Drought Effects on Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community Resilience and Functional Diversity in Wetland Mesocosms

Abstract

This study investigated the impacts of short-term (4 months) and long-term (8 months) drought on benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) communities in wetland mesocosms, focusing on community composition, functional diversity, and resilience mechanisms. Using controlled experiments, we compared BMI communities in three treatments: control (C), short-term drought (S), and long-term drought (L). The results showed that drought duration significantly influenced on some community and functional diversity indices. While the C wetland maintained stable communities, S and L wetlands exhibited distinct recovery patterns post-drought. The S wetland demonstrated higher community similarity to pre-drought conditions compared to the L wetland, suggesting greater resilience to short-term disturbances. Functional diversity indices revealed complex responses, with drought altering feeding habits, living types, and voltinism traits. Long-term drought led to dominance by multivoltine species and reduced functional evenness. This study highlights the importance of drought duration in shaping BMI communities and emphasizes the need for long-term monitoring to understand wetland ecosystem recovery dynamics under climate change scenarios.