Developing environmental flow targets for benthic macroinvertebrates in large rivers using hydraulic habitat associations and taxa thresholds
Holistic environmental flows frameworks are built on our understanding of key flow-ecology relationships that support sensitive taxa and critical ecosystem functions under different flow and water level scenarios. Most research on flow-ecology relationships has typically focused on small systems, wi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22012948 |
| _version_ | 1811177003609489408 |
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| author | Bernhard Wegscheider Wendy A. Monk Jennifer Lento Katy Haralampides Mouhamed Ndong Tommi Linnansaari R. Allen Curry |
| author_facet | Bernhard Wegscheider Wendy A. Monk Jennifer Lento Katy Haralampides Mouhamed Ndong Tommi Linnansaari R. Allen Curry |
| author_sort | Bernhard Wegscheider |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Holistic environmental flows frameworks are built on our understanding of key flow-ecology relationships that support sensitive taxa and critical ecosystem functions under different flow and water level scenarios. Most research on flow-ecology relationships has typically focused on small systems, with less known about flow associations, indicator taxa, and environmental thresholds of assemblage change along hydraulic gradients of large non-wadeable rivers. We assessed benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage structure and applied Taxa Indicator Threshold ANalysis (TITAN) on biomonitoring data collected during a six-year period in the Wolastoq | Saint John River in Atlantic Canada. Flow velocity was strongly associated with the distribution and relative abundance of benthic macroinvertebrates in the river, and taxon associations reflected functional adaptations to flow. We identified 33 genus-level indicator taxa that were either positively or negatively associated with flow velocity. Weaker taxa responses were shown for the gradient in median substrate particle size where 22 negatively and positively responding taxa were identified. We predicted changes in indicator taxon abundance under different flow scenarios using a hydrodynamic model, and characterised the distribution and availability of suitable hydraulic habitat patches within a 20 km reach downstream of a large hydropower generating station. These observations set the stage for the development of ecologically-based flow targets to support holistic environmental flow management in large rivers. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T20:02:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-35632d0455bf469fbf0aac68deec7c5f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T20:02:18Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj.art-35632d0455bf469fbf0aac68deec7c5f2023-01-27T04:19:19ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2023-02-01146109821Developing environmental flow targets for benthic macroinvertebrates in large rivers using hydraulic habitat associations and taxa thresholdsBernhard Wegscheider0Wendy A. Monk1Jennifer Lento2Katy Haralampides3Mouhamed Ndong4Tommi Linnansaari5R. Allen Curry6Canadian Rivers Institute, Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB E3B 5A3, Canada; Institute of Ecology and Evolution and the Wyss Academy for Nature at the University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Department of Fish Ecology and Evolution, Swiss Federal Institute of Science and Technology (EAWAG), Kastanienbaum, Switzerland; Corresponding author at: Institute of Ecology and Evolution and the Wyss Academy for Nature at the University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.Environment and Climate Change Canada @ Canadian Rivers Institute, Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB E3B 5A3, CanadaCanadian Rivers Institute, Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick E3B 5A3, CanadaDepartment of Civil Engineering, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick E3B 5A3, CanadaDepartment of Civil Engineering, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick E3B 5A3, CanadaCanadian Rivers Institute, Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB E3B 5A3, Canada; Canadian Rivers Institute, Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick E3B 5A3, CanadaCanadian Rivers Institute, Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB E3B 5A3, Canada; Canadian Rivers Institute, Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick E3B 5A3, CanadaHolistic environmental flows frameworks are built on our understanding of key flow-ecology relationships that support sensitive taxa and critical ecosystem functions under different flow and water level scenarios. Most research on flow-ecology relationships has typically focused on small systems, with less known about flow associations, indicator taxa, and environmental thresholds of assemblage change along hydraulic gradients of large non-wadeable rivers. We assessed benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage structure and applied Taxa Indicator Threshold ANalysis (TITAN) on biomonitoring data collected during a six-year period in the Wolastoq | Saint John River in Atlantic Canada. Flow velocity was strongly associated with the distribution and relative abundance of benthic macroinvertebrates in the river, and taxon associations reflected functional adaptations to flow. We identified 33 genus-level indicator taxa that were either positively or negatively associated with flow velocity. Weaker taxa responses were shown for the gradient in median substrate particle size where 22 negatively and positively responding taxa were identified. We predicted changes in indicator taxon abundance under different flow scenarios using a hydrodynamic model, and characterised the distribution and availability of suitable hydraulic habitat patches within a 20 km reach downstream of a large hydropower generating station. These observations set the stage for the development of ecologically-based flow targets to support holistic environmental flow management in large rivers.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22012948Environmental flowsTaxa indicator threshold analysisLarge river ecologyBiomonitoringRegulated rivers |
| spellingShingle | Bernhard Wegscheider Wendy A. Monk Jennifer Lento Katy Haralampides Mouhamed Ndong Tommi Linnansaari R. Allen Curry Developing environmental flow targets for benthic macroinvertebrates in large rivers using hydraulic habitat associations and taxa thresholds Ecological Indicators Environmental flows Taxa indicator threshold analysis Large river ecology Biomonitoring Regulated rivers |
| title | Developing environmental flow targets for benthic macroinvertebrates in large rivers using hydraulic habitat associations and taxa thresholds |
| title_full | Developing environmental flow targets for benthic macroinvertebrates in large rivers using hydraulic habitat associations and taxa thresholds |
| title_fullStr | Developing environmental flow targets for benthic macroinvertebrates in large rivers using hydraulic habitat associations and taxa thresholds |
| title_full_unstemmed | Developing environmental flow targets for benthic macroinvertebrates in large rivers using hydraulic habitat associations and taxa thresholds |
| title_short | Developing environmental flow targets for benthic macroinvertebrates in large rivers using hydraulic habitat associations and taxa thresholds |
| title_sort | developing environmental flow targets for benthic macroinvertebrates in large rivers using hydraulic habitat associations and taxa thresholds |
| topic | Environmental flows Taxa indicator threshold analysis Large river ecology Biomonitoring Regulated rivers |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22012948 |
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