Variation of benthic macroinvertebrate communities in streams of three landscapes of South Brazilian grasslands

Introduction: Aquatic ecosystems in southern Brazil are presently under great environmental pressure. Changes in land use result in negative impacts on the ecosystem, affecting the functioning of stream communities. Objective: To compare the benthic macroinvertebrate community richness, abundances and compositions in streams of three South Brazilian grassland landscapes and correlate community patterns with environmental and spatial variables. Methods: Fifteen streams along riparian forests were selected in three landscapes (mean geographical distance of 285.1 km) inserted in the Paraná and Uruguai river basins. Of the three landscapes, two are inserted in conservation units (State Park of Guartelá and Palmas Wildlife Refuge). Invertebrates were collected in 20 kick net points along 150 m of the streams between June and November 2015. Invertebrates were sorted in the laboratory with three sieves and were identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible. The taxa were classified in functional feeding groups of shredders/detritivores, predators, scrapers, collectors/filters and gatherers/collectors. For each stream, we measured the environmental variables width and velocity, pH, dissolved oxygen, and temperature; and the relative cover of forest, grassland, plantation and silviculture in the catchments. Results: We found a total of 1 058 individuals, divided in 53 morphospecies and 34 families. Lower abundance of benthic macroinvertebrates was found in the northernmost landscape with higher temperature, and forest in the catchment. These streams were described mainly by predator groups, while streams inserted in the other two landscapes showed a more diverse guild composition of shredders/detritivores, gatherers/collectors, collectors/filterers, and scrapers. Geographical distance was the main factor influencing differences in community compositions among landscapes. Conclusions: Lower abundance of the northernmost landscape may be explained by (i) the low habitat heterogeneity due to dominance of sandy substrates, and by (ii) the anthropogenic land use of agriculture and extensive cattle breeding in the region that is ongoing and started before the creation of the conservation unit. Additionally, composition of macroinvertebrates may be correlated with environmental differences among landscapes that, in turn, are related to the geographical distance. Therefore, macroinvertebrate community responses may reflect different biota biogeographical histories that can also be associated with historical land use practices.

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The Influence of Riparian Corridor Land Use on the Pesquería River’s Macroinvertebrate Community (N.E. Mexico)

Water ◽

10.3390/w11091930 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. 1930

Author(s):

Daniel Castro-López ◽

Pablo Rodríguez-Lozano ◽

Rebeca Arias-Real ◽

Víctor Guerra-Cobián ◽

Narcís Prat

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Freshwater Ecosystems ◽

Urban Land Use ◽

Macroinvertebrate Community ◽

Biological Information ◽

Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽

Biological Metrics ◽

The Impact

The Earth’s freshwater ecosystems are currently under threat, particularly in developing countries. In Mexico, intensive land use and inadequate monitoring policies have resulted in the severe degradation of the country’s freshwater ecosystems. This study assesses how the macroinvertebrate communities in the Pesquería River, located in Northeastern Mexico, are affected by riparian land use, in order to determine their potential use as bioindicators to evaluate the macroinvertebrate integrity of the Pesquería River. First, we characterized the land use cover in the riparian channel. Second, we sampled 16 sites for benthic macroinvertebrates along the main channel during the wet and dry seasons. Third, we evaluated the influence of the riparian channel land use on the macroinvertebrate community using 42 different biological metrics. The land use characterization depicted a riparian channel mainly influenced by agricultural and urban land use. Eighty-one invertebrate taxa were identified during the study. Permutational analysis of the variance analysis confirmed significant differences across the different land use classes and the macroinvertebrate community composition while no differences were found between seasons. The indicator species analysis revealed 31 representative taxa for natural land use, 1 for urban, and 4 for agricultural land use. Our modelling analysis showed that 28 of the 42 biological metrics tested responded significantly to land use disturbances, confirming the impact of land use changes on the Pesquería River’s macroinvertebrate communities and suggesting that these metrics may have a use as bioindicators. Finally, this study may provide significant biological information for further studies in similar conditions.

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

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f2011-094 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 68 (10) ◽

pp. 1695-1704 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

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.

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The effects of catchment land-use, near-stream vegetation, and river hydromorphology on benthic macroinvertebrate communities in a south-Swedish catchment

Fundamental and Applied Limnology / Archiv für Hydrobiologie ◽

10.1127/1863-9135/2009/0174-0075 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 174 (1) ◽

pp. 75-87 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Leonard Sandin

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Benthic Macroinvertebrate ◽

Macroinvertebrate Communities

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Effects of land use on benthic macroinvertebrate communities: Comparison of two mountain streams in Korea

Annales de Limnologie - International Journal of Limnology ◽

10.1051/limn/2011018 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 47 ◽

pp. S35-S49 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Yung-Chul Jun ◽

Nan-Young Kim ◽

Soon-Jik Kwon ◽

Seung-Chul Han ◽

In-Chul Hwang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Mountain Streams ◽

Benthic Macroinvertebrate ◽

Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽

Effects Of Land Use

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

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app9235162 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (23) ◽

pp. 5162 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

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.

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