The ordination of benthic invertebrate communities in the South Platte River Basin in relation to environmental factors

Abstract

SUMMARY 1. Spatial patterns of benthic‐invertebrate communities were examined in the 62 900 km2 South Platte River Basin in Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming, U.S.A., to determine major environmental factors associated with invertebrate distribution. Stable substrates were sampled semiquantitalively for invertebrates from 27 July to 7 August 1992, at twenty‐one sites. Data on physical and chemical variables were collected concurrently at each site. 2. Four site groups were identified using derrended correspondence analysis (DCA), one in the mountains and three in the plains (braided channels, tributaries near the confluence with the main stem, and sites affected by effluent from wastewater‐treatment plants). DCA axis 1 separated sites into the two major ecoregions (Southern Rocky Mountains and Western High Plains), and regression of DCA axis 1 with environmental variables indicated significant relationships primarily with slope, water temperature, specific conductance, and concentrations of organic nitrogen + ammonia and total phosphorus in surface water. Regression of DCA axis 2 with environmental variables indicated significant relationships with channel width and concentrations of nitrate + nitrite in surface water. 3. Invertebrate community composition and structure varied between ecoregions with greater number of taxa and number of insect families in mountain streams than in plains streams. Within an ecoregion, land use affected the invertebrate community. 4. Factors affecting invertebrate community distribution in stream ecosystems are scale dependent.

The relative influence of geographic location and reach-scale habitat on benthic invertebrate assemblages in six ecoregions

“…However, in ecoregions like the Plateau, water temperature and elevation were not highly correlated (r = −0.12) due to the influence of ground water and surface-irrigation water used for agriculture (Munn et al 2002). Water temperature commonly is reported to be an important variable controlling benthic invertebrate assemblages (Tate and Heiny 1995;Griffith et al 2001;Friberg et al 2001), due to growth and life cycle requirements (Sweeney and Vannote 1984).…”

Environmental Factors Influencing Local Fish Species Richness and Differences between Hydroregions in South‐Western France

“…During the last decades, there have been many attempts to produce stream classifications based on aquatic community features (e.g., ILLIES and BOTOSENEANU, 1963;GIBON and STATZNER, 1985;OMERNIK, 1987;WHITTIER et al, 1988;TATE and HEINY, 1995). Nevertheless, few typological systems have had more than local acceptance (PENNAK, 1971).…”

“…Several authors have thus emphasized the importance of geographic differences in biotic and abiotic characteristics of streams (CULP and DAVIES, 1982;ORENDT, 2003), so that classification has become an integral part of efforts to study, monitor and manage ecosystems at a regional scale (WARREN, 1979;OMER-NIK, 1987;TATE and HEINY, 1995;SANDIN and JOHNSON, 2000). The identification of areas containing rivers with similar biological and environmental characteristics may help in selecting reference rivers for impact assessments, or in selecting monitoring sites from which results may be extrapolated regionally (RHOM et al, 1987).…”

Associations spécifiques chez les macroinvertébrés benthiques et leur utilisation pour la typologie des cours d'eau. Cas du réseau hydrographique Adour-Garonne (France)

“…Au cours des dernières décennies, de nombreuses classifications des cours d'eau basées sur des associations d'espèces aquatiques ont été proposées (Huet 1949, lilies & Botosaneanu 1963, Omernik 1987, Whittier et al 1988, Tate & Heiny 1995. Un intérêt majeur de telles classifications est que la stabilité spatio-temporelle des ces associations peut être utilisée pour définir des sites ou des stations de référence pour une surveillance biologique des rivières (Hughes et al 1986) : tout changement dans la composition et la structure des assemblages spécifiques pourra être la conséquence de modifications environnementales dans un cours d'eau , appartenant à une section longitudinale ou à une région caractérisée par un peuplement type.…”