Benthic Macroinvertebrate Diversity as Affected by the Construction of Inland Waterways along Montane Stretches of Two Rivers in China

Abstract

Building inland waterways affects the natural structure, formation, and extent of the riverbed and riparian zone. It alters the hydrology and sediment deposition conditions and hence damages the aquatic ecosystem. To address the effects of the construction of inland waterways on the riverine biome, benthic macroinvertebrate communities were compared at different building stages of inland waterways along a gradient of shipping traffic density at two montane rivers in China. The Shannon–Wiener diversity index of the benthic macroinvertebrate communities ranged from 0.4 to 1.6; the lowest value was recorded in the completed inland waterway, while the highest value was recorded in the unaffected stretch. Principal component analysis and canonical correlation analysis showed the communities in the inland waterways to be distinct from those in the natural riparian habitats. Our results suggest that benthic macroinvertebrate communities can reflect the damage done by the hydromorphological modifications caused by building inland waterways. Benthic macroinvertebrate diversity and abundance should therefore be included when assessing the impact of building and operating inland waterways.

Methodological Framework for Assessing Hydromorphological Conditions of Heavily Modified and Artificial River Water Bodies in Croatia

“…Studies of hydromorphological alterations in rivers and/or their impacts on biodiversity are numerous [33][34][35][36][37][38]; however, few papers explicitly deal with HMWBs and AWBs and use adapted assessment methodologies (e.g., [39]). For example, the Polish hydromorphological assessment methodology presented in Garbowski et al [23] does have lower score thresholds for AWBs, but it does not determine MEP or take into consideration mitigation measures, as we did in this study.…”

“…To obtain a complete picture of ecosystem function and distinction of MEP sites, the results of this study should be combined with the results of biological monitoring in order to determine the response of biological communities at different levels of degradation [36,37]. In Croatia, a study on hydromorphological alterations of natural water bodies [54] showed that homogenization of the substrate is especially problematic for invertebrates.…”

Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities as Indicator of the Water Quality of a Suburban Stream in the Littoral Region of Cameroon

“…The disturbances generated by anthropogenic activities on aquatic ecosystems are directly felt by the biological communities in place [24,25]. These include benthic macroinvertebrates, which are the most commonly used in biomonitoring of these ecosystems today because of their sedentary nature and, above all, their different levels of tolerance to environmental pollution [26][27][28].…”