; sandy, covered with macrophytes and stony substrate. Benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages at sites with extended macrophyte cover differed only slightly in composition and abundance from the ones found in stony and sandy substrates. Coenagrionidae were indicative of sites covered with macrophytes and Oligochaeta and Erpobdellidae were representative of stony substrates. The type of substrate proved to be a statistically significant factor influencing the number of benthic macroinvertebrate taxa, the relative abundance of Oligochaeta and the relative abundance of Odonata. In the context of designing site-adapted management measures, priority could be given to the conservation and restoration of aquatic vegetation in lake littoral zones, which host rich macroinvertebrate assemblages with abundant taxa of Odonata.