Is the hyporheic zone a refuge for macroinvertebrates in drying perennial streams?

2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (12) ◽  
pp. 1373 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. A. Young ◽  
R. H. Norris ◽  
F. Sheldon
Keyword(s):  
Hyporheic Zone ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Community ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Human Disturbances ◽  
Taxa Richness ◽  
Stream Communities ◽  
Β Diversity ◽  
Dry Conditions ◽  
Streambed Drying

Drought and drying of perennial streams plays a central role in determining the structure of in-stream communities, decreasing taxa richness and abundance and changing trophic organisation. Further, flow cessation can increase spatial β-diversity of macroinvertebrate communities across disconnected sites. It has been hypothesised that the hyporheic zone may act as a refugium for benthic macroinvertebrates during low flow and flow cessation, but evidence remains equivocal. We explored hyporheic and surface benthic macroinvertebrate community changes associated with low flow and flow cessation conditions during a supra-seasonal drought on two normally perennial rivers: the Cotter and Queanbeyan Rivers (Canberra, ACT). Surface benthic and hyporheic samples were collected from these two rivers and four associated tributary streams across a drying gradient during dry conditions and after flow recovery to test whether macroinvertebrates in perennial streams utilise the hyporheic zone as a refugium and whether there is greater variability in the macroinvertebrate community at sites experiencing flow cessation compared with wetter sites. Low flow had no impact on macroinvertebrate taxa richness or density in either surface benthic or hyporheic habitats, whereas density and taxa richness declined during streambed drying, suggesting that the hyporheic zone did not provide a refugium for some taxa during these dry conditions. Spatial β-diversity peaked at dry sites, likely in response to the broad range of environmental conditions that may differ between refuges and sites, but decreased after flow recovery. Refuges in perennial streams appear more vulnerable to human disturbances during dry periods because a loss of suitable refuges can affect the ability of some macroinvertebrate taxa to recolonise after flow recovery.

Water level thresholds of benthic macroinvertebrate richness, structure, and function of boreal lake stony littoral habitats

2011 ◽  
Vol 68 (10) ◽  
pp. 1695-1704 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S. White ◽  
Marguerite A. Xenopoulos ◽  
Robert A. Metcalfe ◽  
Keith M. Somers
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Community ◽  
Functional Mobility ◽  
Water Level Fluctuations ◽  
Benthic Macroinvertebrate ◽  
Functional Composition ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Taxa Richness ◽  
Littoral Habitats

We investigated the role of water level fluctuation on benthic macroinvertebrate communities of stony littoral habitats located in the Boreal Shield Ecozone. Using the reference condition approach (RCA), regression analysis, nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), and analysis of variance (ANOVA), we analyzed the benthic macroinvertebrate community structure of 20 natural lakes and 28 hydroelectric reservoirs to determine if they are structured by change in water level (amplitude). Along a gradient of amplitude intensity, we found that taxa richness decreases with increasing amplitude (r2 = 0.47–0.60). Littoral benthic macroinvertebrate community structure is significantly different in reservoirs that experience amplitudes > 2.0 m. Out of 28 reservoirs, 13 fell outside the 95.5% confidence ellipse determined by 20 reference lakes. Functional mobility group and functional feeding group composition are also altered with increasing amplitude (nonparametric ANOVA, P < 0.05). Further, a change in benthic macroinvertebrate functional composition occurs after a change in taxa richness. Interestingly, reservoirs that experienced amplitudes < 2.0 m had benthic macroinvertebrate communities whose structural and functional composition is similar to lakes experiencing natural water level fluctuations.

Macroinvertebrate community succession under variable flow regimes in subtropical Australia

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (6) ◽  
pp. 1153
Author(s):  
Leigh Stitz ◽  
Larelle Fabbro ◽  
Susan Kinnear
Keyword(s):  
Principal Component ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Ephemeral Streams ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Flow Conditions ◽  
Initial Flow ◽  
Abiotic Conditions ◽  
Taxa Richness ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
Subtropical Australia

Seasonal changes in hydrology are important factors influencing abiotic conditions and subsequently the biota. Although these effects have been studied in tropical catchments and in central arid Australia, subtropical ephemeral streams have largely been ignored. In the present study, three ephemeral streams in Central Queensland were monitored over 15 months. We hypothesised that macroinvertebrate abundance would increase gradually following the initial flow pulse and that abundance would increase until the pools began drying, with sensitive taxa only present during higher flow. In all, 69 families from 14 orders were collected in 128 samples. Significant relationships were not detected between low flow conditions and taxa richness (P>0.05). Principal component analysis showed that the macroinvertebrate communities did not change in response to the drying of pools. Significant differences were not observed between taxa richness, abundance nor tolerant taxa during varied periods of flow (P>0.05). Sensitive taxa were most abundant during high-flow periods with comparatively less abundance during no flow and drying periods. This study provides novel information on the flow-linked succession of macroinvertebrate communities in subtropical ephemeral streams and the results are important in informing the development of riverine indices and models used to manage subtropical environments.

scholarly journals Multi-scale functional and taxonomic β-diversity of the macroinvertebrate communities in a Mediterranean coastal lagoon

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 121 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. CABANA ◽  
A. NICOLAIDOU ◽  
K. SIGALA ◽  
S. REIZOPOULOU
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Variability ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Community ◽  
Multiscale Approach ◽  
Significant Heterogeneity ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Β Diversity

Benthic macroinvertebrate communities form the basis of the intricate lagoonal food web. Understanding their functional and taxonomic response, from a β-diversity perspective, is essential to disclose underlying patterns with potential applicability in conservation and management actions. Within the central lagoon of Messolonghi we studied the main environmental components structuring the macroinvertebrate community. We analyzed the β-taxonomic and β-functional diversity across the main habitats and seasons, over a year time frame. Our results outline habitat type and vegetation biomass as the major factors structuring the communities. We found environmental variability to have a positive correlation with functional β-diversity, however no correlation was found with taxonomic β-diversity. Across the seasons an asynchronous response of the functional and taxonomic β-diversity was identified. The taxonomic composition displayed significant heterogeneity during the driest period and the functional during the rainy season. Across the habitats the unvegetated presented higher taxonomic homogeneity and functionally heterogeneity, contrary the vegetated habitats present higher taxonomic variability and functional homogeneity. Across the seasons and habitats a pattern of functional redundancy and taxonomic replacement was identified. Besides high functional turnover versus low taxonomic turnover was documented in an anthropogenic organically enriched habitat We conclude that habitats display independent functional and taxonomic seasonal patterns, thus different processes may contribute to their variability. The framework presented here highlights the importance of studying both β-diversity components framed in a multiscale approach to better understand ecological processes and variability patterns. These results are important to understand macroinvertebrate community assembly processes and are valuable for conservation purposes.

scholarly journals Invertebrate and Microbial Response to Hyporheic Restoration of an Urban Stream

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 481
Author(s):  
Sarah A. Morley ◽  
Linda D. Rhodes ◽  
Anne E. Baxter ◽  
Giles W. Goetz ◽  
Abigail H. Wells ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hyporheic Zone ◽  
Habitat Diversity ◽  
Urban Stream ◽  
Floodplain Restoration ◽  
Design Elements ◽  
Biological Communities ◽  
Taxa Richness ◽  
Restoration Technique ◽  
Microbial Response ◽  
Face Complex

All cities face complex challenges managing urban stormwater while also protecting urban water bodies. Green stormwater infrastructure and process-based restoration offer alternative strategies that prioritize watershed connectivity. We report on a new urban floodplain restoration technique being tested in the City of Seattle, USA: an engineered hyporheic zone. The hyporheic zone has long been an overlooked component in floodplain restoration. Yet this subsurface area offers enormous potential for stormwater amelioration and is a critical component of healthy streams. From 2014 to 2017, we measured hyporheic temperature, nutrients, and microbial and invertebrate communities at three paired stream reaches with and without hyporheic restoration. At two of the three pairs, water temperature was significantly lower at the restored reach, while dissolved organic carbon and microbial metabolism were higher. Hyporheic invertebrate density and taxa richness were significantly higher across all three restored reaches. These are some of the first quantified responses of hyporheic biological communities to restoration. Our results complement earlier reports of enhanced hydrologic and chemical functioning of the engineered hyporheic zone. Together, this research demonstrates that incorporation of hyporheic design elements in floodplain restoration can enhance temperature moderation, habitat diversity, contaminant filtration, and the biological health of urban streams.

Patch history, invertebrate patch dynamics and heterogeneous community composition: perspectives from a manipulative stream experiment

2007 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 307 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Olsen ◽  
C. D. Matthaei ◽  
C. R. Townsend
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
Patch Dynamics ◽  
Invertebrate Drift ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Disturbance History ◽  
Patch Type ◽  
Entire Study ◽  
Stream Communities ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Stable Control

Recent research after bed-moving flow events has shown that local disturbance history can contribute to patchiness in stream communities. Patterns of recolonisation were studied following experimental disturbances in which patches of sediment were manipulated by removing 10 cm of surface sediment (scour) or by depositing 10 cm of clean sediment (fill) on top of existing sediments. Six invertebrate samples were collected from each patch type (including stable control patches) on five occasions up to six weeks after the manipulation. Immediately after the disturbance, distinctive macroinvertebrate communities occurred in scour, fill and stable patches. Community composition in scour patches remained distinct from fill and stable patches for the entire study period. Immediately after the manipulation, scour patches contained higher densities of hypogean taxa than did fill patches, but this difference did not persist for long, indicating that the relict community had little influence on the subsequent pattern of recovery. In contrast, fill patch communities were indistinguishable from stable patches by Day 14, most likely owing to recolonisation by buried invertebrates and invertebrate drift. Differences in patterns of recolonisation following different types of disturbance can result in patchy invertebrate communities that persist for several weeks after the disturbance.

scholarly journals Regional hydrology controls stream microbial biofilms: evidence from a glacial catchment

2004 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 497-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. Battin ◽  
A. Wille ◽  
R. Psenner ◽  
A. Richter
Keyword(s):  
Landscape Heterogeneity ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Detection Rates ◽  
Stream Communities ◽  
Stream Discharge ◽  
Carbon Production ◽  
Microbial Biofilms ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Alpine Stream

Abstract. Glaciers are highly responsive to global warming and important agents of landscape heterogeneity. While it is well established that glacial ablation and snowmelt regulate stream discharge, linkage among streams and streamwater hydrogeochemistry, the controls of these factors on stream microbial biofilms remain insufficiently understood. We investigated glacial (metakryal, hypokryal), groundwater-fed (krenal) and snow-fed (rhithral) streams – all of them representative for alpine stream networks – and present evidence that these hydrologic and hydrogeochemical factors differentially affect sediment microbial biofilms. Average microbial biomass and bacterial carbon production were low in the glacial streams, whereas bacterial cell size, biomass, and carbon production were higher in the tributaries, most notably in the krenal stream. Whole-cell in situ fluorescence hybridization revealed reduced detection rates of the Eubacteria and higher abundance of α-Proteobacteria in the glacial stream, a pattern that most probably reflects the trophic status of this ecosystem. Our data suggest low flow during the onset of snowmelt and autumn as a short period (hot moment) of favorable environmental conditions with pulsed inputs of allochthonous nitrate and dissolved organic carbon, and with disproportional high microbial growth. Krenal and rhithral streams with more constant and favorable environments serve as possible sources of microbes and organic matter to the main glacial channel during periods (e.g. snowmelt) of elevated hydrologic linkage among streams. Ice and snow dynamics have a crucial impact on microbial biofilms, and we thus need better understanding of the microbial ecology and enhanced consideration of critical hydrological episodes in future models predicting alpine stream communities.

scholarly journals Effect of Hyporheic Exchange on Macroinvertebrate Community in the Weihe River Basin, China

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 457
Author(s):  
Qidong Lin ◽  
Jinxi Song ◽  
Carlo Gualtieri ◽  
Dandong Cheng ◽  
Ping Su ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Community ◽  
Hyporheic Exchange ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
River Bed ◽  
Weihe River ◽  
Abundance And Diversity ◽  
Weihe River Basin

The effect of hyporheic exchange on macroinvertebrates is a significant topic in ecohydraulics. A field study was conducted during May and June 2017 to investigate the impacts of magnitude and patterns of hyporheic exchange on the sediment macroinvertebrate community in the Weihe River basin. The results demonstrate that upwelling flows cause resuspension of riverbed sediment, increasing the proportion of swimmer groups (such as Baetidae) in the macroinvertebrate community. However, large resuspension of river bed sediment results in a reduced abundance of macroinvertebrates. By controlling the transport processes of dissolved oxygen (DO), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), nutrients, temperature, and different patterns of hyporheic exchange strongly influence the structure of macroinvertebrate communities. Downwelling is more likely to produce rich invertebrate communities than upwelling. The magnitude for the hyporheic flux of 150–200 mm/d was optimal for the macroinvertebrate community in the Weihe River Basin. Above or below this rate results in a decline in community abundance and diversity. We suggest that research is conducted to better understand the effects of hyporheic exchange across bedforms on macroinvertebrate communities. The study supports any activities to preserve the ecological functions and health of rivers dominated by fine-grained sediments.

scholarly journals Assessing macroinvertebrate communities in relation to environmental variables: the case of Sambandou wetlands, Vhembe Biosphere Reserve

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatenda Dalu ◽  
Rivoningo Chauke
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Water Depth ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Biosphere Reserve ◽  
High Water ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Community ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Macrophyte Cover

AbstractThe Vhembe Biosphere Reserve, South Africa, contains many wetlands that serve as wildlife habitats and provide vital ecosystem services. Some of the wetlands are continuously being degraded or destroyed by anthropogenic activities causing them to disappear at an alarming rate. Benthic macroinvertebrates are known as good water quality bioindicators and are used to assess aquatic ecosystem health. The current study investigated habitat quality using macroinvertebrate community structure and other biotic variables (i.e. phytoplankton, macrophytes) in relation to environmental variables in the Sambandou wetlands using canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). A total of fifteen macroinvertebrate families were identified over two seasons. The CCA highlighted seven variables, i.e. pH, phosphate concentration, temperature, ammonium, macrophyte cover, conductivity and water depth, which were significant in structuring macroinvertebrate community. Picophytoplankton and microphytoplankton concentrations decreased from winter to summer, whereas nanophytoplankton concentration increased from winter to summer. Thus, the dominance of small-sized phytoplankton indicated nutrient limitation and decreased productivity, whereas winter sites 2 and 3 were dominated by large-celled phytoplankton, highlighting increased productivity. Winter sites were mostly negatively associated with CCA axis 1 and were characterised by high temperature, phosphate and ammonium concentrations, macrophyte cover, pH and conductivity. Summer sites were positively associated with axis 1, being characterised by high water depth and pH levels. The results obtained highlighted that agricultural activities such as cattle grazing and crop farming and sand mining/poaching had a negative effect on macroinvertebrate community structure.

scholarly journals Do alpine macroinvertebrates recover differently in lakes and rivers after alien fish eradication?

2019 ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Rocco Tiberti ◽  
Stefano Brighenti
Keyword(s):  
Fish Populations ◽  
Mountain Lake ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Italian Alps ◽  
Introduced Fish ◽  
Habitat Features ◽  
Stream Communities ◽  
Mechanical Methods ◽  
Eradication Campaign ◽  
Alien Fish

Introduced fish can have detrimental effects on native biota inhabiting alpine freshwaters with the extent of their impact depending on variables such as habitat features. The present study aims to compare the recovery of macroinvertebrate communities following a fish eradication campaign in a mountain lake (Lake Dres, 2087 m a.s.l., Western Italian Alps) and its inflowing and outflowing streams. All fish were removed using mechanical methods, not producing side-effects for macroinvertebrates. During eradication, the lake community, which had previously been greatly affected, rapidly recovered to levels typical of never-stocked lakes. Stream communities, however, were apparently not impacted by fish populations and remained relatively stable, proving their greater capacity to withstand fish presence. The abundance of spatial refugia and invertebrate recruitment (via birth or immigration) can explain the observed stability in stream communities. Drifting macroinvertebrates are often called into question to explain the resistance of stream communities as they can partially offset predation via benthic recruitment, but our results show that stream resistance can be high even where drift is low, i.e., in the outflowing stream.

Environmental heterogeneity and β diversity of stream macroinvertebrate communities at intermediate spatial scales

2013 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 142-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jani Heino ◽  
Mira Grönroos ◽  
Jari Ilmonen ◽  
Tommi Karhu ◽  
Maija Niva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Heterogeneity ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Β Diversity ◽  
Stream Macroinvertebrate
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