Cross-taxon responses to elevated nutrients in European streams and lakes

Few studies have compared the response of different taxonomic groups to environmental stress across aquatic ecosystems. We regressed assemblage structure of fish, invertebrates, macrophytes, phytoplankton and benthic diatoms to total phosphorus concentration, after removing the effect of ecosystem size (stream order, lake surface area), using data from 66 streams and 45 lakes across Europe. In streams, the structure of benthic diatom assemblages, measured by nonmetric multidimensional scaling, showed the strongest correlation to elevated nutrient concentrations (adj. R² = 0.495), followed by benthic invertebrates (0.376), fish (0.181) and macrophytes (0.153). For lakes, the patterns were less clear: fish (0.155), macrophytes (0.146) and phytoplankton (0.132). Cross-system comparison showed that stream assemblages were responding more strongly to nutrient concentrations than lake assemblages. Moreover, our results lend some support to the conjecture that response signatures are related to trophic level, with primary producers (benthic diatoms) responding more strongly than consumers (invertebrates, fish). Knowledge of differences in responses among taxonomic groups and between habitats to disturbance can be used to design more cost-effective monitoring programs.     

The state of the aquatic environment and biota during operation of trout-breeding pond farms

The paper presents the results of studying chemical and biological quality characteristics of the aquatic environment in the area of operation of trout farms in Kondopoga Bay, Onega Lake. The concentrations of biochemically labile substances and phosphorus were found to increase near the ponds. The development dynamics of phytoplankton, zooplankton, and benthic organisms in the zone of pond farms. When the procedure of fish production is strictly followed, the effect of ponds on the aquatic environment and biota is minimal.     

Environmental factors affecting the seasonal changes of net plankton in two tropical fish ponds in India

Estimates of population size and biomass of net plankton were made in two tropical fish ponds in relation to the ecological data over a period of one year. There was a wide spatial and seasonal variation of population size and biomass of net plankton in two ponds studied. Always predominant over zooplankton, phytoplankton demonstrated three distinct annual peaks in the pond N-1 while a single peak was obtained in the pond N-2. A variable result was found in two ponds in the values of Shannon index of general diversity for phyto- and zooplankton. The seasonal changes of phytoplankton number in these ponds showed an inverse characteristic either with absolute concentration or with the rate of concentration changes of bicarbonate in the water, while the former and concentration of dissolved oxygen was positively correlated. In the multiple correlation analysis, the greatest importance of the concentration of PO₄ was indicated on the phytoplankton population as HCO ₃ ⁻ and dissolved oxygen were not considered to be included in the final regression formula in both the ponds studied but the rate of changes of HCO ₃ ⁻ , PO₄ and dissolved oxygen were influential on phytoplankton in the pond N-1.     

How hydroperiod and species richness affect the balance of resource flows across aquatic-terrestrial habitats

Ecosystem functioning is influenced by the flow of nutrients, detritus, and organisms. Variation in these flows, like that found in temporary ecosystems, affects temporal and spatial patterns of community diversity and secondary production. We evaluated the influence of hydroperiod and ecosystem size on the bi-directional flow of subsidies from intermittent ponds and surrounding forests by quantifying litter deposition and the abundance and biomass of emerging insects and amphibians. In addition, we assessed whether amphibian and insect diversity influenced the magnitude of cross-habitat resource flux. We found substantial spatial and temporal variation in the magnitude, composition, and timing of cross-habitat resource subsidies. Overall, deposition into ponds far exceeded biomass exported via insect and amphibian emergence. We found a negative association between resource flux and the diversity of amphibians and insects. Different species groups contributed to flux patterns unequally, with insects having higher diversity but lower flux compared to amphibians. Organismal flux varied among ponds with amphibians having the highest flux in the shortest hydroperiod pond and insect flux was highest from an intermediate hydroperiod pond. This work reveals how variation in pond size and permanence affects species diversity and ecosystem flows. Species composition played a major role in flux differences across ponds. Further, given the general lack of research and conservation prioritization of temporary ponds, uncovering how these ponds contribute to cross-habitat linkages is necessary to develop fully integrated management strategies.     

浅水湖泊底栖-敞水生境耦合对富营养化的响应与稳态转换机理:对湖泊修复的启示

浅水湖泊中的初级生产者主要由分布在底栖生境中的底栖植物和生活在敞水生境中的浮游植物组成.底栖植物主要包括维管束沉水植物和底栖藻类等,浮游植物则主要为浮游藻类.贫营养浅水湖泊湖水营养盐浓度低,透明度高,底栖植物因能直接从沉积物中获取营养盐,往往是浅水湖泊的优势初级生产者.随着外源营养盐负荷的增加,湖水中的营养盐浓度不断升高,浮游植物受到的营养盐限制作用减小,加上其在光照方面的竞争优势,逐步发展成为湖泊的优势初级生产者,湖泊逐步从底栖植物为优势的清水态转变为浮游植物为主的浑水态,即稳态转换.在稳态转换过程中,浅水湖泊生态系统结构与功能发生了一系列变化,本文综述了浅水湖泊沉积物性质和生物(浮游植物、底栖植物、底栖动物和鱼类等)群落结构的变化,分析了这些变化对底栖植物、浮游植物之间竞争优势和底栖敞水生境间磷交换的影响,探讨了富营养化驱动的底栖敞水生境耦合过程变化和稳态转换机理.了解浅水湖泊底栖敞水生境耦合过程与稳态转换机理对富营养化浅水湖泊修复有重要意义.富营养化浅水湖泊修复实际就是重建其清水态,在制定修复目标时应该关注评价清水态的指标,如透明度、浮游植物生物量、底栖植物的覆盖度或优势度等.在开展湖泊修复技术研发与工程应用时,应该重点关注对底栖敞水生境耦合有重要影响的关键技术,如沉积物磷释放和底栖生物食性鱼类控制以及底栖植物(尤其是沉水植物)恢复等有关技术.     

Reduced abundance but increased diversity of chironomid larvae under higher trophic pressure from fish in semi-permanent ponds

Fish may affect macrobenthic communities through trophic interactions and modification of habitat conditions. We compared the density, diversity and taxonomic composition of larval chironomids under low vs high fish impact, created by stocking semi-natural ponds with either young/small common carp Cyprinus carpio at low biomass densities or with high biomass densities of older/large common carp, supplemented by other cyprinids and predatory fish species.Over the study season, May–August, total chironomid abundance was considerably lower in ponds with high fish biomass than in low fish biomass ponds. In July–August larval densities declined significantly, irrespective of the fish status of the ponds. The composition of larval communities diverged between ponds with different fish status. Chironomus riparius and C. plumosus accounted for most of the observed dissimilarity. C. plumosus densities were not affected by the fish status of the pond, constituting on average >38 % of chironomid specimens in both types of ponds. C. riparius was abundant in ponds with low fish biomass (on average 30 %), but rare in ponds with high fish biomass (4 %). Other common taxa were Glyptotendipes pallens (15 % and 13 %, respectively) and Procladius sp. (14 % in ponds with low fish impact). Canonical correspondence analysis showed that fish biomass was more important in determining chironomid community composition than environmental variables indicative of pond eutrophication (total N, P, chlorophyll a and conductivity).Despite adverse effects on total abundance, chironomid diversity was higher under apparently stronger trophic pressure by fish. Fish may have relieved some chironomid species from invertebrate predation and competition with dominant Chironomus larvae. Other important drivers of chironomid assemblage and diversity patterns may include species-specific feeding modes and prey size selectivity of fish, the ability of chironomid larvae to attain size- and depth-refuge from small fish but not larger fish, and differential vulnerability of free-living and tube-dwelling larvae relative to ontogenetic niche shifts of fish.     

Effects of environmental factors and predation on benthic communities in headwater streams

Structure and composition of benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages were investigated during three consecutive years in six headwater streams that exhibit a high variation in environmental conditions, habitat structure and predatory pressure. We examined whether the abundance of functional feeding groups could be best predicted by the abundance of predators and some habitat and chemical variables. Mean density and biomass of macroinvertebrate functional feeding groups varied significantly throughout the study area. Stepwise multiple regression analyses revealed that both density and biomass of functional feeding groups was influenced primarily by chemical features of water. Shredder biomass and scraper density were also influenced by habitat features, the abundance of scrapers increasing in deeper localities at lower altitudes and with abundant macrophytes. The abundance of predatory invertebrates was related to the density and biomass of benthic prey. An influence of fish predation on invertebrate communities was not observed in the study streams. The finding that benthic communities in undisturbed headwater streams are mainly affected by water chemistry variables irrespective of fish predation and habitat features clearly highlight the sensitivity of functional feeding groups to changes in chemical features and their role as indicators for bioassessment.     

Ecological assessment of highly heterogeneous systems: The importance of taxonomic sufficiency

We assess the effects of taxonomic resolution (genus-family levels) on the ecological assessment of 39 highly heterogeneous ponds located in north-western Spain.Non-metric multidimensional scaling (MDS) and one-way analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) were used to investigate the effects of taxonomic resolution on the macroinvertebrate assemblage structure. The Mann Whitney U-test and discrimination efficiency were used to assess the ability of nine diversity measures (total richness, rarefied richness samples of 25, 50 and 100 individuals, Margalef's index, Pielou's evenness, Shannon-Weaver's index, Simpson's index and percent dominant taxon) to discriminate between acceptable (best available and good conditions) and unacceptable (moderate, poor and very poor) conditions using three levels of taxonomic resolution: (i) family, (ii) family plus subfamilies of benthic non-biting midges and (iii) genus level.Based on non-metric MDS, the macroinvertebrate assemblages of ponds of acceptable (A) and unacceptable (N) conditions were statistically undistinguishable, both at genus and family levels. On the other hand, based on several community metrics (total richness, Margalef index, etc.) the two sets of samples were statistically different, although only when the genus or the subfamily level was used and after Bonferroni correction. These results suggest that the structure of macroinvertebrate assemblages by itself is more sensitive than the specific composition in distinguishing the fauna living in acceptable and unacceptable conditions. Moreover, dealing with families including many taxa generally showing different tolerance to disturbance may lead to misclassification of ponds. We agree, however, that the two approaches, i.e. assemblage composition and diversity measures, are conceptually different and hence they should be used in combination for a better understanding of the response of single metrics.     

Macrozoobenthic community structure in a large shallow lake: Disentangling the effect of eutrophication and wind-wave disturbance

Biological communities in shallow lakes are often subject to the combined effects of eutrophication and wind-wave disturbance. However, their relative importance in regulating macrozoobenthic community assembly has not been well addressed. In the present study, a monthly sampling of macrozoobenthos and environmental parameters was conducted at ten sites from December 2012 to November 2013 in Lake Hongze, the fourth largest freshwater lake in China, which has undergone serious water quality deterioration over the past few decades. A total of 30 taxa were recorded during the 12 sampling occasions, including 6 chironomids, 6 bivalves, 4 gastropods, 4 oligochaetes, 4 polychaetes, 4 crustaceans and 2 other aquatic insects. The mean abundance and biomass of total macrozoobenthos varied greatly among the ten sites and presented distinctive taxonomic composition between the protected bays and the offshore zone. Three eutrophication parameters (including permanganate index (COD_Mn), chlorophyll a, and total phosphorus in surficial sediments) and three wind-wave variables (including Secchi depth, turbidity, and mean effective fetch) were highly related to spatial variation of macrozoobenthic assemblages. When eutrophication variables were controlled, there was a significant correlation between community similarity and wind-wave disturbance condition, and vice versa. Variation partitioning showed that wind wave disturbance explained 15.9% of the variation in benthic community composition, slightly lower than that explained by eutrophication (17.9%). These results indicate that wind-wave disturbance is as important as eutrophication in regulating benthic community structure in this large shallow lake. Wind-wave disturbance imposed opposite effects on benthic community relative to eutrophication, and were more prominent in the offshore zone weakening the role of eutrophication.     

Toxic cyanobacteria at Nakuru sewage oxidation ponds - A potential threat to wildlife

Phytoplankton composition and biomass, and microcystin content were determined on diverse dates between November 2001 and June 2006 in the final oxidation pond of the Nakuru town sewage treatment plant. The oxidation ponds as well as the rivulet that drains the same are important water sources for some wildlife in the park. The phytoplankton composition of the pond studied mostly comprised coccoid green alga species. However, occasionally cyanobacteria or euglenoids were dominant. Among the cyanobacteria, Microcystis sp. made periodic appearance in the phytoplankton, and was the dominant species on some occasions. Total phytoplankton biomass varied widely from 48 to 135 mg L⁻¹ (wet weight) while cyanobacteria biomass ranged from undetectable levels to 130 mg L⁻¹. Most phytoplankton biomass was due to one or a few species. Detectable cyanotoxin concentrations (sum of microcystins) of up to 551.08 μg mg⁻¹ dry weight (DW) of cyanobacteria biomass or 0.28 μg mg⁻¹ DW of total phytoplankton biomass were recorded in samples collected on different dates. Microcystin content did not appear to correspond to the biomass of cyanobacteria suggesting that toxin production is possibly triggered by environmental changes or changes in the proportion of toxic strains. An occasional presence of microcystins in the pond water suggests that the wildlife species, which regularly use the ponds as drinking water sources are potentially exposed to intoxication. A close monitoring of pond water phytoplankton composition is necessary to accurately quantify the potential impact of cyanotoxins on these wildlife species.     

Mediated spatio-temporal patterns of macroinvertebrate assemblage associated with key environmental factors in the Qinghai Lake area,China

The Qinghai Lake area is one of key regions in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau for supporting a highly specific array of biodiversity. However, little is known about the composition and spatio-temporal patterns of benthic assemblages across this region. Herein, we examined how the community structure and community–environment relationships of macroinvertebrates varied over three consecutive years (2012–2014) across its three distinct water types of the saline main-body (MB) and sub-lakes (SSLs) and the freshwater bodies (FWBs). These waters harbored a poor benthic fauna, with identification of 30 taxa (6 in MB, 6 in SSLs and 23 in FWBs). There were distinct differences of assemblage composition among three water bodies, whereas weak (inter-year) or insignificant (seasons) differences at temporal scales. The CCA models indicated that there were highly naturally-driven environmental-assemblage relationships through time, with constant environmental factors of salinity, water depth and nutrients being the key environmental factors affecting macroinvertebrate variations. The currently overall benthic community composition and structure remains quite stable through years, indicating their suffering less from human activities. These results provide implications for projecting comprehensive benthic biomonitoring and conservation planning for those fragile and under-investigated lakes in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau.     

抚仙湖、洱海、滇池浮游藻类功能群1960s以来演变特征

作为主要的初级生产者,浮游植物在水生生态系统中扮演着重要的角色,浮游植物的时空分布反映了生态环境的变化.依据浮游植物的形态、生理、生态特点而定义的浮游藻类功能群对藻类的耐受性和敏感性进行了描述,因而浮游藻类功能群的组成是生境特征的良好指示者.对1960s至今抚仙湖、洱海、滇池3个高原湖泊的浮游藻类组成进行分析,并首次将功能群理论运用到这3个湖泊.结果表明,3个湖泊的浮游藻类优势功能群组成在近50～60年间发生了明显的改变:抚仙湖的浮游藻类优势功能群演变过程为C、X2、Lo、F、P(1960s)-H1、C、P(1980s)-P、C、T(1990s)-T(2000年以后);洱海的浮游藻类优势功能群演变过程为J、Lo、MP、C、H1(1960s)-C、H1(1980s)-C、H1(1990s)-C、H1、M(2000年以后);滇池的浮游藻类优势功能群演变过程为J、N、P、MP、Lo(1960s)-J、P、MP、M(1980s)-J、M(1990s)-M(2000年以后).抚仙湖、洱海、滇池水体内的藻类功能群演替趋势特征,即耐低温物种的减少以及喜营养物种的增加,表明3个高原湖泊在近几十年可能受到了气候变暖和营养程度增加的影响.     

蓄水后向家坝库区鱼类物种、分类和功能多样性变化

为了解向家坝水电工程对金沙江下游鱼类多样性的影响,基于2016—2018年邵女坪(库首)、绥江(库中)和桧溪(库尾)3个江段的鱼类群落调查数据,分析了向家坝库区鱼类物种、分类和功能多样性空间格局,结合蓄水前(2011年)和蓄水初期(2015年)的资料,探讨了蓄水后向家坝库区不同维度鱼类多样性的变化趋势。向家坝库区各江段以广适性的瓦氏黄颡鱼(Pelteobagrus vachelli)和静水性的(Hemiculter leucisculus)占优势,两者的数量百分比分别为30.15%±14.82%和13.91%±11.16%。非度量多维尺度分析显示,蓄水后向家坝库区库首邵女坪和库中绥江鱼类群落差异最小,库首邵女坪和库尾桧溪鱼类群落差异最大;库中绥江在蓄水前、蓄水初期和2016—2018年3个时期的鱼类群落差异均较大,表明蓄水后绥江江段鱼类群落经历了剧烈变化。库区不同江段鱼类Margalef丰富度指数、Shannon-Wiener多样性指数和Pielou均匀度指数均表现为:桧溪>邵女坪>绥江,鱼类分类多样性指数和分类差异指数均表现为:桧溪>绥江>邵女坪。库区鱼类摄食、运动和繁殖等不同维度的功能多样性(功能丰富度、功能均匀度、功能离散度)空间格局不同,但总体上库中绥江鱼类功能丰富度最高,功能均匀度最低。与蓄水前相比,绥江江段鱼类物种、分类多样性呈下降趋势,鱼类功能丰富度和均匀度也有下降趋势。蓄水后绥江江段鱼类群落主要功能性状发生了明显变化,如蓄水前以下位口、纺锤形体型鱼类占优势,蓄水后以端位口、侧扁形体型鱼类占优势。不同维度多样性指数侧重于鱼类多样性的不同方面,结合多种指数分析有利于更全面地了解鱼类群落对环境变化和外界干扰的响应。研究结果有助于深入了解水电工程建设对金沙江下游鱼类多样性的影响,为鱼类多样性保护提供依据,也可为长江“十年禁渔”效果评估提供本底资料。     

Cladoceran community composition in tropical semi-arid highland reservoirs in Tigray (Northern Ethiopia): A metacommunity perspective applied to young reservoirs

A field survey of zooplankton communities was carried out in 32 recently established tropical semi-arid reservoirs in the highlands of Northern Ethiopia with the aim to identify to what extent environmental factors determine species composition of the cladoceran community in such isolated and young reservoirs. To address seasonal variation, the survey was carried out both at the beginning and the end of the dry season. A total of 15 species of cladocerans were identified. Daphnia was the most abundant cladoceran genus, and was present in all reservoirs. Using presence-absence data, no association between cladoceran community composition and geographic distance was found. RDA results indicate that the set of environmental variables that explained cladoceran community composition differed among seasons. Depth, altitude and fish biomass showed a significant association with cladoceran community composition during the wet season, whereas variation in cladoceran community structure was associated with phytoplankton biomass in the dry season. The relative abundance of Daphnia was much higher in the pelagic than in the littoral zone of our study systems. Two key groups of pelagic filter-feeding cladocerans, Diaphanosoma and Daphnia, showed a clear pattern, in which one or the other tended to strongly dominate the community. In addition, we observed a negative association between dominance of Daphnia in the zooplankton community and dominance of cyanobacteria in the phytoplankton community.     

Comparing efficacy of different taxonomic resolutions and surrogates in detecting changes in soft bottom assemblages due to coastal defence structures

Sandy shores on the West coast of the North Adriatic Sea are extensively protected by different types of defence structures to prevent coastal erosion. Coastal defence schemes modify the hydrodynamic regime, the sediment structure and composition thus affecting the benthic assemblages. This study examines the effectiveness in detecting changes in soft bottom assemblages caused by coastal defence structures by using different levels of taxonomic resolution, polychaetes and/or bivalves as surrogates and different data transformations. A synoptic analyses of three datasets of subtidal benthic macrofauna used in studies aimed at assessing the impact of breakwaters along the North Adriatic coast has been done. Analyses of similarities and correlations between distance matrices were done using matrices with different levels of taxonomic resolution, and with polychaetes or bivalves data alone. Lentidium mediterraneum was the most abundant species in all datasets. Its abundance was not consistently related to the presence of defence structures. Moreover, distribution patterns of L. mediterraneum were masking the structure of the whole macrofaunal assemblages. Removal of L. mediterraneum from the datasets allowed the detection of changes in benthic assemblages due to coastal defences. Analyses on different levels of taxonomic resolution showed that the level of family maintained sufficient information to detect the impacts of coastal defence structures on benthic assemblages. Moreover, the outcomes depended on the transformation used. Patterns of distribution of bivalves, used as surrogates, showed low correlations with the patterns of the total macrofaunal species assemblages. Patterns of polychaetes, if identified to the species or genus level showed higher correlations with the whole dataset. However, the identification of polychaetes to species and genus level is as costly as the identification of all macrobenthic taxa at family level.This study provided additional evidences that taxonomic sufficiency is a useful tool in environmental monitoring, also in investigations on the impacts of coastal defence structures on subtidal macrofauna. The use of coarser taxonomic level, being time-efficient, would allow improving sampling designs of monitoring programs by increasing replication in space and time and by allowing long term monitoring studies.     

淡水浮游植物功能群的概念、划分方法和应用

作为淡水水体的主要初级生产者,浮游植物群落对环境变化的响应十分迅速,因此被用来作为评估水体生态系统状况的指示性生物类群.如何利用浮游植物群落的种类组成信息,来解读其所响应的生态环境特征和变化,以及认识浮游群落结构变化的过程和驱动因素一直是淡水生态学研究的重要内容.根据生态位原理,生态学家们把生活习性和生存策略相似的浮游植物种类归于同一个"功能群",作为群落结构与响应分析的基本单元.浮游植物功能群已被广泛应用于各种淡水水体,功能群的分类和方法也得到了不断的改进和完善.应用较多的功能群划分系统有FG、MFG、MBFG和PFT.目前,我国浮游植物工作者也陆续开始采用浮游植物功能群来分析群落结构和反映水体环境特征,但常常会面临功能群划分上的困难.由于不同功能群划分方法存在较大差异,在使用上需要了解不同划分方法的原理和差别.本文综述了这4种功能群分类方法的特征和应用情况,并对它们的优劣进行了评价和对比,同时介绍了基于功能群的Q指数评价方法,为我国浮游植物群落水平上的相关研究和应用提供方便与参考.     

改良型生物稳定塘对滇池流域受污染河流净化效果

对滇池流域大清河生物稳定塘系统中的水质净化效果进行了分析,同时对各塘中的浮游藻类种类组成、细胞密度和多样性进行了调查。结果表明,当污水流经预处理塘、好氧塘、水生植物塘、养殖塘的过程中,pH、DO、叶绿素a浓度呈逐渐上升趋势,TN、TP、NH_4~+-N、BOD_5和COD浓度呈逐渐下降趋势,生物稳定塘系统对TN、TP、NH_4~+-N、BOD_5和COD的去除率分别达29.29%,48.68%,33.68%,68.14%和71.25%。叶绿素a浓度和pH(r=0.955,P0.05)、DO(r=0.992,P0.01)显著正相关,而和TN(r=-0.936,P0.05)、TP(r=-0.925,P0.05)以及NH_4~+-N(r=-0.927,P0.05)等显著负相关。在塘系统中,共出现浮游藻类53种,藻类种类数和生物多样性呈增加趋势,总细胞密度呈下降趋势;塘系统中共出现6种藻类优势种,其中绿色微囊藻和惠氏微囊藻细胞密度呈现出逐渐下降的趋势,梅尼小环藻、啮蚀隐藻、美丽网球藻和球囊藻细胞密度呈现出逐渐上升的趋势。     

Contrasting time trends of organic contaminants in Antarctic pelagic and benthic food webs

We demonstrate that pelagic Antarctic seabirds show significant decreases in concentrations of some persistent organic pollutants. Trends in Adélie penguins and Southern fulmars fit in a general pattern revealed by a broad literature review. Downward trends are also visible in pelagic fish, contrasting sharply with steady or increasing concentrations in Antarctic benthic organisms. Transfer of contaminants between Antarctic pelagic and benthic food webs is associated with seasonal sea-ice dynamics which may influence the balance between the final receptors of contaminants under different climatic conditions. This complicates the predictability of future trends of emerging compounds in the Antarctic ecosystem, such as of the brominated compounds that we detected in Antarctic petrels. The discrepancy in trends between pelagic and benthic organisms shows that Antarctic biota are still final receptors of globally released organic contaminants and it remains questionable whether the total environmental burden of contaminants in the Antarctic ecosystem is declining.