The influence of substrate type on macroinvertebrate assemblages within agricultural drainage ditches

Abstract Artificial drainage ditches are common features in lowland agricultural catchments that support a wide range of ecosystem services at the landscape scale. Current paradigms in river management suggest activities that increase habitat heterogeneity and complexity resulting in more diverse floral and faunal assemblages; however, it is not known if the same principles apply to artificial drainage ditch systems. We examined the effects of four artificial substrates, representing increasing habitat complexity and heterogeneity (bricks, gravel, netting and vegetation), on macroinvertebrate community structure within artificial drainage ditches. Each substrate type supported a distinct macroinvertebrate community highlighting the importance of habitat heterogeneity in maintaining macroinvertebrate assemblages. Each substrate type also displayed differing degrees of community heterogeneity, with gravel communities being most variable and artificial vegetation being the least. In addition, several macroinvertebrate diversity metrics increased along the gradient of artificial substrate complexity, although these differences were not statistically significant. We conclude that habitat management practices that increase habitat complexity are likely to enhance macroinvertebrate community heterogeneity within artificial drainage channels regardless of previous management activities.

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Effects of Exposure Time, Season, Substrate Type, and Planktonic Populations on the Taxonomic Composition of Algal Periphyton on Artificial Substrates in the Ohio and Little Miami Rivers, Ohio

Ecological Assessments of Effluent Impacts on Communities of Indigenous Aquatic Organisms ◽

10.1520/stp27638s ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 166-166-54 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

CI Weber ◽

BH McFarland

Keyword(s):

Exposure Time ◽

Taxonomic Composition ◽

Artificial Substrates ◽

Substrate Type

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Effect of drainage ditches on Brachycera (Diptera) diversity in a southern Quebec peatland

The Canadian Entomologist ◽

10.4039/n09-062 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 142 (2) ◽

pp. 160-172 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Amélie Grégoire Taillefer ◽

Terry A. Wheeler

Keyword(s):

Cluster Analysis ◽

Species Richness ◽

Habitat Degradation ◽

Diversity Index ◽

Drainage Ditches ◽

Drainage Ditch ◽

Forest Park ◽

Ecological Requirements ◽

Wide Range ◽

High Dominance

AbstractCanadian peatlands are subject to disturbance and destruction, and drainage for agriculture is responsible for 85% of this degradation. Few studies have explicitly addressed the effects of habitat degradation on arthropod diversity in Nearctic peatlands. Because higher Diptera (Brachycera) in peatlands are diverse, are an important component of food webs, and exhibit a wide range of ecological requirements, we examined species richness, abundance, and community composition of Brachycera across transects at 1, 6, and 11 m from a collector drainage ditch in Johnville Bog and Forest Park, Quebec. In total, 1453 Brachycera were collected, representing 24 families and 166 species. Species diversity (based on Simpson’s diversity index) and rarefaction-estimated species richness were higher at 6 and 11 m than at 1 m from the ditch, probably because of the homogeneous moss cover and moister conditions at greater distance from the ditch. Species composition also differed between 1 m and other distances, based on cluster analysis, multiresponse permutation procedures analysis, and the presence of five predaceous species that were significant indicator species 1 m from the drainage ditch. Our results suggest that anthropogenic degradation of hydrological conditions may be responsible for the low species richness and high dominance of a few species currently seen at the ditch margin.

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Vertisol soils of the tropics and sub-tropics: their management and use

Outlook on Agriculture ◽

10.1177/003072707901000106 ◽

1979 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 33-40 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

T N Jewitt ◽

R D Law ◽

K J Virgo

Keyword(s):

Water Movement ◽

Chemical Characteristics ◽

Water Application ◽

Low Intensity ◽

Artificial Drainage ◽

Wide Range ◽

Live Stock ◽

The Tropics

Large expanses of vertisols currently used, especially in Africa, for low-intensity live-stock or rain-fed agriculture could beneficially be brought under irrigation. They generally have favourable chemical characteristics with relatively few instances of salinity or alkali hazard. Whilst slow rates of water movement through the soils may limit water application and restrict artificial drainage, these vertisols are capable of sustained productivity, under irrigation, of a wide range of crops.

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Sand type influences the energetics of nest escape in Brisbane river turtle hatchlings

Australian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1071/zo17043 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 66 (1) ◽

pp. 27 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Mohd Uzair Rusli ◽

David T. Booth

Keyword(s):

Fine Sand ◽

Coarse Sand ◽

Soil Types ◽

Energetic Cost ◽

Energy Reserves ◽

Freshwater Turtles ◽

Cohort Size ◽

Substrate Type ◽

Wide Range ◽

Influence Of Substrate

Freshwater turtles can construct their nest in a wide range of soil types, and because different soil types have different physical characteristics such as particle size distribution and compactness, soil type presumably affects digging performance and the energetics of nest escape of turtle hatchlings. Previous studies have reported how cohort size affects the energetic cost of nest escape in turtle hatchlings, but no studies have reported the influence of substrate type on the energetic cost of nest escape. The time taken and the energy required by the same number of hatchlings to dig through two different sand types were quantified by open-flow respirometry. Brisbane river turtle hatchlings digging through fine sand escaped faster and spent less energy than hatchlings digging through coarse sand, and a larger cohort size provided a clear energetic advantage while digging in both sand types. Across all group sizes, hatchlings digging through fine sand spent 33.8% less energy compared with hatchlings digging through coarse sand. We conclude that hatchlings emerging from nests constructed in fine sand have an energetic advantage over hatchlings emerging from nests constructed in course sand because they would have greater energy reserves upon reaching the nest’s surface.

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Benthic macroinvertebrate community structure in Lake Taihu, China: Effects of trophic status, wind-induced disturbance and habitat complexity

Journal of Great Lakes Research ◽

10.1016/j.jglr.2011.12.009 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

pp. 39-48 ◽

Cited By ~ 59

Author(s):

Yongjiu Cai ◽

Zhijun Gong ◽

Boqiang Qin

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Habitat Complexity ◽

Trophic Status ◽

Lake Taihu ◽

Macroinvertebrate Community ◽

Benthic Macroinvertebrate

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Agricultural impacts on streams near Nitrate Vulnerable Zones: a case study in the Ebro basin, northern Spain

10.1101/663054 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Rubén Ladrera ◽

Oscar Belmar ◽

Rafael Tomás ◽

Narcís Prat ◽

Miguel Cañedo-Argüelles

Keyword(s):

Riparian Forest ◽

Agricultural Practices ◽

Agricultural Activity ◽

Northern Spain ◽

Ebro Basin ◽

Macroinvertebrate Assemblages ◽

Management Actions ◽

Wide Range ◽

Nitrate Concentrations ◽

Vulnerable Zones

AbstractAgricultural intensification during the last century has produced river degradation across Europe. From the wide range of pressures derived from agricultural activities that impact rivers, diffuse agricultural pollution has received most of the attention from managers and scientists. The aim of this study was to determine the main pressures exerted by intensive agriculture around Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs), which are areas of land that drain into waters polluted by nitrates according to the European Nitrate Directive (91/676/EEC). The study area was located in the NW of La Rioja (Northern Spain), which has the highest levels of nitrate concentrations within the Ebro basin. The relationships between forty environmental variables and the taxonomic and functional characteristics of macroinvertebrate assemblages (which are good indicators of water quality) were analyzed in 11 stream reaches differentially affected by upstream agricultural activity. The streams affected by a high percentage of agricultural area had significantly greater nitrate concentrations and distinct macroinvertebrate assemblages dominated by pollution tolerant taxa. Hydromorphological alteration (i.e. channel simplification, riparian forest degradation and sediment inputs), which is closely linked to agricultural practices, was the main factor affecting macroinvertebrate assemblages. Good agricultural practices should be implemented in streams affected by NVZs to reverse stream degradation, in consonance with the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). Management actions in these areas should not focus exclusively on nitrate reduction, but also on restoring riparian and aquatic habitats.

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