Persistence of Aquatic Insects across Managed Landscapes: Effects of Landscape Permeability on Re-Colonization and Population Recovery

Abstract

Human practices in managed landscapes may often adversely affect aquatic biota, such as aquatic insects. Dispersal is often the limiting factor for successful re-colonization and recovery of stressed habitats. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated the effects of landscape permeability, assuming a combination of riparian vegetation (edge permeability) and other vegetation (landscape matrix permeability), and distance between waterbodies on the colonization and recovery potential of weakly flying insects. For this purpose, we developed two models, a movement and a population model of the non-biting midge, Chironomus riparius, an aquatic insect with weak flying abilities. With the movement model we predicted the outcome of dispersal in a landscape with several linear water bodies (ditches) under different assumptions regarding landscape-dependent movement. Output from the movement model constituted the probabilities of encountering another ditch and of staying in the natal ditch or perishing in the landscape matrix, and was used in the second model. With this individual-based model of midge populations, we assessed the implications for population persistence and for recovery potential after an extreme stress event. We showed that a combination of landscape attributes from the movement model determines the fate of dispersing individuals and, once extrapolated to the population level, has a big impact on the persistence and recovery of populations. Population persistence benefited from low edge permeability as it reduced the dispersal mortality which was the main factor determining population persistence and viability. However, population recovery benefited from higher edge permeability, but this was conditional on the low effective distance that ensured fewer losses in the landscape matrix. We discuss these findings with respect to possible landscape management scenarios.

The influence of environmental factors on water mite assemblages (Acari, Hydrachnidia) in a small lowland river: an analysis at different levels of organization of the environment

“…The terrestrial environment is usually ignored in studies of aquatic organisms, despite the fact that it can be an essential component of population dynamics and community structure in some aquatic taxa (Delettre et al 1992;Delettre and Morvan 2000;Galic et al 2013). Most work considering the effects of landscape structure on biodiversity and spatial distribution of various organisms has been devoted mainly to terrestrial organisms (see Delettre 2005).…”

Development of fauna of water beetles (Coleoptera) in waters bodies of a river valley – habitat factors, landscape and geomorphology

“…In the meantime, highly mobile organisms and good fliers can be greatly influenced by factors from outside the water environment À forests or compact civil structures that pose a physical barrier limiting dispersion would be one such example. The impact of the land environment on features exhibited by many groups of water organisms is emphasized in, among others, Delettre et al (1992), Delettre and Morvan (2000) and Galic et al (2013). Richards and Host (1994) and Richards et al (1996), on the other hand, point to factors such as landscape structure and landscape utilization as being of major importance in the shaping of water biocenoses.…”

“…In recent decades, scientists have gained a better understanding of just how important landscape factors are to water environments and the groups of macroinvertebrates inhabiting them; those factors including geomorphology, landscape structure and landscape utilization (Castella et al, 1991;Delettre et al, 1992;Richards and Host, 1994;Richards et al, 1996;Delettre and Morvan, 2000;Galic et al, 2013;Zawal et al, 2016b,c). Not any less important are human activities performed on the river itself, a clear example of which can be seen in the studied River Krąpiel (SzlauerŁukaszewska and Zawal, 2014;Bańkowska et al, 2015;Dąbkowski et al, 2016;Stępień et al, 2015;Zawal et al, 2015;2016d;Płaska et al, 2016).…”

Natural and Anthropogenic Disturbance Influences on Aquatic Biological Diversity in the Pacific Northwest

“…Drifting Ephemeropterans were early and successful colonizers in newly formed physical habitat after a debris flow [29]. Because flighted dispersal limits recolonization by particularly weak flyers like these two groups [31], rapid colonization would be more likely to result from upstream drift.…”