Changes in littoral benthic macroinvertebrate communities in relation to water chemistry in 17 Precambrian Shield lakes

2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 906-918 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Lento ◽  
Peter J Dillon ◽  
Keith M Somers ◽  
Ron A Reid
Keyword(s):  
Water Chemistry ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Benthic Community ◽  
Sampling Period ◽  
Procrustes Analysis ◽  
Benthic Macroinvertebrate ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Biological Interactions ◽  
Recovery From Acidification

Few studies of biological recovery from acidification have dealt with community responses to changes in water chemistry, despite the importance of environmental tolerance and biological interactions that may only be visible by examining the community as a whole. In this study, we examined the ability of pH and several water chemistry covariables to explain temporal changes in the littoral benthic macroinvertebrate communities of lakes recovering from acidification. Data from 17 lakes sampled from 1988 to 2002 were summarized using correspondence analysis and compared using Procrustes analysis. Canonical correspondence analysis was used to examine the relationship between chemical variables and community structure. Benthic community composition changed over the sampling period, with significant year-to-year changes from 1993 to 1998. Community composition and water chemistry were highly correlated throughout the study period, although the strongest correlations were found from 1993 to 1997, coinciding with the period of greatest change in the benthic community. These results suggest that benthic macroinvertebrate communities in these lakes have changed in response to changes in water chemistry that are consistent with recovery from acidification.

scholarly journals Community structure of benthic macroinvertebrate fauna of river Ichamati, India

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 12044
Author(s):  
Arnab Basu ◽  
Indrani Sarkar ◽  
Siddartha Datta ◽  
Sheela Roy
Keyword(s):  
Benthic Community ◽  
Diversity Index ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Benthic Invertebrate ◽  
Benthic Macroinvertebrate ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Habitat Conditions ◽  
Invertebrate Communities ◽  
Benthic Invertebrate Communities ◽  
Hydrological Variables

Benthic macroinvertebrate communities are frequently applied as indicators of aquatic ecosystem health as many species are responsive to pollution and abrupt changes in their surroundings.  The qualities of benthic invertebrate communities greatly depend on habitat conditions.  Thus the diversity in benthic community varies with different habitat conditions.  This investigation on the structure of the benthic invertebrate communities was conducted on river Ichamati, a trans-boundary river between India and Bangladesh to assess the cumulative effects of water quality on the aquatic biota.  The study period extended from February 2011 to January 2014 at three sites from Majdiah to Hasanabad (in West Bengal, India) a stretch of 124km.  A total of 23 macrobenthic species belonging to three phyla, five classes and nine orders were identified.  Fifteen species of benthic invertebrates belonging to Mollusca, three species under Annelida and five species under Arthropoda were found.  The highest abundance density (3633.33 indiv.m-2) and species richness (18 species) were recorded up-stream (Majdiah) where marginal habitats covered by macrophytes were significantly higher than at other sites.  Both the organic carbon (4.41±1.11) and organic matter (7.48±1.56) of soil at this site were the maximum thus influencing the richness of benthic macroinvertebrate communities.  Hydrological variables, viz, dissolved oxygen, pH, alkalinity; hardness, salinity, nutrients, calcium, and magnesium were studied to determine their influences on the benthic community in the upper, middle- and down-streams of the river, respectively.  Shannon’s diversity index (0.95–2.07; 0.00–0.72; 0.00–0.64), dominance index (0.57–0.86; 0.00–0.44; 0.00–0.44), evenness index (0.72–0.95; 0.61–1.00; 0.00–1.00), Margalef index (0.72–2.23; 0.00–1.32; 0.00-0.28) of the upper, middle- and down-streams were calculated. Benthic macroinvertebrate density was correlated with hydrological variables which indicated that the abiotic factors had either direct or inverse influence on the richness and abundance; however, the abiotic factors did not correlate identically in all three sites. 

scholarly journals Recovery of Subtidal Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities Following Natural and Experimental Disturbances

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Kerstin Kroger
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
Complete Recovery ◽  
Hydrodynamic Regime ◽  
Benthic Macroinvertebrate ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Community Recovery ◽  
Recovery Processes ◽  
Plankton Bloom ◽  
And Control ◽  
First Time

<p>The recovery processes of subtidal benthic macroinvertebrate communities following large-scale natural and meso-scale experimental disturbances were studied in Wellington Harbour, New Zealand, a temperate semi-enclosed embayment. This is the first time that long-term effects (>1 year post-disturbance) of a naturally occurring toxic plankton bloom have been investigated in the Southern hemisphere. For 2 years macroinvertebrate communities were studied at three sites of differing hydrodynamic regime. Samples were taken with a Van Veen grab and washed through a 500 [mu]m mesh. Community recovery following the bloom was site-specific. Multivariate analyses revealed that at two sites community recovery was not completed >3 years post-bloom, whereas at the third site the community composition oscillated from year to year, but did not show any signs of a sequential recovery process. The hydrodynamic regime was identified as a major factor influencing the observed recovery processes. Communities exposed to an active hydrodynamic regime were less affected by the bloom and recovered faster, as they were naturally in a perpetual state of recovery as indicated by a dominance of r-selected species. The community at the hydrodynamically less active site was more affected by the bloom. Complete recovery to the pre-disturbance climax community dominated by K-selected species was estimated to take 4-5 years, if not interrupted by other disturbances. For the first time a defaunation experiment was conducted in a hydrodynamically active site to mimic the effects of a plankton bloom on the benthic macroinvertebrate community. Three sediment plots of 25 m2 were covered by plastic tarpaulins, thereby creating a benthic die-off caused by oxygen depletion. This method of defaunation had not been used in the subtidal before. Community recovery was studied for 1 year and compared with community composition in undisturbed control plots. Macroinvertebrate samples were taken by diver-operated cores and washed through a 500 [mu]m mesh. Recovery was slow until after 70 days when abundance and number of species increased synchronously in disturbed and control plots. Multivariate analyses showed that community composition fluctuated strongly in the first 100 days. After 1 year, although disturbed and control communities were converging, differences in community composition were still significant. Time for complete recovery was estimated to be approximately 2 years. Predictions of current succession models were generally fulfilled in both studies. Recovered communities were similar in their composition to either pre-disturbance or surrounding communities. The major deviation from model predictions was that no abundance peak of opportunistic species occurred in either study. Timing of the disturbance, in both studies past the major macroinvertebrate recruitment peak, and the hydrodynamic regime were identified as major factors influencing recovery processes of the communities studied. Such deviation from model predictions indicates that the general models cannot take into account the multiplicity and complexity of factors influencing recovery processes. Thus, their applicability in predicting recovery times and endpoints for specific disturbances at specific locations is limited. Location-specific models might be a useful alternative. Recommendations are made to combine uni- and multivariate techniques to assess recovery processes due to their different sensibilities to changes in community composition.</p>

Biological Criteria for Municipal Wastewater Effluent Monitoring Programs

2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 374-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce W. Kilgour ◽  
Kelly R. Munkittrick ◽  
Cameron B. Portt ◽  
Kathleen Hedley ◽  
Joseph Culp ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
Benthic Community ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Fish Communities ◽  
Fish Population ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Population Parameters ◽  
Primary Producers ◽  
Liver Size ◽  
Causative Agents

Abstract As part of the long-term strategy for addressing issues related to municipal wastewater effluents (MWWE), Environment Canada is developing environmental quality objectives (EQOs) for the aquatic receiving environment. Recommended biological monitoring components of the aquatic ecosystem include fish communities, benthic macroinvertebrate communities, sentinel fish species and primary producers (macrophytes, attached algae, phytoplankton). A set of criteria was developed for measurable attributes (indicators) of each of those components. Recommended numeric and narrative criteria could be used to determine when MWWE should be managed. Warning-level criteria for indices of benthic community composition are considered effects on indices of composition that deviate from the mean reference response by more than ±2 standard deviations. For sentinel fish population parameters, warning-level effects are considered &gt;25% differences from reference in gonad or liver size, growth, or age, or a &gt;10% change in condition factor. For primary producers, warning-level effects are considered those that coincide with anticipated changes in fish communities based on existing models. Where warning-level criteria are exceeded, it is recommended that monitoring be repeated at two- to three-year intervals. Where continued monitoring demonstrates an increase in the extent or magnitude of effects on indices of benthic community composition, or sentinel fish population parameters, it is recommended that effects be considered unacceptable and that the cause of effects be identified and managed. Losses of non-rare species or shifts in dominance are considered severe fish-community effects that should trigger management (i.e., identification and elimination of causative agents). Domination of the benthic community by one or a few tolerant taxa normally coincides with effects on fish communities, and should also be considered a severe effect that triggers management.

scholarly journals Assessing Spatial Distribution of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities Associated with Surrounding Land Cover and Water Quality

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (23) ◽  
pp. 5162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong-Kyun Kim ◽  
Hyunbin Jo ◽  
Kiyun Park ◽  
Ihn-Sil Kwak
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Benthic Macroinvertebrates ◽  
Benthic Community ◽  
Benthic Macroinvertebrate ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Ambient Water ◽  
Accessible Information ◽  
The Impact

The study aims to assess the spatial distribution of benthic macroinvertebrate communities in response to the surrounding environmental factors related to land use and water quality. A total of 124 sites were surveyed at the Seomjin River basin in May and September 2017, respectively. We evaluated the abundance and composition of benthic macroinvertebrate communities based on nine subwatersheds. Subsequently, we compared the benthic information with the corresponding land use and water quality. To comprehensively explore the spatiotemporal distinction of benthic macroinvertebrate communities associated with those ambient conditions, we applied canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). The CCA results explicitly accounted for 61% of the explanatory variability; the first axis (45.5%) was related to land-use factors, and the second axis (15.5%) was related to water quality. As a result, the groups of benthic communities were distinctly characterized in relation to these two factors. It was found that land-use information is primarily an efficient proxy of ambient water quality conditions to determine benthic macroinvertebrates, such as Asellus spp., Gammarus spp., and Simulium spp. in a stream ecosystem. We also found that specific benthic families or genera within the same groups (Coleoptera, Diptera, Ephemeroptera, and Trichoptera) are also differentiated from ambient water quality changes as a secondary component. In particular, the latter pattern appeared to be closely associated with the impact of summer rainfall on the benthic community changes. Our study sheds light upon projecting benthic community structure in response to changes of land use and water quality. Finally, we conclude that easily accessible information, such as land-use data, aids in effectively characterizing the distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates, and thus enables us to rapidly assess stream health and integrity.

scholarly journals Recovery of Subtidal Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities Following Natural and Experimental Disturbances

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Kerstin Kroger
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
Complete Recovery ◽  
Hydrodynamic Regime ◽  
Benthic Macroinvertebrate ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Community Recovery ◽  
Recovery Processes ◽  
Plankton Bloom ◽  
And Control ◽  
First Time

<p>The recovery processes of subtidal benthic macroinvertebrate communities following large-scale natural and meso-scale experimental disturbances were studied in Wellington Harbour, New Zealand, a temperate semi-enclosed embayment. This is the first time that long-term effects (>1 year post-disturbance) of a naturally occurring toxic plankton bloom have been investigated in the Southern hemisphere. For 2 years macroinvertebrate communities were studied at three sites of differing hydrodynamic regime. Samples were taken with a Van Veen grab and washed through a 500 [mu]m mesh. Community recovery following the bloom was site-specific. Multivariate analyses revealed that at two sites community recovery was not completed >3 years post-bloom, whereas at the third site the community composition oscillated from year to year, but did not show any signs of a sequential recovery process. The hydrodynamic regime was identified as a major factor influencing the observed recovery processes. Communities exposed to an active hydrodynamic regime were less affected by the bloom and recovered faster, as they were naturally in a perpetual state of recovery as indicated by a dominance of r-selected species. The community at the hydrodynamically less active site was more affected by the bloom. Complete recovery to the pre-disturbance climax community dominated by K-selected species was estimated to take 4-5 years, if not interrupted by other disturbances. For the first time a defaunation experiment was conducted in a hydrodynamically active site to mimic the effects of a plankton bloom on the benthic macroinvertebrate community. Three sediment plots of 25 m2 were covered by plastic tarpaulins, thereby creating a benthic die-off caused by oxygen depletion. This method of defaunation had not been used in the subtidal before. Community recovery was studied for 1 year and compared with community composition in undisturbed control plots. Macroinvertebrate samples were taken by diver-operated cores and washed through a 500 [mu]m mesh. Recovery was slow until after 70 days when abundance and number of species increased synchronously in disturbed and control plots. Multivariate analyses showed that community composition fluctuated strongly in the first 100 days. After 1 year, although disturbed and control communities were converging, differences in community composition were still significant. Time for complete recovery was estimated to be approximately 2 years. Predictions of current succession models were generally fulfilled in both studies. Recovered communities were similar in their composition to either pre-disturbance or surrounding communities. The major deviation from model predictions was that no abundance peak of opportunistic species occurred in either study. Timing of the disturbance, in both studies past the major macroinvertebrate recruitment peak, and the hydrodynamic regime were identified as major factors influencing recovery processes of the communities studied. Such deviation from model predictions indicates that the general models cannot take into account the multiplicity and complexity of factors influencing recovery processes. Thus, their applicability in predicting recovery times and endpoints for specific disturbances at specific locations is limited. Location-specific models might be a useful alternative. Recommendations are made to combine uni- and multivariate techniques to assess recovery processes due to their different sensibilities to changes in community composition.</p>

scholarly journals Biological interactions mediate context and species-specific sensitivities to salinity

2018 ◽  
Vol 374 (1764) ◽  
pp. 20180020 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Bray ◽  
J. Reich ◽  
S. J. Nichols ◽  
G. Kon Kam King ◽  
R. Mac Nally ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
High Salinity ◽  
Toxicity Tests ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Biological Interactions ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Context Dependent ◽  
Direct Toxicity ◽  
Organism Interactions

Toxicants have both sub-lethal and lethal effects on aquatic biota, influencing organism fitness and community composition. However, toxicant effects within ecosystems may be altered by interactions with abiotic and biotic ecosystem components, including biological interactions. Collectively, this generates the potential for toxicant sensitivity to be highly context dependent, with significantly different outcomes in ecosystems than laboratory toxicity tests predict. We experimentally manipulated stream macroinvertebrate communities in 32 mesocosms to examine how communities from a low-salinity site were influenced by interactions with those from a high-salinity site along a gradient of salinity. Relative to those from the low-salinity site, organisms from the high-salinity site were expected to have greater tolerance and fitness at higher salinities. This created the potential for both salinity and tolerant-sensitive organism interactions to influence communities. We found that community composition was influenced by both direct toxicity and tolerant-sensitive organism interactions. Taxon and context-dependent responses included: (i) direct toxicity effects, irrespective of biotic interactions; (ii) effects that were owing to the addition of tolerant taxa, irrespective of salinity; (iii) toxicity dependent on sensitive-tolerant taxa interactions; and (iv) toxic effects that were increased by interactions. Our results reinforce that ecological processes require consideration when examining toxicant effects within ecosystems. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Salt in freshwaters: causes, ecological consequences and future prospects’.

The Influence of Benthic Biota on Copper Speciation and Distribution in Freshwater-Sediment Systems

1981 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Krantzberg ◽  
P.M. Stokes
Keyword(s):  
Freshwater Sediment ◽  
Benthic Macroinvertebrate ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Copper Species ◽  
Copper Speciation ◽  
Physico Chemical ◽  
Macro Benthos

Abstract An investigation was made of the effects exerted by benthic macroinvertebrate communities on copper speciation in sediments from a lake which is becoming acidified. In laboratory microcosms, benthic macroinvertebrate communities stimulated the flux of copper from sediment to water. The presence of the macro-benthos resulted in a redistribution of physico-chemical copper species within the sediment with a transfer from more strongly complexed forms (HC1 extractable) to adsorbed and cation exchangeable forms (MgCl2 extractable). The role of bio-turbation in copper transformations is discussed.

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