Assessing drivers of benthic macroinvertebrate community structure in African highland streams: An exploration using multivariate analysis

Dalu, Tatenda; Wasserman, Ryan J.; Tonkin, Jonathan D.; Alexander, Mhairi E.; Dalu, Mwazvita T.B.; Motitsoe, Samuel N.; Manungo, Kwanele I.; Bepe, Onias; Dube, Timothy

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.06.023

Cited by 53 publications

(15 citation statements)

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“…Chironomidae were the most abundant family during summer, whereas in winter Chironomidae were not identified. These results are similar the findings of Odume and Muller (2011) and Dalu et al (2017b) who observed increased Chironomidae diversity during the summer season. Chironomidae taxa are tolerant to water pollution.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Pollution within wetlands is a growing concern, since it has detrimental effects on human and aquatic species, and this is affecting the wetland biodiversity (Sayadi et al 2010). Hence, a high number of aquatic species are at greater risk of extinction due to pollution caused by agriculture and other human-induced activities on wetlands (Dalu et al 2017b;Nhiwatiwa et al 2017a). Thus, there is a growing concern as very little has been done to address this issue.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing macroinvertebrate communities in relation to environmental variables: the case of Sambandou wetlands, Vhembe Biosphere Reserve

Dalu

Chauke

2019

Appl Water Sci

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The Vhembe Biosphere Reserve, South Africa, contains many wetlands that serve as wildlife habitats and provide vital ecosystem services. Some of the wetlands are continuously being degraded or destroyed by anthropogenic activities causing them to disappear at an alarming rate. Benthic macroinvertebrates are known as good water quality bioindicators and are used to assess aquatic ecosystem health. The current study investigated habitat quality using macroinvertebrate community structure and other biotic variables (i.e. phytoplankton, macrophytes) in relation to environmental variables in the Sambandou wetlands using canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). A total of fifteen macroinvertebrate families were identified over two seasons. The CCA highlighted seven variables, i.e. pH, phosphate concentration, temperature, ammonium, macrophyte cover, conductivity and water depth, which were significant in structuring macroinvertebrate community. Picophytoplankton and microphytoplankton concentrations decreased from winter to summer, whereas nanophytoplankton concentration increased from winter to summer. Thus, the dominance of small-sized phytoplankton indicated nutrient limitation and decreased productivity, whereas winter sites 2 and 3 were dominated by large-celled phytoplankton, highlighting increased productivity. Winter sites were mostly negatively associated with CCA axis 1 and were characterised by high temperature, phosphate and ammonium concentrations, macrophyte cover, pH and conductivity. Summer sites were positively associated with axis 1, being characterised by high water depth and pH levels. The results obtained highlighted that agricultural activities such as cattle grazing and crop farming and sand mining/poaching had a negative effect on macroinvertebrate community structure.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing macroinvertebrate communities in relation to environmental variables: the case of Sambandou wetlands, Vhembe Biosphere Reserve

Dalu

Chauke

2019

Appl Water Sci

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“…Africa Chakona et al 2008;Bredenhand and Samways 2009;Masese et al 2014Masese et al , 2018Dalu et al 2017Asia Qu et al 2005Xiaocheng et al 2008;Lau et al 2009;Jiang et al 2010Jiang et al , 2011Gao et al 2014;Fu et al 2016Australasia Winterbourn et al 1981; Barmuta and Lake 1982;Winterbourn 1982;Lake et al 1985;Ryder and Scott 1988;Harding et al 1999;Thompson andTownsend 2000 Europe Heino et al 2005;Maiolini and Bruno 2006;Manfrin et al 2013;Dossi et al 2018 North America Culp andDavies 1982;Perry and Schaeffer 1987;Grubaugh et al 1996;Delong and Brusven 1998;Rice et al 2001;Rosi-Marshall and Wallace 2002;Grubbs and Taylor 2004;Greathouse and Pringle 2006;Lessard et al 2009;Holt et al 2015;Rosi-Marshall et al 2016;Yates et al 2018;Curtis et al 2018South America Afonso et al 2000Callisto et al 2004;Tomanova et al 2006Tomanova et al , 2007Miserendino 2009;…”

Section: Continent Citationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The River Continuum Concept: lessons from the past and perspectives for the future

Doretto

Piano

Larson

2020

Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

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The River Continuum Concept (RCC) is a milestone in stream ecology because of its comprehensive evaluation of the structure and function of lotic ecosystems. Linking stream physical and geo-morphological attributes with patterns in biodiversity, functional traits, and metabolism dynamics, this theory describes downstream gradients in community composition and ecosystem processes. The aim of this review is to evaluate how the RCC, 40 years from its publication in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, has influenced basic and applied research in stream ecology, focusing on the most important contributions and recent developments. This work puts into perspective the historical significance of the RCC in the scientific process and integrates past and recent theories including metacommunity and metaecosystem theories and the river network perspective to predict taxonomic and functional diversity of benthic communities. Thus, this review provides a unifying overview of the historical context of the field for exploring basic and applied ecological questions to the next generation of stream ecologists.

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“…The MCOA yielded RV values for each taxonomic group, which were generally high (RV from 0.46 to 0.74). Dalu et al 56 examined approximately 5 000 specimens in short-term studies and found RV values that rarely reached a maximum of 0.30. We examined more than 70 000 specimens that made it possible to achieve higher correlation values between environmental factors and macroinvertebrate community.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Assemblages in Rivers Under the Influence of Mining Activities

Rico-Sánchez

Rodríguez-Romero

Sedeño‐Díaz

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Mining is one of the main pollution issues worldwide, causing the greatest disturbances to the environment. Industrial and artisanal mining activities are widespread in Mexico, being a major global producer of various metals. This study aimed to assess the ecological impairments resulting from mining activities using the aquatic macroinvertebrates assemblages (MA). A multiple co-inertia analysis (MCOA) was applied to determine the relationships between environmental factors, habitat quality, heavy metals, and aquatic macroinvertebrates in two rivers of the Central Plateau, Mexico. The results revealed three contrasting environmental conditions and different MA. High concentrations of heavy metals, nutrients, and salinity limit the presence of various families of seemingly sensitive macroinvertebrates, these factors were identified as the drivers of structural changes in the MA, showing that not only mining activities, but also agriculture, and villages in the basin, exert negative effects to the macroinvertebrate communities. Diversity indices showed that the lowest diversity matched with both, the most polluted and the most saline rivers. The rivers studied displayed a high alkalinity and hardness, which can lead to the formation of metal precipitates and thus acting as a protection to aquatic biota. Aquatic biomonitoring in rivers, impacted by mining and other human activities, is critical for detecting the effect of metals and other pollutants to improve management and conservation strategies. This study supports the design of cost-effective and accurate water quality biomonitoring protocols in developing countries.

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Assessing drivers of benthic macroinvertebrate community structure in African highland streams: An exploration using multivariate analysis

Cited by 53 publications

References 50 publications

Assessing macroinvertebrate communities in relation to environmental variables: the case of Sambandou wetlands, Vhembe Biosphere Reserve

Assessing macroinvertebrate communities in relation to environmental variables: the case of Sambandou wetlands, Vhembe Biosphere Reserve

The River Continuum Concept: lessons from the past and perspectives for the future

Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Assemblages in Rivers Under the Influence of Mining Activities

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