Analysis of environmental factors determining the abundance and diversity of macroinvertebrate taxa in natural wetlands of Southwest Ethiopia

Mereta, Seid Tiku; Boets, Pieter; Ambelu, Argaw; Malu, Asgdom; Ephrem, Zewdu; Sisay, Addisu; Endale, Hailu; Yitbarek, Menberu; Jemal, Amana; Meester, Luc De; Goethals, Peter

doi:10.1016/j.ecoinf.2011.11.005

Cited by 77 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Other insect groups such as the Hemiptera (e.g. Naucoris, Agraptocorixia, Sigara and Anisops) prefer open water (Bloechl et al 2010;Mereta et al 2012). In our study, these taxa were also more abundant in less vegetated wetlands.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and temporal variation of invertebrate community structure in flood-controlled tropical floodplain wetlands

Dube

Necker

Vuren

et al. 2016

Journal of Freshwater Ecology

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The Phongolo floodplain in South Africa is a unique system because of its biodiversity and socio-economic value. The spatial and temporal changes of invertebrate communities of the downstream floodplain influenced by controlled flooding from an upstream dam are poorly understood. The study investigated the spatial and temporal changes in community assemblage of macroinvertebrates and zooplankton in the permanent wetlands (pans) of the Phongolo floodplain in relation to controlled flooding. This was achieved by sampling during the dry period (September) and after controlled release of water (December). Although controlled flooding did not coincide with significant changes in the taxon diversity of macroinvertebrates and zooplankton, macroinvertebrate regional taxa richness (g-diversity) was relatively higher in the period coinciding with controlled flood (December) compared to the dry period. For zooplankton, regional taxa diversity was similar in both periods. The average local taxa richness (a-diversity) was higher after the controlled flooding period for both macroinvertebrates and zooplankton. Spatial species turnover (b-diversity) was lower after the controlled flooding period suggesting the homogenization of aquatic communities through flooding. The community pattern of macroinvertebrates, but not of zooplankton, significantly changed after the controlled flooding period. The most important local environmental variables determining the distribution of both macroinvertebrates and zooplankton were macrophyte cover and dissolved oxygen. As the invertebrate diversity in this unique floodplain is at least partly dependent on release of water from the dam, future management schemes aimed to meet irrigation demands for agriculture should always consider flooding of the precious floodplain wetlands to maintain ecosystem integrity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and temporal variation of invertebrate community structure in flood-controlled tropical floodplain wetlands

Dube

Necker

Vuren

et al. 2016

Journal of Freshwater Ecology

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“…Understanding the spatial patterns of species distribution is one of the major components in conservation planning mainly under the currently prevailing climate change [1][2][3][4]. With this respect, some areas are comprised of enormous diversity, the other extreme areas are devoid of vegetation while most lie in between teemed with intermediate species diversity [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of the Diversity of Characteristic Species Across Vegetation Ecosystems of Ethiopia

Lemessa¹,

Teka²

2017

EEB

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Abstract:Understanding plant species distribution across ecosystems is fundamental for designing conservation mechanisms at different ecological scales. Here, the aim of this study is to examine the pattern of plant species richness, unique/restricted, endemic and threatened species across eleven vegetation ecosystems of Ethiopia. The species data were compiled from the atlas of the potential vegetation of Ethiopia that describes the plant species by ecosystems and elevational gradients. Moreover, the data on threatened species was collated from the Red List Endemic Trees and Shrubs of Ethiopia and Eritrea. The comparative patterns of these different characteristic species were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Moreover, the relationship between the ecosystem characteristic species richness vs. species unique to each ecosystems; ecosystem characteristic species richness vs. species common to ecosystems; ecosystem characteristic species richness vs. species unique to each ecosystems and species unique to each ecosystems vs. endemic species richness across ecosystems was tested with Pearson's correlation using R statistical program. The results showed that the Acacia-Commiphora woodland bushland ecosystem is comprised of the higher number of species (i.e., 37% of the total ecosystem characteristic species), while in contrast, the Afroalpine belt and Wooded grassland of the western Gambela region ecosystems had lower species richness (i.e., 1.4-1.5%) when compared with the other ecosystems. Dry evergreen Afromontane forest and grassland complex ecosystem is composed of the higher number of species that are common to the majority of other ecosystems, but Desert and semi-desert scrubland does not have any species which are common to other ecosystems. The number of ecosystem characteristic species, endemic and threatened species are higher in Acacia-Commiphora woodland bushland ecosystems and the majority are found in Euphorbiaceae and Fabaceae families. Moreover, the ecosystem characteristic species richness in general and of endemic in particular took hump-shaped pattern where the number of species was higher at "mid altitude". These different patterns may indicate that conserving the whole system only at mega scale may not necessarily mean that the rare/unique, endemic and threatened species are conserved. Therefore, the overall results emphasize the importance of understanding the ecological processes in each ecosystem and the corresponding species specific properties to plan and design conservation system following either ecosystem approach or multiple spatial scales.

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“…Understanding the factors driving the spatial patterns of species composition is critically important in conservation planning [1,2]. However, since vegetation is not spatially uniformly distributed, it is a challenge but also a major task in community ecology to understand such heterogeneity [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Woody Species Composition in Relation to Spatial and Environmental Gradients in Acacia-Commiphora Vegetation Ecosystem of Ethiopia

Lemessa¹

2017

IJNREM

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Abstract:Woody species composition at local scale has been studied well in the tropics. However, how the species composition is related to the spatial and environmental gradients was poorly studied. Here, we examined the effects of the topographic aspects and altitude gradient on the species composition across four sites of Acacia-Commiphora woodland and bushland ecosystem. We collected data on the number of species, number of individuals, dbh and total height for those dbh was ≥ 2.5cm from ten quadrates (size: 50 × 50 m each) along transect of about 2kms laid out in each four sites. Altitude was taken with handheld GPS (Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx) and topographic aspects were recorded for each quadrate. The species composition was dissimilar among the four sites, across altitudinal gradients and topographic aspects. Here, the majority of the rare species are specific to each site, for example, Olea europea is the rare species in site (A) but not recorded in the rest of the three sites. Our overall results underscore the importance of considering the spatial scales and environmental variables in designing conservation methods. Nevertheless, identifying the biotic attributes driving the species composition in the ecosystem envisages further studies.

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Analysis of environmental factors determining the abundance and diversity of macroinvertebrate taxa in natural wetlands of Southwest Ethiopia

Cited by 77 publications

References 56 publications

Spatial and temporal variation of invertebrate community structure in flood-controlled tropical floodplain wetlands

Spatial and temporal variation of invertebrate community structure in flood-controlled tropical floodplain wetlands

Patterns of the Diversity of Characteristic Species Across Vegetation Ecosystems of Ethiopia

Woody Species Composition in Relation to Spatial and Environmental Gradients in Acacia-Commiphora Vegetation Ecosystem of Ethiopia

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