Temporal trends in algae, benthic invertebrate, and fish assemblages in streams and rivers draining basins of varying land use in the south-central United States, 1993–2007

Abstract

Site-specific temporal trends in algae, benthic invertebrate, and fish assemblages were investigated in 15 streams and rivers draining basins of varying land use in the south-central United States from 1993-2007. A multivariate approach was used to identify sites with statistically significant trends in aquatic assemblages which were then tested for correlations with assemblage metrics and abiotic environmental variables (climate, water quality, streamflow, and physical habitat). Significant temporal trends in one or more of the aquatic assemblages were identified at more than half (eight of 15) of the streams in the study. Assemblage metrics and abiotic environmental variables found to be significantly correlated with aquatic assemblages differed between land use categories. For example, algal assemblages at undeveloped sites were associated with physical habitat, while algal assemblages at more anthropogenically altered sites (agricultural and urban) were associated with nutrient and streamflow metrics. In urban stream sites results indicate that streamflow metrics may act as important controls on water quality conditions, as represented by aquatic assemblage metrics. The sitespecific identification of biotic trends and abioticbiotic relations presented here will provide valuable information that can inform interpretation of continued monitoring data and the design of future studies. In addition, the subsets of abiotic variables identified as potentially important drivers of change in aquatic assemblages provide policy makers and resource managers with information that will assist in the design and implementation of monitoring programs aimed at the protection of aquatic resources.

Multi-scale temporal dynamics of epilithic algal assemblages: evidence from a Chinese subtropical mountain river network

“…Temporal dynamics of algal assemblages are frequently addressed in stream ecology Miller et al, 2012) because such studies form an important foundation for answering other complex questions, such as ecological stability mechanisms, succession trends, or disturbance responses of lotic algal assemblages (Angeler, 2009;Angeler et al, 2010;Virtanen et al, 2011;Baho et al, 2012;Schneck Handling editor: Judit Padisák Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10750-015-2603-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. & Melo, 2013).…”

“…During shortterm dynamics, algal structures are controlled primarily by nutrients supply (Passy & Larson, 2011). Considering intra-annual and inter-annual dynamics, algal biomass and biodiversity display distinct seasonal cycles, and community composition changes among seasons and years (Miller et al, 2012;Tan et al, 2014). Long-term fluctuation tendencies of algal assemblages are synchronous with temporal nutrient dynamics and hydrological and climatic regimes (Reid et al, 2006;Korhonen et al, 2013).…”

Effects of Antecedent Streamflow and Sample Timing on Trend Assessments of Fish, Invertebrate, and Diatom Communities

“…Streamflow and temperature are interconnected and influenced by short-term seasonal and long-term cyclical climatic patterns (Mazor et al 2009). Likewise, air temperature data are often used to predict stream temperature (Mohseni et al 1999) or used as a surrogate (Miller et al 2012). In unregulated systems, streamflow is closely related to precipitation patterns in many parts of the U.S. (Groisman et al 2001).…”

Substratum‐Associated Microbiota

“…However diatoms can be used to identify among river variation in environmental characteristics, but detection of within river variation with diatoms is dependent on a variety of factors . Benthic biofilms may be useful for the detection and monitoring of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in freshwater ecosystems (Froehner et al, 2012 central United States and provide information that will be useful for designing future biomonitoring programs to track trends in biota and to identify relationships between biotic and abiotic factors (Miller et al, 2012). For example, periphyton was associated with physical habitat at undeveloped sites but with nutrient and streamflow metrics at sites with anthropogenic influences, such as agricultural and urban areas.…”