{"id":2687,"date":"2025-08-30T12:34:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-30T02:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wombatforestcare.org.au\/wordpress\/?p=2687"},"modified":"2025-10-18T11:49:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T00:49:19","slug":"aquatic-invertebrates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wombatforestcare.org.au\/index.php\/aquatic-invertebrates\/","title":{"rendered":"Aquatic invertebrates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Invertebrates are animals without backbones or a bony skeleton<\/h4>\n

Due to their small size and cryptic habits they are often overlooked, despite the fact that they represent over 95% of the world\u2019s species. Aquatic invertebrates play an important role in the processes and functioning of freshwater ecosystems and many are recognised as important environmental indicators.<\/p>\n

The species below were surveyed from various waterways within the Wombat Forest including the upper reaches of the Werribee, Lerderderg, Moorabool, Loddon and Coliban Rivers including some unnamed tributaries; Nolans, Kangaroo, Wallaby, Leitches, Cockatoo and Coopers Creeks; Charlesford Dam; Wombat and Bullarto Reservoirs, Lakes Jubilee and Daylesford between 2009-2011.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Plecoptera (stoneflies)<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n

Austroperlidae<\/strong><\/p>\n
    \n
  • Acruroperla atra<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Gripopterygidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    • Dinotoperla fontana<\/em><\/li>\n
    • Dinotoperla hirsuta<\/em><\/li>\n
    • Leptoperla <\/em>primitive<\/li>\n
    • Leptoperla<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
    • Riekoperla rugosa<\/em> group<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Notonemouridae<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      • Austrocerca<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Ephemeroptera (mayflies)<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n

Baetidae<\/strong><\/p>\n
    \n
  • Baetis<\/em> sp. (early instar)<\/li>\n
  • Baetis frater<\/em><\/li>\n
  • Centroptilum<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
  • Cloeon<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Caenidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    • Tasmanocoenis tillyardi<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Leptophlebiidae<\/em><\/p>\n

        \n
      • Atalophlebia albiterminata<\/em><\/li>\n
      • Atalophlebia australis<\/em><\/li>\n
      • Atalophlebiodes<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
      • Atalophlebia<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
      • Atalonella<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
      • Austrophlebioides marchanti<\/em><\/li>\n
      • Nousia<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
      • Ulmerophlebia<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Oligoneuriidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

          \n
        • Coloburiscoides<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Oniscigastridae<\/strong><\/p>\n

            \n
          • Tasmanophlebia<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Siphlonuridae<\/strong><\/p>\n

              \n
            • Ameletoides lacusalbinae<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Trichoptera (caddisflies)<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n

Calocidae<\/strong><\/p>\n
    \n
  • Tamasia variegata<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Ecnomidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    • Ecnomina<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
    • Ecnomus pansus<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Glossosomatidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      • Agapetus<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Helicophidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

          \n
        • Alloecella grisea<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Helicopsychidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

            \n
          • Helicopsyche<\/em> spp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Hydrobiosidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

              \n
            • Apsilochorema obliquum<\/em><\/li>\n
            • Ethochorema<\/em> spp.<\/li>\n
            • Taschorema evansi<\/em><\/li>\n
            • Ulmerochorema rubiconum<\/em> group<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              Hydropsychidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

                \n
              • Cheumatopsyche<\/em> spp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                Hydroptilidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

                  \n
                • Hellyethira<\/em> simplex<\/li>\n
                • Hellyethira<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                  Leptoceridae<\/strong><\/p>\n

                    \n
                  • Lectrides varians<\/em><\/li>\n
                  • Notalina<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
                  • Notalina fulva<\/em><\/li>\n
                  • Notalina spira<\/em><\/li>\n
                  • Triplectides australicus<\/em> group<\/li>\n
                  • Triplectides<\/em> spp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                    Philopotamidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

                      \n
                    • Hydrobiosella<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
                    • Chimarra<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                      Philoreithridae<\/strong><\/p>\n

                        \n
                      • Aphilorheithrus<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies)<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n

Aeshnidae<\/strong><\/p>\n
    \n
  • Aeshna<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
  • Aeshna brevistyla<\/em><\/li>\n
  • Hemianax papuensis<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Austropetaliidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    • Austropetalia patricia<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Coenagrionidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      • Ischnura<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
      • Austrocnemis<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
      • Ischnura aurora<\/em><\/li>\n
      • Ischnura heterosticta<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Gomphidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

          \n
        • Austrogompus<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Hemicordulidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

            \n
          • Hemicordulia<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
          • Hemicordulia tau<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Lestidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

              \n
            • Lestes<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              Isostictidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

                \n
              • Austrosticta<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                Cordulephyidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

                  \n
                • Cordulephya pygmaea<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                  Austrocordulidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

                    \n
                  • Austrocordulia<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Coleoptera<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n

Dytiscidae<\/strong><\/p>\n
    \n
  • Antiporus<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
  • Copelatus<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
  • Hydroglyphus<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
  • Laccophilus<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
  • Platynectes<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
  • Sternopriscus<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Elmidae (riffle beetles)<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    • Austrolimnius<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
    • Notriolus<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
    • Notriolus maculatus<\/em><\/li>\n
    • Simsonia<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
    • Simsonia tasmanica<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Haliplidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      • Haliplus<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Hydrophilidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

          \n
        • Laccobius<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
        • Helochares<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
        • Berosus<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Gyrinidae (whirligig beetles)<\/strong><\/p>\n

            \n
          • Macrogyrus<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Psephenidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

              \n
            • Sclerocyphon maculates<\/em><\/li>\n
            • Sclerocyphon striatus<\/em><\/li>\n
            • Sclerocyphon<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              Scirtidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

                \n
              • Pseudomicrocara<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Hemiptera (true bugs)<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n

Corixidae (water boatmen)<\/strong><\/p>\n
    \n
  • Micronecta<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
  • Micronecta robusta<\/em><\/li>\n
  • Sigara<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Notonectidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    • Notonecta<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
    • Anisops<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Gerridae (water striders)<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      • Austrobates<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Naucoridae<\/strong><\/p>\n

          \n
        • Naucoris<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Veliidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

            \n
          • Microvelia<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Mesoveliidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

              \n
            • Mesovelia<\/em> spp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              Pleidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

                \n
              • Paraplea brunni<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                Hydrometridae<\/strong><\/p>\n

                  \n
                • Hydrometra strigosa<\/em><\/li>\n
                • Hydrometra<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                  Belostomatidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

                    \n
                  • Diplonychus<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Diptera (true flies)<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n

Chironomidae (midge larvae)<\/strong><\/p>\n
    \n
  • Cryptochironornus griseidorsum<\/em><\/li>\n
  • Rheotanytarsus<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
  • Riethia<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
  • Crictopus<\/em> spp.<\/li>\n
  • Podonomopsis<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
  • Stenochironomus<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
  • Procladius<\/em> spp.<\/li>\n
  • Thiememanniella<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Tipulidae (crane fly larvae)<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    • Tipulidae<\/em> spp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Simuliidae (blackfly larvae)<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      • Austrosimulium torrentium<\/em><\/li>\n
      • Austrosimulium<\/em> spp.<\/li>\n
      • Simulium<\/em> spp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Lepidoptera (aquatic caterpillars)<\/strong><\/p>\n

          \n
        • Crambidae<\/em> (formerly Pyralidae<\/em>)<\/li>\n
        • Nymphulinae<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Hydracarina (water mites)<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n

\n
    \n
  • Hydracarina<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Bivalvia (mussels)<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n

\n
    \n
  • Unionida<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Oligochaeta (aquatic worms)<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n

\n
    \n
  • Nais<\/em> spp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Platyhelminthes (flatworms)<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n

\n
    \n
  • Temnocephalidea<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
  • Tricladida<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Gastropoda<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n

\n
    \n
  • Hygrophilia<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Lymnaeidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    • Austropeplea tomentosa<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Ancylidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      • Ferrissia<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Hirudinea (leeches)<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n

\n
    \n
  • Hirudinea<\/em> spp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Crustacea<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n

Decapoda (yabbies)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Parastacidae<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Cherax<\/em> sp.<\/li>\n
  • Amphipoda<\/em> spp. (amphipods)<\/li>\n
  • Ostracoda<\/em> spp. (seed shrimps)<\/li>\n
  • Copepoda<\/em> spp. (copepods)<\/li>\n
  • Anostraca<\/em> spp. (fairy shrimps)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

     <\/p>\n

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    <\/div>
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    <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n

     <\/p>\n

    by Alison Pouliot<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Invertebrates are animals without backbones or a bony skeleton Due to their small size and cryptic habits they are often overlooked, despite the fact that they represent over 95% of the world\u2019s species. Aquatic invertebrates play an important role in the processes and functioning of freshwater ecosystems and many are recognised as important environmental indicators. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3213,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-native-fauna"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wombatforestcare.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wombatforestcare.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wombatforestcare.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wombatforestcare.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wombatforestcare.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2687"}],"version-history":[{"count":36,"href":"https:\/\/wombatforestcare.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2687\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4162,"href":"https:\/\/wombatforestcare.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2687\/revisions\/4162"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wombatforestcare.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wombatforestcare.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wombatforestcare.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wombatforestcare.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}