ABSTRACT Lentic and lotic habitats support distinct aquatic communities, yet how environmental gradients and anthropogenic pressure differentially shape diversity patterns across these habitat types remains poorly understood. Here, we examined Odonata alpha and beta diversity across lentic and lotic habitats in northeastern Algeria to assess habitat‐specific responses to environmental and anthropogenic drivers. We sampled adult Odonata and measured local environmental variables at 35 sites, complemented by climatic and anthropogenic data from global datasets. Alpha diversity was quantified using coverage‐based Hill numbers, beta diversity was partitioned into turnover and nestedness components and environmental drivers were assessed using constrained ordination and generalised linear mixed models. We recorded 40 species, with significantly higher asymptotic richness and Simpson diversity in lotic than lentic habitats. Human Footprint Index (HFI) exhibited habitat‐dependent effects on species richness (HFI × habitat: β = −0.352, 95% CI: −0.673 to −0.030), with lotic habitats showing negative responses to anthropogenic pressure while lentic habitats exhibited a positive association. Community composition differed significantly between habitat types and was primarily structured by altitude. Beta diversity was dominated by turnover rather than nestedness, with significantly higher total dissimilarity in lentic habitats. Our findings suggest that conservation strategies for Mediterranean Odonata diversity require a landscape approach that protects both habitat types while recognising their differential sensitivity to human impacts.
Salhi et al. (Thu,) studied this question.