Comparative assessment of macroinvertebrate communities within three Afromontane headwater streams influenced by different land use patterns

Matomela, Nonjabulo H.; Chakona, Albert; Kadye, Wilbert T.

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107972

Cited by 13 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…Similarly, temporal gradients in headwater stream food webs, which are often attributed to seasonal differences in aspects such as photosynthesis‐driven metabolism and temperature‐driven phenological requirements of higher heterotrophic groups (Brett et al, 2017), culminate in temporal variability in community structure and functional interrelationships (Baker et al, 2023). Recent studies within the AWHE have largely demonstrated the importance of temporal heterogeneity in both functional composition and food web dynamics of the headwater streams (Kambikambi et al, 2019a; Matomela et al, 2021). By revealing inconsistent isotopic niche sizes for S. bainsii and A. trevelyani lineages across their sampled ranges, the current study provided evidence of the importance of spatial heterogeneity in food web dynamics and suggests that the likely influence of resource availability and interspecific interactions was largely unpredictable.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trophic niche patterns of endangered Sandelia bainsii and Amatolacypris trevelyani in the Eastern Cape, South Africa: Insights from stable isotope analysis

Kadye,

Nkomo,

Kambikambi

et al. 2024

Aquatic Conservation

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Despite supporting a disproportionately large fraction of the global biodiversity, freshwater ecosystems are ranked as the most highly threatened habitats ahead of both terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Furthermore, many regions are still characterized by limited knowledge on taxonomy and ecology of freshwater fishes. The need for ecological information in understudied regions is important particularly where there are recent discoveries of new species and unique lineages and for threatened and endangered taxa that require conservation management. This study evaluated the trophic ecology of two freshwater fish species Sandelia bainsii and Amatolacypris trevelyani that are both classified as endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. These two species, which are narrow‐range endemics in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, comprise allopatric lineages whose ecology is poorly known. This study used stable isotope analysis to evaluate the food web patterns, explore the trophic niche dynamics and estimate the prey source contributions for the two species in different headwater habitats. The fishes isotopic niche sizes were spatially variable, suggesting the likely importance of stochastic variation in resource availability and probable interspecific interactions. The three lineages within S. bainsii exhibited low isotopic niche overlap onto those of sympatric fishes in most habitats. Isotopic mixing model revealed that these lineages' diets were mostly dominated by gatherers/collectors. In comparison, the two lineages within A. trevelyani exhibited high niche overlap with other species and generally had variable diets. Despite the low and high niche overlap patterns of S. bainsii and A. trevelyani, respectively, the isotopic niche overlap patterns of co‐occurring species onto those of the former suggest the likely lack of competitive hierarchies. The trophic niche patterns of these two endangered species helped to shed some light on the potential invasion risks by non‐piscivorous fishes with opportunistic feeding habits, which could exert competitive interspecific interactions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trophic niche patterns of endangered Sandelia bainsii and Amatolacypris trevelyani in the Eastern Cape, South Africa: Insights from stable isotope analysis

Kadye,

Nkomo,

Kambikambi

et al. 2024

Aquatic Conservation

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“…The selected traits were based on their link to anthropogenic pressures such as sedimentation, stormwater return flow, and organic pollution. These pressures are outcomes of industrial, agricultural, urban, and mining activities (Akamagwuna et al, 2019;Edegbene et al, 2021a;Matomela et al, 2021;Ge et al, 2022;Pandey et al, 2022). For instance, body size has been linked with organic pollution, and body shape with stormwater return flow, while body shape and respiration are linked to sedimentation (Ding et al, 2017;Desrosiers et al, 2019;Edegbene et al, 2021a).…”

Section: Selected Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How do the traits of macroinvertebrates in the River Chanchaga respond to illegal gold mining activities in North Central Nigeria

Edegbene,

Elakhame,

Arimoro

et al. 2023

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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Africa harbours about a third of the world’s largest natural resource reserves of mineral such as gold and diamonds. These vast mineral reserves in Africa are essential to the continent's development and modern industrial society. However, these minerals, including gold, are often illegally mined by locals which leads to biodiversity loss and groundwater and surface water contamination. In the present study, we assess the impact of illegal gold mining (i.e., panning) and other anthropogenic activities on the distribution patterns of macroinvertebrate traits in the River Chanchaga, North central Nigeria. Anthropogenic activities including urban development, agricultural activities, household activities and gold mining are impacting the Chanchaga stream sites samples in Nigeria. We selected four sampling stations (i.e., reaches), denoting increasing disturbance order; Station 1 < Station 2 < Station 4 < Station 3. Four macroinvertebrate traits, body size, mode of respiration, mode of locomotion, and body shape, were selected and categorized into 19 attributes. The trait attributes were assigned to taxa using the fuzzy coding method. The relative abundance of traits in the study river showed that very large body size (>40–80 mm) macroinvertebrates dominated Stations 1 and 2 while large body size (>20–40mm) dominated Station 3. The relative abundance of macroinvertebrates possessing an integument for oxygen diffusion dominated Station 4. The RLQ model showed that traits such as medium body size (>10–20 mm), gills as mode of respiration, and streamlined and spherical body shapes were positively associated with Stations 1 and 2. Conversely, small (>5–10 mm) and very large (>40–80 mm) body sizes, spiracle: vegetative respiration using plant stems, climbing mode of locomotion, and sprawling mode of locomotion were positively associated with Stations 3 and 4. The fourth-corner test revealed that macroinvertebrates with very small (<5mm) and medium body sizes (>10–20 mm), spiracles mode of respiration and climbing mode of locomotion were positively associated with at least one of the following physico-chemical variables: 1) electrical conductivity [EC (μS cm−1)], 2) biological oxygen demand [BOD5 (mg l−1)], 3) sulphate (mg l−1), 4) nitrate (mg l−1) and 5) phosphate (mg l−1). These traits were classified as resilient traits to pollution in our study. On the other hand, macroinvertebrates that possess gills and can swim actively were positively associated with dissolved oxygen and were deemed vulnerable to pollution. Based on our findings, we concluded that anthropogenic activities, especially illegal gold mining, alter the distribution patterns of macroinvertebrates traits and, in turn, the ecological balance of the ecosystem. To forestall further damage to the ecological health of the River Chanchaga, the government should regulate the activities of gold miners.

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“…Although data is limited, the status of African freshwater resources is one of a general decline (Darwall et al, 2011;UNEP-WCMC, 2016). Major concerns have been raised on the effects of pollution, urbanization, landuse change, overexploitation of biological resources, agriculture and invasive species on water quality and quantity, aquatic biodiversity, nutrient cycling, and energy sources supporting food webs (e.g., Masese et al, 2017;Fugère et al, 2018;Sayer et al, 2018;Matomela et al, 2021). These impacts are reducing ecosystem services offered by rivers and their floodplains, and undermining human well-being across the continent (IPBES, 2018).…”

Section: Ecological Status Of African Riversmentioning

confidence: 99%

Editorial: Advances in Biomonitoring for the Sustainability of Vulnerable African Riverine Ecosystems

2021

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Comparative assessment of macroinvertebrate communities within three Afromontane headwater streams influenced by different land use patterns

Cited by 13 publications

References 58 publications

Trophic niche patterns of endangered Sandelia bainsii and Amatolacypris trevelyani in the Eastern Cape, South Africa: Insights from stable isotope analysis

Trophic niche patterns of endangered Sandelia bainsii and Amatolacypris trevelyani in the Eastern Cape, South Africa: Insights from stable isotope analysis

How do the traits of macroinvertebrates in the River Chanchaga respond to illegal gold mining activities in North Central Nigeria

Editorial: Advances in Biomonitoring for the Sustainability of Vulnerable African Riverine Ecosystems

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