Hydroecology of a New Zealand glacier-fed river: linking longitudinal zonation of physical habitat and macroinvertebrate communities

Ecohydrology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 520-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah L. Cadbury ◽  
Alexander M. Milner ◽  
David M. Hannah
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Physical Habitat ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Longitudinal Zonation

scholarly journals Predicting Macroinvertebrate Responses to Water Abstraction in Alpine Streams

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 2121
Author(s):  
Gabriele Consoli ◽  
Fabio Lepori ◽  
Christopher T. Robinson ◽  
Andreas Bruder
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Model ◽  
Feeding Guilds ◽  
Physical Habitat ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Indirect Measure ◽  
Water Abstraction ◽  
Habitat Template ◽  
Hydropower Potential ◽  
Hydraulic Conditions ◽  
Alpine Streams

Exploitation of hydropower potential in alpine areas undermines the ecological integrity of rivers. Damming and water abstraction substantially alter the physical habitat template of rivers, with strong repercussions on aquatic communities and their resources. Tools are needed to predict and manage the consequences of these alterations on the structure and functioning of macroinvertebrate communities and resource availability in alpine streams. We developed habitat preference models for taxa, functional feeding guilds, and organic resources to quantify the effects of discharge alteration on macroinvertebrate communities in two alpine streams. Our physical habitat model related an indirect measure of bottom hydraulic forces (FST hemispheres) to the distribution of macroinvertebrate taxa and their resources. We observed that flow-dependent habitat availability for macroinvertebrate communities generally decreased with increasing water abstraction. We were able to relate these changes to near-bed hydraulic conditions. Our results suggest, however, the existence of upper discharge thresholds delimiting optimal habitat conditions for taxa. In contrast, we found weak effects of near-bed hydraulic conditions on resource distribution. Overall, our findings contribute towards predicting the impacts of water abstraction on macroinvertebrate communities in small alpine streams and the benefits of baseflow restoration.

Testing for longitudinal zonation of macroinvertebrate fauna along a small upland headwater stream in two seasons

Biologia ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 71 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Milan Lehotský ◽  
Zuzana Pastuchová ◽  
Eva Bulánková ◽  
Igor Kokavec
Keyword(s):  
Benthic Invertebrates ◽  
Total Dissolved Solids ◽  
Headwater Stream ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Sampling Point ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Dissolved Solids ◽  
Measuring Device ◽  
Longitudinal Zonation

AbstractThe effect of longitudinal zonation patterns and macroinvertebrate responses to changes in habitat characteristics have been given a lot of attention. But studies of changes in macroinvertebrate assemblages along small upland undisturbed watercourses are still lacking. The aim of the study is to analyse variability in macroinvertebrate communities between two different habitats/morphological sequences – shallow (riffle/run/step/) and deeper (pool) channel-bed morphological units on the background of the environmental parameters (local relief, slope, channel confinement ratio, channel-valley walls connectivity, floodplain continuity and channel abut, channel sinuosity and predominant land cover of riparian zone) of seven valley segments (functional process zones) in two seasons of the year (spring and autumn). The longitudinal-downstream gradient research was conducted on the semi-natural upland headwater brook in the Little Carpathians (9,330 m long, average gradient 2.8%) at 15 morphological sequences (30 sampling points). Each sampling point in spring as well as in autumn was characterised by mean flow velocity, discharge, water depth, channel width, channel bottom particle size, and flow types. Selected physico-chemical variables: pH, dissolved oxygen content (DO), oxygen saturation (DO %), temperature (t) conductivity and total dissolved solids (TDS) were measured directly in the field using the multisonde measuring device. Organisms were identified into the family level. The results showed that differences in zonation of benthic invertebrates between seasons are more apparent than seasonal variability between pools and riffles. Spring samples followed the increasing gradient of total dissolved solids downstream with characteristic families for upper and lower stretch. The disruption of macroinvertebrates zonation was more evident in autumn samples with greatest effects in pools. Based on RDA, the distribution of families was driven by three significant variables in riffles and four in pools. Alike environmental factors of pool sequences in the middle and upper reaches were responsible for similarity in macroinvertebrate structure. In conclusion, the distribution pattern of benthic invertebrates of the natural part of the small headwater stream in terms of abundance of macroinvertebrate families followed the longitudinal zonation in spring, but in autumn were the local habitat conditions more important.

From continua to patches: examining stream community structure over large environmental gradients

2002 ◽  
Vol 59 (8) ◽  
pp. 1404-1417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristopher K Wright ◽  
Judith L Li
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Algal Biomass ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Physical Habitat ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Order Stream ◽  
Longitudinal Gradients ◽  
Individual Variables

We present an approach that integrates a conceptual framework with multivariate ordination techniques and traditional parametric analyses to examine biotic and abiotic gradients in stream ecosystems. Ordinations were used to examine multivariate patterns along an environmental gradient, with individual variables used to interpret those patterns across spatial scales. The conceptual framework provides a consistent context to compare community distributions and consequently allows for hypothesis testing using ordinations. To illustrate the approach, we examined the physical template, fish and benthic macroinvertebrate communities, and algal biomass and production along a 1st- through 5th-order stream gradient in eastern Oregon. We hypothesized that longitudinal distributions of physical habitat characteristics, fishes, macroinvertebrates, and periphyton would reflect highly variable, discontinuous gradients. Multivariate patterns were determined by rotating nonparametric ordinations to a common set of variables and comparing them to conceptual models of (i) an ideal continuum, (ii) a random distribution, and (iii) discrete patches. Physical habitat and fishes reflected strong longitudinal gradients, macroinvertebrates were the most patchy, and algal biomass and production were highly variable. Distributions of individual variables from site and stream-order perspectives revealed how different factors, potentially influencing stream communities, may be continuous or patchy depending on spatial scale.

Analysis of Longitudinal Zonation and the River Continuum Concept in the Oldman–South Saskatchewan River System

1982 ◽  
Vol 39 (9) ◽  
pp. 1258-1266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph M. Culp ◽  
Ronald W. Davies
Keyword(s):  
River System ◽  
Subalpine Forest ◽  
Functional Feeding Groups ◽  
River Continuum Concept ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Terrestrial Vegetation ◽  
River Continuum ◽  
Longitudinal Zonation ◽  
South Saskatchewan River ◽  
Continuum Concept

During the summer–fall periods, the benthic macroinvertebrate communities of the Oldman–South Saskatchewan River system demonstrated a longitudinal zonation related to the subalpine forest, fescue prairie, and mixed prairie terrestrial ecosystems through which it flows. This zonation was primarily attributable to significant downstream increases in periphyton biomass, plant nutrients, and water temperature. Zonation was reduced in the Sate winter–spring periods and absent in May, during spring runoff. Longitudinal trends in macroinvertebrate functional feeding groups generally followed the predictions of the river continuum concept, with trophic composition apparently more strongly affected by autotrophic processes in the summer, and heterotrophic processes in the winter. By combining the river continuum concept with a watershed classification system based on geology, climate, soil type, and terrestrial vegetation, we suggest that biological comparisons of longitudinal zonation are enhanced.Key words: longitudinal zonation, reciprocal average ordination, river continuum concept, functional groups

scholarly journals Effects of an atypical drought on the benthic macroinvertebrate community in a tropical reservoir

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria José Pinheiro Anacléto ◽  
Raphael Ligeiro ◽  
José Etham de Lucena Barbosa ◽  
Joseline Molozzi ◽  
Marcos Callisto
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Exotic Species ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Local Scale ◽  
Benthic Macroinvertebrate ◽  
Drought Event ◽  
Physical Habitat ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Disturbance Index ◽  
Structure Metrics

Abstract Atypical drought events have increasingly occurred in Brazil over the last years due to global climate changes. However, their consequences on aquatic biota in reservoirs are poorly known. We tested the hypothesis that macroinvertebrate communities are negatively affected by atypical drought events, given the sensitivity of many taxa to environmental changes. We predicted that: (a) there would be changes in limnological and sediment parameters between a regular year and an atypical year, (b) abundance and richness of the genera of Chironomidae and of exotic species would be higher due to the enhanced ability of these organisms to adapt to changes in the physical environment, and (c) community structure metrics (i. richness; ii. % richness; iii. abundance; iv. % abundance) would be affected by disturbance indices (i. Buffer Disturbance Index-BDI; ii. Local Disturbance Index-LDI; iii. Integrated Disturbance Index-IDI) in both years. The study was carried out in the reservoir of the Nova Ponte Hydroelectric Power Plant, state of Minas Gerais, comparing two sampling periods: a regular climatological year (2010) and an atypical drought year (2014). A total of 40 sampling sites were defined along the shore of the reservoir, and types of land use in the surrounding area of each site were measured, as well as physical habitat conditions, sediments, and benthic macroinvertebrate communities. Sampling was performed at these sites in the end of the rainy season in both years. The intensity of anthropogenic modifications was assessed at local scale and in the areas (buffers) surrounding the sampling sites using quantitative disturbance indices. There were striking differences in limnological parameters and sediment characteristics between sampling periods. Taxonomic richness was significantly lower in the drought year. As opposed to our predictions, richness and abundance of Chironomidae and exotic species did not increase with the atypical drought event. Besides, most community structure metrics showed a significant relationship with disturbance indices only during the regular climatological year, thus indicating that the large-scale effects of water stress may override the conditions of local habitats and the surrounding landscape. Therefore, in addition to a correct political-environmental management of water resources at local-scale, which includes maintaining the water quality and the riparian and landscape integrity, addressing large-scale climate issues is required for the maintenance of the ecological integrity of tropical reservoirs.

Ecoregional differences in macrophyte and macroinvertebrate communities between Westland and Waikato: Are all New Zealand lowland streams the same?

2002 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 831-845 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. C. Duggan ◽  
K. J. Collier ◽  
P. D. Champion ◽  
G. F. Croker ◽  
R. J. Davies‐Colley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Lowland Streams
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