Influence of vegetation cover on the biological traits of pond invertebrate communities

Abstract

Without human intervention, ponds progressively fill up with aquatic vegetation, so that the structure and age of the vegetal formations show great contrasts within a given set of water bodies. We hypothesized that the biological traits of pond invertebrate communities differed significantly among ponds having different vegetal formations. To test this hypothesis, we selected three neighbouring ponds showing a gradient of vegetation cover and type (sparse bryophytes on rocky substrata (pond 1), extensive submerged Chara beds (pond 2), aerial Typha stands (pond 3)), and we studied between-ponds variations in the combinations of species traits. Taxa biomass was monthly recorded in each pond over one year, to take into account species' seasonality. Species traits were described using a fuzzy-coding method and a simultaneous analysis of the two matrices (co-inertia analysis) was used to investigate changes in biological trait composition. Biomass increased from pond 1 to pond 3, and was higher in vegetal than in muddy mesohabitats. Among 25 biological traits, 10 were significantly correlated to the distribution of samples: number of generations per year, cohort production interval, adult longevity, adult size, number of eggs per female, dispersal ability, dispersal mode, consumer level, ingested food type, and feeding group. Invertebrates in pond 1 species allocated much energy to reproduction, while in pond 3 resource use was favoured by larger body size, long-lived organisms, and a higher diversity of feeding groups. Our results suggest that the structure and age of the vegetal formation play role in selecting species traits related to population dynamics and feeding habits.

Temporal dynamics of invertebrate and aquatic plant communities at three intermittent ponds in livestock grazed Patagonian wetlands

“…In an extensive review in North American wetlands, Wissinger (1999) observed that CPOM shredders were rare and so nutrients and energy from detrital resources must enter food webs via FPOM collectors and algal/biofilm grazers. According to Céréghino et al (2008), during the senescence period, aquatic plants at ponds are a source of food for several organisms supplying CPOM and supporting periphyton communities. Annual plants might also produce abundant fast-decaying detritus that should support dense populations of grazers and FPOM collectors, especially chironomids (in our study the functional group of collector-gatherers: JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY 15 Paratanytarsus sp., Paratrichocladius sp.…”

Microdistribution of macroinvertebrates in a temporary pond of Central Italy: Taxonomic and functional analyses

“…These data generally deal with the phenological sequences (Bazzanti et al, 1996, Culioli et al, 2006, differences between temporary and permanent ponds (Bazzanti and Della Bella, 2004), relationships with wet phase duration (Gascon et al, 2008) and vegetation cover (Cé ré ghino et al, 2008), and distributional organization in mesohabitats (Bazzanti et al, 2009).…”

Influences of habitat type and environmental variables on benthic macroinvertebrate communities in a large shallow subtropical lake (Lake Taihu, China)

“…Previous studies have reported several factors that influenced benthic macroinvertebrate communities. These studies suggested that variability in physical factors (e.g., water depth, grain size, habitat complexity and wind exposure) (Sauter and Gu¨de, 1996;Shostell and Williams, 2007;Bazzanti et al, 2009), chemical factors (e.g., nutrients in water and sediment, dissolved oxygen and pH) (Free et al, 2009), and biological factors (e.g., fish predation, macrophytes) (Ce´re´ghino et al, 2008) significantly affect the benthic community.…”