Distribution of Freshwater Macroinvertebrates in Ireland, 1967-1972Author(s): Christopher MoriartySource: The Irish Naturalists' Journal, Vol. 17, No. 12 (Oct., 1973), pp. 409-412Published by: Irish Naturalists' Journal Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25537674 .

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409

equal quantities. (2) May. Malin Head, Co. Donegal. Grid reference C 45. 4 gm. Remains of feathers and a rat.

Department of Zoology, University College, Galway.

Table I Percentage by dry weight of the various preys recorded in the pellets

Date of Total collection Percentage weight weight

Field House Brown Pigmy Birds Lizard Frog Insects mouse mouse rat shrew

27. 9.72 ... 59 4 27 10 23.5 25.10.72 ... 44 2 3 2 32 17 52.6

9.12.72 ... 53 38 9 17.5 6. 1.73 ... 53 33 Present 14 4.0

5. 2.73 ... 48 1 47 4 14.6

9. 3.73 ... 18 3 77 1 Present 1 8.9 2. 4.73 ... 36 30 30 Present 4 13.7

REFERENCES Davis, T. A. W. (1960). Kestrel peUets at a winter roost. Br. Birds, 53: 281-284.

Fairley, J. S. (1967). Wood mice in grassland at Dundrum, Co. Down, Northern Ireland.

/. Zool, Lond., 153: 553-555.

-and Clark, F. L. (1972). Food of barn owls Tyto alba (Scopoli) over ons year at a

roost in Co. Galway. Ir. Nat. J., 17: 219-222. - and McLean, A. (1965). Notes on the summer food of the kestrel in northern

Ireland. Br. Birds, 58: 145-158.

Kennedy, P. G., Ruttledge, R. F., Scroope, C. F. and Humphreys, G. R. (1954). The Birds of

Ireland. Oliver and Boyd. London.

Thompson, W. (1849). The Natural History of Ireland. Reeve, Benham and Reeve. London.

DISTRIBUTION OF FRESHWATER MACROINVERTEBRATES IN IRELAND, 1967-1972

Christopher Moriarty

In the course of studies on the biology of the eel Anguilla anguilla, a total of

sixty-five species of invertebrates were identified from the stomachs. The great majority of these were common and more or less abundant species, but distribution records for the groups are very few. Records are presented here in Table I under the

headings: location, vice-county and 10 km Irish National Grid square. New vice

county records are shown in boldface.

All of the samples of eels were taken in the months of July or August in the

following years: 1967 Mid Corrib, M 1040. 1968 North Corrib, M 0050; Killashandra and Cootehill Lakes, H 3000 and

H 6010; Lough Inchiquin, R 2080. 1969 South Corrib, M 2030; Loughs Carra and Mask, M 1070 and M 1060;

Lough Derg, R 6070. 1970 Lough Key, G8000. 1972 Lough Conn, G 1010; Lough Gill, G 7030; Belturbet lakes, H 3020;

River Blackwater, W 8799. Details of the eel experiments are being published in the Irish Fisheries

Investigations series and a paper on the eels of the Corrib system has appeared

(Moriarty, 1972). This and successive papers will provide more information on the sampling techinques and descriptions of the waters. It may be said here that all of the lakes were relatively rich, with alkalinities from 1.3 to 3.7 m Eq/1. Most of the sampling techniques and descriptions of the waters. It may be said here that all of

Blackwater was 1.2 (from Toner and O'Connell, 1971). Four species of Hirudinea, eleven ephemeropteran nymphs, twenty-five larval

Trichoptera and eleven Gastropoda were identified, using the key works of Mann (1964), Macan (1970), Hickin (1967) and Macan (1969) respectively.

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TABLE I

LOCATION Lough Lough Lough Bel- Killa- Coote- North Lough Lough Mid South Lough Lough River O

Conn Gill Key turbet shandra hill Corrib Carra Mask Corrib Corrib Inchi- Derg Black

Lakes Lakes Lakes quint water

VICE-COUNTY NUMBER H 27 H 28 H 25 H 30 H 30 H 30 H 17 H 26 H 26 H 17 H 17 H 9 H 9 H 5

GRID REFERENCE G lOlO G 7030 G 8000 H 3020 H 3000 H 6010 M 0050 M 1070 M 1060 M 1040 M 2030 R 2080 R 6070 W 8799

HIRUDINEA

Piscicola geometra ... X X

Glossiphonia heteroclita ... X Helobdella stagnalis ... XX X X Erpobdella octoculata ... X X

CRUSTACEA MALACOSTRACA Gammarus lacustris ... X X X X

G.duebeni ... XXXX XXXXXX X

Asellus aquaticus X X X X X X X X X X X XX

A. meridianus ...X X X XXX XX

My sis relicta ... X X X

EPHEMEROPTERA

Ephemera danica ...XXXXX XXXXX X

Caenis horaria ... X X X

C. moesta ... X X X X Ephemerella ignita ... X X

Ecdyonurus insignis ..-. X

E. venosus ... X X

Heptagenia sulphurea ... X X X

Centroptilum luteolum ... XX

Chen simile ... X X

Baetis niger ... X B. muticus ... X

HEMBPTERA HETEROPTERA Aphelocheirus montandoni ... X Cymatia bonsdorfii ... XX

Corixa affinis ... X Sigara dorsalis ... X X

S. scotti

...

X

S. semistriata ... X S. distincta ... X

Arctocorisa germaria ... X X Callicorixa praeusta ... X

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TRICHOPTERA

Neureclepsis bimaculata

... X X

Polycentropus flavomaculatus ...XXXX X XX XX

P. kingi

... X X P. irroratus ... X Holocentropus

dubius ... X X Cyrnus

flavidus

... X X X X XX X C.

trimaculatus ...XXXXX X XX

Ecnomus tenellus ... X Tinodes waeneri ... XX

Limnephilus decipiens ... X X X

L.

fiavicornis

... X X X L. marmoratus ... X X

L. vittatus ... X X

Anabolia nervosa ... X X Athripsodes

aterrimus

... X X X

A. cinerea ... X X X X X X A. fulvus ... XX A. senilis ... X X

Mvstacides

azurea

... X X X X X X M. longicornis

...XXXX X X XX

Triaenodes

bicolor ... X Ocetis ochracea ...XXX X X XXXX

Molanna angustata ... X Sericostoma personatum ... X Lepidostoma hirtum ... X X XX MOLLUSCA GASTROPODA Theodoxus fiuviatiJis ... X X

Volvata piscinalis ...XXX XXXXXXX Potamopvrgus jenkinsi ... X X X X X X X Bithynia tentaculata ...XXXXX X XXXXXXX

Physa

fontinalis

... X X Lymnaea stagnalis ... XX X

L. peregra ... XXX XXXXXXXXX

Acroloxus lacustris ... X Planorbis contortus ... X

P. carinatus ... X X X

P. alba

...

XXXX X XXXXX

Table I. Distribution records of

invertebrates

taken from eel stomachs. Crosses in boldface

type indicate

new vice-county records.

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412

The two Irish freshwater species of Gam mar us and two Asellus were recorded.

The distribution of G. lacustris is not fully known and the record for Lough Corrib appears, from the distribution map in Hynes, Macan and Williams (1960) to be a new one for north-east Galway. My sis relicta, according to Tattersall and Tattersall (1951) had not been known from Lough Key or Lough Eonish on the upper Erne, though recorded from other lakes on the same river systems.

Eight species of common corixids were identified using Macan (1965). A ninth

hemipteran, Aphelocheirus montandoni, was a particularly interesting record, being the first of the species from the Shannon system. Two micropterous specimens were

found in the stomach of a 47 cm eel, caught in the shallows of Lough Derg at

Ballyvally Point, H 6974. Most of the records of this apparently scarce insect are from stony river beds but it is also known from two localities on Lough Neagh (Halbert, 1935) and from Lake Bassenthwaite in England (Macan, 1965). It seems likely that the supposed rarity of the species owes much to its ability to avoid normal

collecting equipment.

Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Fisheries Division, Dublin 1.

REFERENCES

Halbert, J. N. (1935). A list of the Irish Henri ptera (Heteroptera and Cicadina). Proc. R. Ir.

Acad., 42(B): 211-318.

Hickin, N. E. (1967). Caddis Larvae. Hutchinson, London.

Hynes, H. B. N., Macan, T. T. and Williams, W. D. (1960). A key to the British specks of Crustacea: Malacostraca occurring in freshwater. F.B.A. Scientific Publication No. 19.

Macan, T. T. (1965). A Revised Key to the British Water Bugs (:Hemipterm~Hetero*ptera). F.B.A. Scientific Publication No. 16.

?- (1969). A Key to the British Fresh- and Brackish-water Gastropods. F.B.A.

Scientific Publication No. 13.

-(1970). A Key to the Nymphs of British Species of Ephemeroptera with notes on

their Ecology. F.B.A. Scientific Publication No. 20.

Mann, K. H. (1964). A Key to the British Freshwater Leeches with notes on their Ecology. F.B.A. Scientific Publication No. 14.

Moriarty, C. (1972). Studies of the eel Anguilla anguilla in Ireland, 1. In the lakes of the

Corrib System. Ir. Fish. Invest., Ser. A, 10.

Tattersall, W. M. and O. S. (1951). The British Mysidacea. Ray. Society, London.

Toner, P. F. and O'Connell, C. (1971). Water Quality Investigations in the River Blackwater

and River Martin, Co. Cork?1966-1969. Ir. Fish. Invest., Ser. A, No. 8.

A BLUE GOOSE, AN SER C. CAERULESCENS L. IN CO. MAYO

David Cabot

An adult blue phase of the lesser snow goose, Anser c. caerulescens L., was

seen on Inishkea North, Co. Mayo, on the 31st December 1972. It was discovered at

14.45 hours feeding in the company of 29 Greenland whitefronted geese, Anser

albifrons flavirostris Dalgety and Scott in the centre of the island. It was observed on the ground for ten minutes with 10 X 50 binoculars and a X 45 telescope and was

subsequently seen in flight with the whitefronts and later on the lst January 1973 on

Inishkea South. The goose was also seen by Mr Brian West who was with me at the time. I am familiar with the blue goose having observed one several times on the North

Slob, Co. Wexford, during the winters 1960/61 and 1961/62. The field description taken at the time was: ?

Pink bill. White head and upper neck. Pink legs. Upper and underparts browney-grey, no difference in colour between upper and lower parts including back

and wing coverts. Lower neck and nape flecked with browney-grey giving away to

pure white. Approximately same size, possibly slightly smaller than nearby whitefronts.

Thigh feathers white closest to tibia grading into browney-grey of belly. Long, shaggy teritials iwth black centres bordered by white giving a long straggly appearance to the

feathers. Feathers around cloaca white, contrasting with surrounding browney-grey. In the air a flight pattern similar to whitefronts and appearing a slightly smaller bird

with palish forewings.

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