Congruence patterns of aquatic communities in a tropical river basin, Malaysia

Abstract The loss of aquatic biodiversity in tropical streams SE Asia is evident due to increasing anthropogenic activities. Therefore, there a necessity for immediate and feasible conservation plans. Effective planning depends on successful application surrogate groups. However, progress this approach hindered by the paucity relevant reports based cross-taxon congruence analysis. In study, we investigated patterns among groups (Plecoptera, Trichoptera, Ephemeroptera, Odonata fish) six rivers located Kerian River Basin (KRB), Malaysia. Species richness was significantly correlated (except Ephemeroptera Trichoptera where r = 0.040 P = 0.202). strongest relationship species reported between Plecoptera. Mantel's r coefficient similarity matrices (based Bray-Curtis distance measure) showed positive correlation Ephemeroptera-Trichoptera Plecoptera-Trichoptera. negative Odonata-fish matrices. relationships average Trichoptera-Odonata centroid (i.e. beta diversity) were also investigated. centroids (R2 = 0.424, P