An invertebrate-based index to characterize ecological responses to flow intermittence in rivers

England, Judy; Chadd, Richard; Dunbar, Michael J.; Sarremejane, Romain; Stubbington, Rachel; Westwood, Christian G.; Leeming, David J.

doi:10.1127/fal/2019/1206

Cited by 20 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 28 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Regional‐scale habitat heterogeneity may have supported a stable regional species pool across years by providing habitats for all taxa (Ward et al 1999). In our study area, dry and ponded conditions were most extensive during 2006–2007 and 2011–2012, when drought likely created network‐scale mosaics of contrasting habitat patches (Datry et al 2014a, England et al 2019). Such increases in environmental heterogeneity with increasing disturbance extent may have promoted the colonization of newly created habitats by lentic or semi‐aquatic specialists.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Local and regional drivers influence how aquatic community diversity, resistance and resilience vary in response to drying

Sarremejane

England

Sefton

et al. 2020

Oikos

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Disturbance events govern how the biodiversity of ecological communities varies in both space and time. In freshwater ecosystems, there is evidence that local and regional‐scale drivers interact to influence ecological responses to drying disturbances. However, most research provides temporal snapshots at the local scale, whereas few studies encompass a gradient of drying severity spanning multiple years. Using a dataset of rare spatiotemporal extent and detail, we demonstrate how independent and interacting local and regional‐scale factors drive shifts in the α and β diversities of communities in dynamic river ecosystems. We examined aquatic invertebrate assemblage responses to hydrological variability (as characterized by monthly observations of instream conditions) at 30 sites over a 12‐year period encompassing typical years and two severe drought disturbances. Sites varied in their disturbance regimes and hydrological connectivity at both local (i.e. site‐specific) and regional (i.e. river catchment) scales. Whereas α diversity was mainly influenced by local factors including flow permanence and the temporal extent of ponded and dry conditions, both temporal and spatial β diversities also responded to regional‐scale metrics such as the spatial extent of flow and hydrological connectivity. We observed stronger local negative responses for taxa with lower capacities to tolerate drying (i.e. resistance) and/or to recover after flow resumes (i.e. resilience), whereas taxa with functional traits promoting resilience made an increasing contribution to spatial β diversity as hydrological connectivity declined. As droughts increase in extent and severity across global regions, our findings highlight the functional basis of taxonomic responses to disturbance and connectivity, and thus advance understanding of how drying disturbances shape biodiversity in river networks. Our identification of the role of regional hydrological factors could inform catchment‐scale management strategies that support ecosystem resilience in a context of global change.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Local and regional drivers influence how aquatic community diversity, resistance and resilience vary in response to drying

Sarremejane

England

Sefton

et al. 2020

Oikos

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Benthic invertebrate samples were collected following a standard kick sampling procedure, with adaptations to promote effective characterisation of temporary stream communities, following England et al . (2019). At each site, 3 min were spent sampling each habitat in proportion to its occurrence.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The regulatory agencies responsible for biomonitoring require robust methods that efficiently characterise biological communities, with appropriate adaptation to reflect environmental conditions in temporary streams (Stubbington et al ., 2018). During wet phases, benthic fauna may be sampled using standard kick sampling supplemented by manually disturbing sediments beneath shallow water and capturing displaced invertebrates (England et al ., 2019). After the water table declines beneath the bed, aquatic invertebrates may seek refuge in the subsurface (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aquatic and terrestrial invertebrate community responses to drying in chalk streams

Bunting

England

Gething

et al. 2020

Water & Environment J

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Temporary streams are dynamic ecosystems that shift between wet and dry states and include the ‘winterbourne’ chalk streams of south England. Our understanding of temporary stream biodiversity is biased, with most research to date exploring aquatic invertebrate communities in benthic sediments during flowing phases. We surveyed the invertebrate communities of the Candover Brook chalk stream, comparing aquatic (benthic, hyporheic) and terrestrial communities in reaches with different flow permanence regimes. We used kick and Bou–Rouch sampling methods to collect aquatic invertebrates, and compared the terrestrial communities characterised by pitfall traps and ground searches and in different seasons. Although aquatic taxa richness was lower in temporary compared to perennial reaches, the total biodiversity of temporary stream channels was enhanced by contributions from both aquatic and terrestrial species, including several of conservation interest. We recommend that both aquatic and terrestrial communities should be considered in research and monitoring to characterise the biodiversity and ecological quality of temporary streams.

show abstract

“…In most cases, the optima outlined for the lentic-lotic conditions matched the common classifications of taxa into rheophilic and lentic groups (e.g. Buffagni, Cazzola, López-Rodríguez, Alba-Tercedor, & Armanini, 2009;England et al, 2019;Extence, Balbi, & Chadd, 1999;Graf, Murphy, Dahl, Zamora-Munoz, & López-Rodríguez, 2008).…”

Section: Association Of Taxa To Specific Lenticlotic Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 61%

The lentic and lotic characteristics of habitats determine the distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates in Mediterranean rivers

Buffagni

2020

Freshwater Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

1. The importance of flow-related factors to benthic organisms, as well as the role of habitat conditions in shaping aquatic communities during low-flow periods, have been recognised. Despite this, the preferences of macroinvertebrates to the ratio of lentic to lotic habitats at the reach scale have not been accurately quantified in most instances. 2. Aquatic invertebrates and habitat features in a range of temporary rivers in Sardinia were investigated. The investigation focused on the flow-related characteristics that contribute to defining the lentic-lotic condition of the river reaches. The relation of habitat features to benthic taxa distributions was assessed using multidimensional scaling. The main aim of the paper was to quantify the responses of taxa to the different lentic and lotic habitat conditions by applying hierarchical logistic regressions. Finally, taxon optima were aligned along the lentic-lotic gradient and the responses of different taxonomic groups compared. 3. Unbroken waves and imperceptible flow were correlated with benthic taxa variability, suggesting local hydraulics and turbulence have a major role in regulating community composition. The overall lentic-lotic character of the river reaches was also clearly related to the benthic taxa distribution. More than 80% of taxa were significantly related to the lentic-lotic gradient, and an asymmetrical response curve was the predominant model. 4. Benthic groups showed taxon optima clustered in different ranges of the lentic-lotic gradient. Odonata, Coleoptera, Hemiptera, and Mollusca preferred clearly lentic conditions. Diptera mainly ranged on the lotic side of the gradient, while Trichoptera were relatively uniformly distributed across the gradient. Ephemeroptera taxa clustered in intermediate lentic-lotic conditions, with two species preferring extremely lentic habitats. In general, optima converged at intermediate and extremely lentic conditions, presumably due, respectively, to the coexistence of different lentic and lotic features and to the highly diverse environmental characteristics under extremely lentic situations. 5. These results support the conclusion that dissimilar ecological factors act on benthic taxa along the lentic-lotic range and species favouring different lenticlotic conditions are subjected to pressures of different nature. This should not

show abstract

An invertebrate-based index to characterize ecological responses to flow intermittence in rivers

Cited by 20 publications

References 28 publications

Local and regional drivers influence how aquatic community diversity, resistance and resilience vary in response to drying

Local and regional drivers influence how aquatic community diversity, resistance and resilience vary in response to drying

Aquatic and terrestrial invertebrate community responses to drying in chalk streams

The lentic and lotic characteristics of habitats determine the distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates in Mediterranean rivers

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About