Spatial organization of macroinvertebrate assemblages in the Lower Mekong Basin

In this study, we investigated patterns of spatial variation in macroinvertebrate assemblages in the Lower Mekong Basin (LMB) and examined their relationship with environmental factors. Cluster analysis was used to group macroinvertebrate samples and Linear Discriminant Analysis was performed to discriminate the major factors associated with the macroinvertebrate assemblages. Four clusters could be distinguished based on the dissimilarity between macroinvertebrate assemblages. The assemblages related to the tributaries and the upstream parts (cluster II) were characterized by a lower richness, abundance, diversity and a lower number of indicator taxa compared to the assemblage found downstream in the Mekong delta (cluster I). Aquatic insects and their indicator taxa (e.g. Caenodes sp., Dipseudopsis sp. and Gomphidae sp.), preferring a high-altitude environment with a high dissolved oxygen concentration and a high density of wood/shrub and evergreen forests, were the most predominant group in the assemblages occupying the tributaries and the upstream parts (cluster IIa). The assemblage found in the delta, consisting largely of molluscs and a moderate richness and abundance of worms, crustaceans and dipteran insects, was mainly represented by Corbicula leviuscula and C. moreletiana (molluscs), Namalycastis longicirris and Chaetogaster langi (worms), Corophium minutum and Grandidierella lignorum (crustaceans), and Cricotopus sp. and Clinotanypus sp. (dipteran insects). This assemblage was associated with a large watershed surface area, deep and wide rivers and a high water temperature. The intermediate assemblage (cluster IIb1) in-between could be discriminated based on land cover types including inundated, wetland and agricultural land, and was represented most by molluscs. Strikingly, the assemblage occupying the upstream parts (cluster IIa), which is related to intensified agriculture and a moderate conductivity, was characterized by a higher macroinvertebrate diversity compared to the mountainous and less impacted tributaries. This could mean that the natural stress is high in these systems for some taxa, leading to a lower overall taxonomic richness and abundance. Nevertheless, the number of taxa and the diversity of macroinvertebrates remained relatively high across the basin, especially in the delta assemblage. Therefore, the LMB deserves a particular attention for conservation.     

Evaluating water quality for Amazonian streams along the interoceanic highway in Peru using macroinvertebrates collected by hand and with leaf packs

We assessed water quality using physical, chemical, and biological characteristics in 37 streams between Puerto Maldonado and Cusco in Peru. Study sites ranged from ∼200 to 4000 m in elevation, with streams selected as pairs (control/natural vs. human impacted) along this gradient. In general, temperature decreased (R² = 0.82) and other parameters increased [dissolved oxygen (R² = 0.19), conductivity (R² = 0.17), pH (R² = 0.37)] with elevation. Macroinvertebrates were hand collected by professional entomologists and using leaf packs implemented by conservation workers. The professionals identified 213 unique taxa from the hand collections, with 80 species collected only one time. Data from control streams showed that as elevation increased, total richness (p = 0.008) and EPT richness (p = 0.050) decreased whereas Diptera richness increased (p = 0.002). NMS ordination indicated significant differences in macroinvertebrate assemblages when control streams from low and high elevations were contrasted. Hand collections also revealed significant differences between control and impact streams for total richness, EPT richness and % Diptera, but not for % EPT, % EPT richness, or % Diptera richness. The majority of the deployed leaf packs were successfully retrieved and contained many macroinvertebrates (Avg. = 141 individuals per pack). There were 98 unique taxa (family level or higher) identified from the leaf packs by the trained conservation workers. Fourteen of 15 macroinvertebrate community metrics (at the family level) were able to detect significant differences between control and impact sites. All of the family level metrics responded similarly across the elevation gradient except total richness, EPT richness, EPT count, and % Hydropsychids. Both the Costa Rica and the Virginia Save Our Stream Indexes were able to differentiate control from impacted streams using leaf pack data. Although the diversity of macroinvertebrates was higher for hand collections relative to leaf packs (due to greater habitats sampled and higher taxonomic resolution), leaf pack samples were better able to distinguish control from impacted streams. Specifically, leaf packs were able to discern impacts in streams at low elevation better than those at high elevation. Generally, macroinvertebrates indicated impact from urbanization to be worse than impacts from other human activities (i.e., gold mining and agriculture). Overall, hand collections will serve as an important reference of species diversity going forward while leaf packs processed by trained conservation workers are a viable method to monitor stream water quality in Peru and perhaps elsewhere.     

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.     

Do hydraulic units define macroinvertebrate assemblages in mountain streams of central Argentina?

Methods to assess the physical habitat provide important tools for many aspects of river management. Hydraulic units (defined as a homogeneous patch of flow type and substrate) were described in mountain streams of Central Argentina and the distribution of macrozoobenthos in these habitat units was analyzed. Four streams from the upper Carcarañá River Basin (Córdoba, Argentina) were sampled in two hydrological periods. Hydraulic units (as substrate and flow type), current velocity, depth, macrophytes and macroalgae were assessed. Three benthic samples were taken in each hydraulic unit. A total of 12 hydraulic units were registered, which varied seasonally in their proportional abundance. The highest values of taxonomic richness, total abundance, diversity and evenness were found in the low-water period. The most heterogeneous hydraulic units (characterized by substrate of diverse grain size) presented the highest richness, diversity and evenness, whereas the highest total abundance was observed in hydraulic units with homogeneous substrate, such as bedrock or gravel sand. Canonical correspondence analysis grouped samples and taxa mainly in relation to the hydraulic units, and temporal variation in macroinvertebrate assemblages was observed. We found that the interaction between hydrological and geomorphological conditions affected benthic assemblages and that their organization is important at a mesoscale. Therefore, hydraulic units may be considered important tools in assessing stream integrity in lotic systems of central Argentina.     

应用底栖动物完整性指数评价太湖生态健康

依据2010年春季至2012年秋季,太湖32个样点的底栖动物和环境变量共11次的季节性调查结果,采用干扰程度最小系统法定义构建底栖动物生物完整性指数的参照系统,提出了确定参照系统的4个基本条件,进而按非湖心区和湖心区两个生态区分别构建太湖底栖动物完整性指数(LTB-IBI).通过对候选生物参数的分布范围筛选、判别能力分析、与理化因子的相关性和参数间的冗余分析,获得了非湖心区LTB-IBI的4个构成指数:总分类单元数、Simpson多样性指数、前3位优势单元%和BMWP指数,以及湖心区LTB-IBI的5个构成指数:总分类单元数、Simpson多样性指数、甲壳+软体分类单元数、前3位优势单元%和BMWP指数.采用比值法统一构成指数量纲,分别构建了非湖心区和湖心区LTBIBI指数,评价太湖水生态健康的等级.2010-2012年,太湖生态健康总体上呈现逐步提升的趋势.影响太湖底栖动物完整性的重要环境变量是水体中的氮含量.研究表明,连续观察数据可较大程度上提高太湖LTB-IBI指数的可靠性和评价结果的合理性.     

Understanding factors structuring zooplankton and macroinvertebrate assemblages in ephemeral pans

Ephemeral aquatic ecosystems have a global distribution being most abundant in semi-arid and arid regions. Due to anthropogenic impacts threatening these environments, there is a need to understand various factors and processes structuring animal communities in these habitats. Macroinvertebrate and zooplankton assemblages were studied in different ephemeral (i.e. flood plain, large endorheic and small endorheic) pans in the south-eastern Lowveld of Zimbabwe in the wet season. Ten Cladoceran species, Calanoids and Cyclopoids taxa and thirty-three macroinvertebrate taxa were identified over the entire hydroperiod. Predator macroinvertebrates were the dominant taxa especially in endorheic pans. The pan categories differed significantly in both zooplankton and macroinvertebrates composition and richness, with zooplankton and macroinvertebrate taxa richness being high in flood plain pans. Conductivity, fish presence, hydroperiod, maximum depth, turbidity and vegetation cover played a major role in shaping both zooplankton and macroinvertebrate communities. The macroinvertebrate community assemblage reveals that small endorheic and flood plain pans represent extremes ends of the environmental gradient in the region while large endorheic pans represent an intermediate end.     

Importance of habitat structure as a determinant of the taxonomic and functional composition of lentic macroinvertebrate assemblages

Variation in habitat structure provided by macrophytes is regarded as one of the determinants of macroinvertebrate species composition in lentic ecosystems, but mechanisms underlying this relationship appear to be confounded with site-specific factors, such as physicochemical factors, epiphyton and composition of the vegetation. To better understand the relationship between structural complexity of a macrophyte stand and its macroinvertebrate assemblage composition, it is essential to determine the ecological role of different components of habitat structure for the phytomacrofauna. Using artificial structures as macrophyte mimics, representing three growth forms (stems, broad-leaved, finely dissected) and three structure surface areas (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 m²), a full factorial field experiment was conducted in a series of drainage ditches. We investigated if macroinvertebrate assemblages colonizing the structures were affected by an increase in macrophyte structure surface area, structural complexity, or by a combination of both, and if the observed patterns were consistent among sites differing in physicochemical and habitat characteristics. Assemblages were characterized both in terms of taxonomic and functional composition, because we expected that non-taxonomic aggregation of species into functional categories would give a different insight in habitat complexity-macroinvertebrate relationships in comparison to approaches based on the taxonomic assemblage composition. Ditch intrinsic factors, in part reflected in the periphyton on the structures, explained the major proportion of the variance in both the taxonomical macroinvertebrate assemblages and functional groups among structures. Contrary to our expectation, patterns in the taxon-based and functional dataset resembled each other. Only a minor contribution of growth form to the explained variance was observed in the taxonomical dataset, whilst differences in functional composition were unrelated to habitat structure. In conclusion, processes operating on larger spatial scales overrode the micro-scale effects of habitat structural complexity and surface area on macroinvertebrates.     

Spatial patterns in macroinvertebrate assemblages in surface-flowing waters of a glacially-influenced floodplain

We examined the spatial structure of macroinvertebrate assemblages in surface-flowing waters of a glacially-influenced floodplain. The floodplain main-channel responded longitudinally to changes in hydrology with evident coarse-scale zones of upwelling and downwelling; the lower floodplain main channel fell dry in late winter. Physico-chemical attributes differed among tributaries and the main channel. The main channel had lower values of conductivity, alkalinity and nitrate–N than tributaries, with right-side (east-facing) tributaries having the highest values. Left-side (west-facing) tributaries flowing over an exposed rock-face had warmer water temperatures than the main channel and right-side tributaries. The biomass of benthic organic matter and periphyton was highest in right-side tributaries, followed by main channel sites then left-side tributaries. Similarly, macroinvertebrate density and richness were higher in right-side tributaries, intermediate in main channel sites, and lowest in left-side tributaries. Macroinvertebrate assemblages clearly differed between main channel sites, right-side tributaries, and left side tributaries based on an NMDS analysis. Minor differences were observed among main channel sites, although most upstream sites showed some structural differences from downstream sites. Ephemeropterans and plecopterans were most common in main channel sites and right-side tributaries, whereas chironomids and trichopterans also were common in right-side tributaries. Although the main channel changed longitudinally in physico-chemical characteristics, no real patterns of zonation were evident in macroinvertebrate assemblages. Coarse spatial patterns in macroinvertebrate assemblages in the floodplain were reflected in the physico-chemical differences between the main channel and tributaries, and between left-side and right-side tributaries. We conclude that coarse-scale floodplain properties enhance the overall diversity of lotic macroinvertebrates. Consequently, floodplain alterations that reduce surface water heterogeneity/connectivity limits the potential macroinvertebrate diversity of floodplains.     

Different levels of macroalgal sampling resolution for pollution assessment

The effects of using reduced sampling resolutions to study macroalgal vegetation patterns have not been studied sufficiently. Here, we test the influence of taxonomic resolution level, removal of occasional species, aggregation of species abundances into functional groups and data transformation in the detection of a long-term recovery process by phytobenthic intertidal assemblages. Results indicate that the aggregation of species data into the genus level has very little influence. Likewise, almost any significant information is lost when occasional algae are removed. Analyses at the level of families and orders still clearly detect differences between highly degraded and reference vegetation. By contrast, analyses based on class and functional group abundances capture quite different information. The effect of transformation is similar at the different taxonomic levels. Most surrogate measures properly reflect changes in diversity. It is concluded that genus level is the most appropriate surrogate approach for detecting the recovery process.     

The influence of biotope on invertebrate assemblages in lentic environments: A study of two perennial alkaline wetlands in the Western Cape,South Africa

As a step towards the biological assessment of wetlands in South Africa, this study investigates the influence of biotope characteristics on the spatial distribution of aquatic invertebrates. The aim was to assess whether different wetland biotopes support significantly different invertebrate assemblages in terms of the composition and abundance of microcrustaceans and macroinvertebrate taxa. During October 2006, three different biotopes were sampled within Verlorenvlei and Wave's Edge wetlands (Western Cape, South Africa) using a long-handled sweep net. Composition and abundance of invertebrate assemblages were compared between and within sites for each of the wetlands. Assemblage composition generally differed among biotopes within each wetland, as revealed by cluster analysis and MDS plots. At Verlorenvlei, biotopes formed distinctive clusters with low site-specific variability. Assemblage composition at Wave's Edge revealed coarser groupings with clusters distinguishing between vegetated and non-vegetated biotopes only. Biotopes within each wetland differed significantly in terms of taxon richness, Shannon diversity and mean total invertebrate biomass (g m⁻³), whilst mean total density (ind m⁻³) differed only between biotopes in Verlorenvlei. Considerable shifts in invertebrate assemblage structure corresponded to differences in electrical conductivity among sites at Verlorenvlei. For large physico-chemically heterogeneous wetlands such as Verlorenvlei, it is suggested that smaller physico-chemically homogenous zones should be identified a priori and within these areas vegetated biotopes should be sampled over the broadest possible spatial scale, whilst open-water biotopes can be sampled more narrowly. For small, reasonably homogenous wetlands such as Wave's Edge, we suggest a less broad spatial representation of biotopes and instead one should concentrate on increasing the number of sample repetitions per site.     

Ecology of water mite assemblages in Panama – First data on water mites (Acari,Hydrachnidia) as bioindicators in the assessment of biological integrity of neotropical streams

The ecological integrity of freshwater ecosystems is regularly examined through assessment of their macroinvertebrate assemblages. The various methods used in such biomonitoring all have one characteristic in common – the neglect of water mites. Even though this group perfectly fulfills all necessary requisites for successful bioindicators, these invertebrates are either completely ignored or lumped together as “Acari”.This study, for the first time, uses water mites (Hydrachnidia) as bioindicators in the Neotropics to compare the anthropogenic stress in 15 streams at three different levels of contamination (pristine, rural, urban). In total, 4371 water mite specimens, belonging to 31 genera and 14 families, were collected.Diversity, abundance, and richness of water mite assemblages were significantly reduced with increasing levels of contamination. These differences were clearest in the dry season. Atractidella turned out to be, by far, the most tolerant water mite genus, having the greatest abundance at the most contaminated sites. In contrast, Pseudotorrenticola was found only in pristine waters, while Hydrodroma, Limnesia, Koenikea, Torrenticola, Monatractides and the family Aturidae showed clear preferences for pristine waters.Our data show, that water mites, identified to genus level, are well suited for water quality assessment in neotropical lowland streams, clearly distinguishing different levels of contamination/anthropogenic stress.     

Distribution of Macroinvertebrate assemblages along a saline wetland in harsh environmental conditions from Central-West Argentina

The goal was to examine how macroinvertebrate taxonomic richness and density respond to spatial-temporal changes and to the influence of water physicochemical characteristics along the Bañado Carilauquen (BC). Benthic samplings were conducted seasonally and environmental parameters were recorded in five reaches of the BC. Cluster analysis was applied to compare taxonomic richness among sites. Community structure and spatial-temporal variation were explored using logarithmic regression. CCA was applied to explore the relationship between species and environmental variables. A total of 36 taxa were identified, predominantly insects. A growing gradient of conductivity and hardness was registered between headwaters (HD; relatively soft waters) and outlet (OL; very hard and saline waters). Total density of taxa showed significant differences among sampling sites and climate seasons. A decline in richness and density was observed from HD to OL. The spatial conductivity gradient is the major factor modulating macroinvertebrate distribution along this saline arid wetland. With the exception of the headwaters, hard, eutrophic, polysaprobic and contaminated waters such of those of the BC represent critical conditions for the development of macroinvertebrate assemblages.     

Hyporheic annelid distribution along a flow permanence gradient in an alluvial river

In this study, we examined hyporheic annelid assemblages along a gradient of flow permanence (FP) and compared assemblages in gaining (groundwater-fed) and losing (runoff-fed) sections of the alluvial Selwyn River, New Zealand. To reduce the effects of poor taxonomic resolution, we used a dataset with most taxa identified to the genus or species level. We predicted that annelid assemblages would vary in structure and composition along FP gradients due to differences in desiccation resistance between taxa. We also predicted that groundwater-fed (gaining) and runoff-fed (losing) river sections would be inhabitated by dissimilar annelid assemblages due to differences in river-aquifer connections and recolonization sources. We found a negative relationship between taxon richness and FP, indicating that, on average, two annelid taxa are lost from hyporheic assemblages in the Selwyn River with every 10% decrease in FP. Low FP appears to favour annelid taxa that tolerate moist or dry conditions in sediments, as shown by a negative relationship between FP and the proportion of desiccation-tolerant taxa. A high proportion of hypogean taxa distinguished the groundwater-fed and perennial-gaining reach from the other reaches. In spite of the large differences in physical structure between the intermittent-gaining and the ephemeral-losing reach, we found few between-reach differences in annelid assemblages and, in particular, no differences in % hypogean taxa. These varied results illustrate the need to employ both categorical and continuous variables in ecological analyses: the combined categorical and gradient approach used in the present study is likely to explain more variability than either univariate approach alone.     

Land-use influence on the functional organization of Afrotropical macroinvertebrate assemblages

Studies investigating the effects of human activities on the functional organization of macroinvertebrate communities in tropical streams and rivers are very limited, despite these areas witnessing the greatest loss of natural forests globally. We investigated changes in taxon richness, numerical abundance and biomass of macroinvertebrate functional feeding groups (FFGs) in streams draining different land-use types in the Sosiani-Kipkaren River in western Kenya. Twenty-one sites in river reaches categorized as forested, mixed, urban or agricultural were sampled during the dry and wet seasons. Collected macroinvertebrates were identified to the lowest taxon possible (mainly genus) and classified into five major FFGs; collector-gatherers, collector-filterers, scrapers, predators and shredders. There were significant (p < 0.05) spatial variation in habitat quality, organic matter standing stocks, total suspended solids, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen, temperature and nutrient concentrations across land-uses, with forested sites recording lowest values in mean water temperature, electrical conductivity and nutrients while recording highest levels in dissolved oxygen concentrations. Responses in macroinvertebrates to changes in land-use varied with richness, abundance and biomass showing differences within FFGs. Biomass-based metrics responded more strongly to change in land-use while taxon richness was the least predictive, indicating replacement of taxa within FFGs across land-use types. Higher shredder abundance, biomass and richness were recorded in forested streams which were cooler with protected riparian areas and high biomass of coarse particulate organic matter. Collector-gatherers dominated agricultural and urban streams owing to an abundance of particulate organic matter and nutrients, while scrapers responded positively to increased nutrient levels and open canopy in mixed and agricultural streams where primary production and algal biomass was likely increased. Overall, this study provides further evidence of the effects of agricultural and urban land-uses on tropical streams and rivers and contributes to the use of macroinvertebrate FFGs as indicators of ecological health.     

Congruence between functional and taxonomic patterns of benthic and planktonic assemblages in flatland ponds

Using data from 31 ponds, we investigated the importance of environmental (e.g. habitat complexity, nutrient content, pH) and biotic factors (i.e. fish predation) on the spatial patterns of planktonic (phytoplankton and zooplankton) and benthic (macroinvertebrates) assemblages. We also evaluated the degree of concordance among assemblages and between the functional and taxonomic composition of assemblages, and test the hypothesis that surrogates of biodiversity (e.g. taxonomic or functional groups) can be used in pond conservation and biomonitoring studies. We found that the spatial patterns of benthic and pelagic assemblages were determined by macrophyte coverage, water quality and, to a lesser extent, fish. However, shifts in the taxonomic and functional composition were not congruent. Moreover, local environmental variation was slightly more important for the taxonomic than the functional composition of assemblages, except for phytoplankton. The degree of concordance among assemblages was also weak, which may be partly due to the fact that species respond individualistically to environmental variation. These findings also suggest that the coupling between benthic and pelagic habitats in flatland ponds is weak, and that the use of surrogate measures or indicator groups in pond conservation studies may not be appropriate.     

Benthic macroinvertebrate communities of three tropical,warm monomictic Mexican lakes

Most studies of benthic macroinvertebrate communities are from shallow lakes or restricted to the littoral zone of deep, temperate lakes, with just a few dealing with the deep benthos. Furthermore, the deep benthic macroinvertebrate communities of tropical lakes are almost unknown. The present work describes the benthic macroinvertebrate communities of three tropical, warm monomictic lakes in “Lagunas de Montebello” National Park, Mexico, by describing the differences along the bathymetric profile, from the littoral down to the profound benthos. We studied the benthic macroinvertebrate communities in the two contrasting hydrodynamic periods of the warm monomictic lakes: a) stratification, when the hypolimnion becomes anoxic, and b) mixing, when the water column becomes oxygenated. We expected: 1) a reduction in the benthic macroinvertebrate taxonomic richness, density, and biomass from the littoral to the deep zone, 2) an impoverished benthic macroinvertebrate community while stratified (anoxia) compared to mixing (oxygenated), and 3) depletion in the taxonomic richness, density, and biomass of the profundal benthic macroinvertebrates in the tropical compared to temperate lakes. We found: 1) a decreasing trend in taxonomic richness (6 ± 2–3 ± 1 taxa), density (1868.7 ± 1069.7–349.1 ± 601.8 in. m⁻²) and biomass (277.8 ± 188.9–85.1 ± 95.6 mg C m⁻²) from the littoral to the deep zone; chironomids dominated the littoral zone, while oligochaetes dominated the deep zone. 2) Lower density and biomass but not taxonomic richness while stratified (4 ± 3 taxa; 586.2 ± 527.6 in. m⁻²; 81.6 ± 164.3 mg C m⁻²) compared to mixing (4 ± 3 taxa; 877.5 ± 1051.4 in. m⁻²; 190.1 ± 131.1 mg C m⁻²). 3) lower taxonomic richness and density but not biomass in tropical Montebello oligotrophic lakes (3 ± 3 taxa; 349.1 ± 601.8 in. m⁻²; 85.1 ± 195.6 mg C m⁻²) compared to temperate analogous (2–48 taxa; 492−83,189 8 in. m⁻²; 0.13−201.5 mg m⁻²). We conclude the early onset and long-lasting hypolimnetic anoxia restrict the benthic macroinvertebrate community radiation and diversification in tropical, oligotrophic, warm monomictic lakes.     

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。     

Taxonomic sufficiency for soft-bottom sublittoral mollusks assemblages in a tropical estuary, Guanabara Bay, Southeast Brazil

Guanabara Bay (GB) is considered to be one of the most polluted environments of the southern Brazilian coastline. This typical estuarine system is impacted by the heavy discharge of both industrial and domestic waste from the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area. The mollusc community structure and distribution was investigated between 2000 and 2001, using a three month sampling design of 38 stations, according to austral seasons. Species abundance was aggregated into progressively higher taxa matrices (genus, family, order) and were analysed using multivariate techniques. Mollusc distribution in GB varied significantly in space and time and was probably ruled by the organic enrichment effects of hypoxia and altered redox conditions coupled with prevailing patterns of circulation. Within the sectors of GB an increasing gradient in mollusc diversity and occurrence was observed, ranging from the azoic and impoverished stations in the inner sector to a well-structured community in terms of species composition and abundance inhabiting the outer sector. The non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) and cluster analysis showed similar results when species were aggregated into genera and families, while greater difference occurred at coarser taxonomic identification (order). The literature about taxonomic sufficiency has demonstrated that faunal patterns at different taxonomic levels tend to become similar with increased pollution. In Guanabara Bay, an analysis carried out solely at family level is perfectly adequate to describe the ecophysiological stress. Further aggregation to order level changed the perceived patterns of differences. However, a different taxonomic resolution can be chosen depending on the type of ecological patterns investigated.