Degraded functional structure of macroinvertebrates caused by commercial sand dredging practices in a flood plain lake

Meng, Xingliang; Chen, Juanjuan; Li, Zhengfei; Liu, Zhenyuan; Jiang, Xuan-Kong; Ge, Yihao; Cooper, Keith; Xie, Zhicai

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114415

Cited by 13 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…In this study, we explored the influence of elevated sediments on the distribution patterns of macroinvertebrate traits and ecological preferences in selected streams in the Tsitsa River Catchment, Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Our results showed that elevated suspended sediments differentially affected macroinvertebrate traits and ecological preferences, consistent with other freshwater studies, e.g., [8,[47][48][49], marine [29] and wetlands ecosystems [29] who have demonstrated significant effects of fine sediments on macroinvertebrate traits. Traits such as collector-filterer, CPOM, and a high sensitivity to DO depletion were positively associated with the control sites; they were identified as potentially sensitive traits of suspended fine sediments.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Exploring Macroinvertebrates Ecological Preferences and Trait-Based Indicators of Suspended Fine Sediment Effects in the Tsitsa River and Its Tributaries, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Ntloko

Palmer

Akamagwuna

et al. 2021

Water

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The taxonomy-based response pattern of macroinvertebrates to sediment stress is well established, with tolerant taxa increasing in impacted conditions, while sensitive taxa decrease along a deteriorating water quality gradient. However, the distribution patterns of traits in response to environmental stress gradient, including suspended sediments, remain unclear, particularly in Africa, where trait-based studies are under-explored. We examined the distribution patterns of macroinvertebrate traits along a suspended sediment stress gradient and identified tolerant and sensitive traits for suspended sediment stress. We sampled macroinvertebrates and environmental variables seasonally in winter, spring, summer and autumn of 2016 to 2018 in eight selected sites in the Tsitsa River and its tributaries. We selected 12 traits and ecological preferences, resolved them into 47 trait attributes, and analysed them using the RLQ and fourth-corner analyses. Our results revealed that macroinvertebrate traits and ecological preferences were differentially influenced by fine suspended sediments in the Tsitsa River and its tributaries. Traits such as a preference for CPOM, collector-filtering, and a high sensitivity to oxygen depletion, were deemed sensitive to suspended sediments stress, exhibiting positive associations with the control sites, and negatively associated with any of the environmental parameters (sediment grain sizes, turbidity, TSS and EC). Tolerant indicator traits included a high tolerance of oxygen depletion, skating and a preference for FPOM. The fourth-corner analysis results indicated that suspended fine sediment grain sizes, (including coarse sand, fine silt and clay) were the most important variables influencing macroinvertebrate trait distribution patterns during the dry season, while gravel, mud and medium sand were more important during the wet season. Overall, our study provided critical insights towards trait-based responses of macroinvertebrates communities to suspended sediment stress, key information that could stimulate the development of macroinvertebrate trait-based biomonitoring tools for the assessment of suspended sediment stress in the Afrotropical region.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Exploring Macroinvertebrates Ecological Preferences and Trait-Based Indicators of Suspended Fine Sediment Effects in the Tsitsa River and Its Tributaries, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Ntloko

Palmer

Akamagwuna

et al. 2021

Water

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“…sea gulls, sea bream, polychaetes) (Fuirst et al 2018;Pilo ´et al 2019;). These generalist taxa can rapidly colonise modified habitats, out-compete specialised species for resources, and thrive in modified landscapes and seascapes that also offer a reprieve from their natural predators (Ewers and Didham 2006;Estes et al 2011;Meng et al 2020). The ecological effects of terrain reprofiling from dredging might, therefore, have a range of structural and functional consequences for biodiversity, food-webs and ecosystem health, not all of which are negative, and these should be considered when implementing conservation and restoration initiatives in modified seascapes (Fraser et al 2017;Wenger et al 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dredging fundamentally reshapes the ecological significance of 3D terrain features for fish in estuarine seascapes

et al. 2022

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Context Landscape modification alters the condition of ecosystems and the structure of terrain, with widespread impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Seafloor dredging impacts a diversity of flora and fauna in many coastal landscapes, and these processes also transform three-dimensional terrain features. The potential ecological significance of these terrain changes in urban seascapes has, however, not been investigated. Objectives We examined the effects of terrain variation on fish assemblages in 29 estuaries in eastern Australia, and tested whether dredging changes how fish associate with terrain features. Methods We surveyed fish assemblages with baited remote underwater video stations and quantified terrain variation with nine complementary metrics (e.g. depth, aspect, curvature, slope, roughness), extracted from bathymetry maps created with multi-beam sonar. Results Fish diversity and abundance were strongly linked to seafloor terrain in both natural and dredged estuaries, and were highest in shallow waters and near features with high curvature. Dredging, however, significantly altered the terrain of dredged estuaries and transformed the significance of terrain features for fish assemblages. Abundance and diversity switched from being correlated with lower roughness and steeper slopes in natural estuaries to being linked to features with higher roughness and gentler slopes in dredged estuaries. Conclusions Contrasting fish-terrain relationships highlight previously unrecognised ecological impacts of dredging, but indicate that plasticity in terrain use might be characteristic of assemblages in urban landscapes. Incorporating terrain features into spatial conservation planning might help to improve management outcomes, but we suggest that different approaches would be needed in natural and modified landscapes.

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“…The importance of organisms as bioindicators needs to be studied per group [22], including their establishment, spatio-temporal relationships, and ecological parameters [23] to understand the role of each group in land recovering programs [24]. The reestablishment of the ecological functions of organisms is the main parameter to evaluate programs of environment recovering focusing mainly on the plant structure, but it does not guarantee its effectiveness [25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological indexes of arthropods on Sapindus saponaria plants with dehydrated sewage sludge as fertilizer

Teixeira

Leite

Sampaio

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Plant species, monitoring measures, and alternative fertilization with sewage sludge accelerate recovering of degraded areas. The objective of this study was to evaluate the numbers of leaves/branch and branches/plant of Sapindus saponaria L., the ground cover by this plant and the ecological indexes of abundance, diversity, and species richness of insects and spiders, and of their interactions, during 24 months on trees grown in a degraded area with or without dehydrated sewage sludge as fertilizer. The metrics of plant, soil cover, and arthropods were higher on the S. saponaria plants fertilized with dehydrated sewage sludge. The abundance of chewing insects, tending ants, and spiders was greater on larger S. saponaria tree crown. The abundance of these last groups of organisms associated, negatively, with that of Coleoptera, but those of ants reduced that of the predators. The ecological indexes of arthropods on S. saponaria plants shows the suitability of this plant for recovering programs of degraded areas and the use of dehydrated sewage sludge as fertilizer increased these indices and the possibility of using insects and spiders on the crown of this plant as bioindicators.

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Degraded functional structure of macroinvertebrates caused by commercial sand dredging practices in a flood plain lake

Cited by 13 publications

References 45 publications

Exploring Macroinvertebrates Ecological Preferences and Trait-Based Indicators of Suspended Fine Sediment Effects in the Tsitsa River and Its Tributaries, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Exploring Macroinvertebrates Ecological Preferences and Trait-Based Indicators of Suspended Fine Sediment Effects in the Tsitsa River and Its Tributaries, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Dredging fundamentally reshapes the ecological significance of 3D terrain features for fish in estuarine seascapes

Ecological indexes of arthropods on Sapindus saponaria plants with dehydrated sewage sludge as fertilizer

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