Interannual Variation of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities at Long-Term Monitoring Sites Impacted by Human Activities: Implications for Bioassessment
Bioassessment assumes that ecological conditions remain stable in the absence of environmental changes. Evidence suggests this assumption may hold for reference streams, but knowledge gaps remain for impacted streams. Our study quantified interannual variation of benthic macroinvertebrate communitie...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2019-09-01
|
| Series: | Diversity |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/11/9/167 |
| _version_ | 1797999635400228864 |
|---|---|
| author | Almudena L. Idígoras Chaumel David G. Armanini John A. Schwindt Adam G. Yates |
| author_facet | Almudena L. Idígoras Chaumel David G. Armanini John A. Schwindt Adam G. Yates |
| author_sort | Almudena L. Idígoras Chaumel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Bioassessment assumes that ecological conditions remain stable in the absence of environmental changes. Evidence suggests this assumption may hold for reference streams, but knowledge gaps remain for impacted streams. Our study quantified interannual variation of benthic macroinvertebrate communities, monitored for at least 14 years in eight impacted streams in the Upper Thames River watershed in Ontario, Canada. Benthic communities exhibited moderate interannual variation in relative abundance of EPT (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera) and Chironomidae taxa. Year-to-year changes were reflected in lower community persistence than that observed in studies of reference streams. In contrast, tolerance-based metrics showed minimal interannual variation, suggesting compositional changes were because of taxonomic substitutions, in which one tolerant taxon replaced another. Analyses indicated limited directionality in temporal variation for most bioassessment metrics. An exception was taxa richness, which increased at most sites, possibly because of changes in subsampling. However, no associations between calculated bioassessment metrics and measured environmental factors (stream flow and water chemistry) or sampling procedures were observed. We conclude interannual variation in ecological conditions can be substantial and may not be associated with deterministic factors routinely measured in stream assessments. We recommend increased sampling frequency and traits-based assessment as options for limiting effects of interannual variation on assessment results. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T11:07:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bfa677ec4e3843a59e4bf02a8716c510 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T11:07:48Z |
| publishDate | 2019-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-bfa677ec4e3843a59e4bf02a8716c5102022-12-22T04:28:14ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182019-09-0111916710.3390/d11090167d11090167Interannual Variation of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities at Long-Term Monitoring Sites Impacted by Human Activities: Implications for BioassessmentAlmudena L. Idígoras Chaumel0David G. Armanini1John A. Schwindt2Adam G. Yates3Prothea, Via Alessandro Manzoni, 41, MI 20121 Milano, ItalyProthea, Via Alessandro Manzoni, 41, MI 20121 Milano, ItalyUpper Thames River Conservation Authority, 1424 Clarke Road, London, ON N5V 5B9, CanadaDepartment of Geography, Western University, 1151 Richmond Street, London, ON N6A 5C2, CanadaBioassessment assumes that ecological conditions remain stable in the absence of environmental changes. Evidence suggests this assumption may hold for reference streams, but knowledge gaps remain for impacted streams. Our study quantified interannual variation of benthic macroinvertebrate communities, monitored for at least 14 years in eight impacted streams in the Upper Thames River watershed in Ontario, Canada. Benthic communities exhibited moderate interannual variation in relative abundance of EPT (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera) and Chironomidae taxa. Year-to-year changes were reflected in lower community persistence than that observed in studies of reference streams. In contrast, tolerance-based metrics showed minimal interannual variation, suggesting compositional changes were because of taxonomic substitutions, in which one tolerant taxon replaced another. Analyses indicated limited directionality in temporal variation for most bioassessment metrics. An exception was taxa richness, which increased at most sites, possibly because of changes in subsampling. However, no associations between calculated bioassessment metrics and measured environmental factors (stream flow and water chemistry) or sampling procedures were observed. We conclude interannual variation in ecological conditions can be substantial and may not be associated with deterministic factors routinely measured in stream assessments. We recommend increased sampling frequency and traits-based assessment as options for limiting effects of interannual variation on assessment results.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/11/9/167benthic macroinvertebratesbioassessmentcommunity compositionimpacted streamsinterannual variationlong-term monitoringstream flowwater chemistry |
| spellingShingle | Almudena L. Idígoras Chaumel David G. Armanini John A. Schwindt Adam G. Yates Interannual Variation of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities at Long-Term Monitoring Sites Impacted by Human Activities: Implications for Bioassessment Diversity benthic macroinvertebrates bioassessment community composition impacted streams interannual variation long-term monitoring stream flow water chemistry |
| title | Interannual Variation of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities at Long-Term Monitoring Sites Impacted by Human Activities: Implications for Bioassessment |
| title_full | Interannual Variation of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities at Long-Term Monitoring Sites Impacted by Human Activities: Implications for Bioassessment |
| title_fullStr | Interannual Variation of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities at Long-Term Monitoring Sites Impacted by Human Activities: Implications for Bioassessment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Interannual Variation of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities at Long-Term Monitoring Sites Impacted by Human Activities: Implications for Bioassessment |
| title_short | Interannual Variation of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities at Long-Term Monitoring Sites Impacted by Human Activities: Implications for Bioassessment |
| title_sort | interannual variation of benthic macroinvertebrate communities at long term monitoring sites impacted by human activities implications for bioassessment |
| topic | benthic macroinvertebrates bioassessment community composition impacted streams interannual variation long-term monitoring stream flow water chemistry |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/11/9/167 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT almudenalidigoraschaumel interannualvariationofbenthicmacroinvertebratecommunitiesatlongtermmonitoringsitesimpactedbyhumanactivitiesimplicationsforbioassessment AT davidgarmanini interannualvariationofbenthicmacroinvertebratecommunitiesatlongtermmonitoringsitesimpactedbyhumanactivitiesimplicationsforbioassessment AT johnaschwindt interannualvariationofbenthicmacroinvertebratecommunitiesatlongtermmonitoringsitesimpactedbyhumanactivitiesimplicationsforbioassessment AT adamgyates interannualvariationofbenthicmacroinvertebratecommunitiesatlongtermmonitoringsitesimpactedbyhumanactivitiesimplicationsforbioassessment |