Effects of water-depth and water-level fluctuations on the macroinvertebrate community structure in the littoral zone of Lake Constance

Baumgärtner, Daniel; Mörtl, Martin; Rothhaupt, Karl‐Otto

doi:10.1007/s10750-008-9475-0

Cited by 56 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…When these become connected to the lake water, larval stages may be large enough to escape from predators. Only larger instars were found in benthos samples in Lake Constance (Scheifhacken et al, 2007;Baumgaertner et al, 2008) supporting our view that the exposed hypolacustric zone provides an important habitat for larval development of this and other taxa, such as the stonefly genus Leuctra, whose larvae were also found in the same habitat in an earlier study (Korn, 2001). In Britain, Humpesch (1980) found an egg diapause in running water populations of E. dispar but not in lake populations; however, these lakes may have other hydrological conditions as Lake Constance.…”

Section: Discussion Afp Versus Sfp Effectssupporting

confidence: 88%

Flood pulse effects on benthic invertebrate assemblages in the hypolacustric interstitial zone of Lake Constance

O’Leary

Wantzen

2012

Ann. Limnol. - Int. J. Lim.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

-In contrast to rivers, the effects of water level fluctuations on the biota are severely understudied in lakes. Lake Constance has a naturally pulsing hydrograph with average amplitudes of 1.4 m between winter drought and summer flood seasons (annual flood pulse (AFP)). Additionally, heavy rainstorms in summer have the potential to create short-term summer flood pulses (SFP). The flood pulse concept for lakes predicts that littoral organisms should be adapted to the regularly occurring AFP, i.e. taking advantage of benefits such as an influx of food sources and low predator pressure, though these organisms will not possess adaptations for the SFP. To test this hypothesis, we studied the aquatic invertebrate assemblages colonizing the gravel sediments of Lake Constance, the AFP in spring and a dramatic SFP event consisting of a one meter rise of water level in 24 h. Here, we introduce the term 'hypolacustric interstitial' for lakes analog to the hyporheic zone of running water ecosystems. Our results confirm the hypothesis of contrasting effects of a regular AFP and a random SFP indicating that the AFP enhances the productivity and biodiversity of the littoral zone with benthic invertebrates displaying an array of adaptations enabling them to survive. The littoral zones of lakes deliver important ecosystem services by regulating flood effects, producing biomass and supporting biodiversity. To maintain and foster these services, the maintenance or reintroduction of natural water level fluctuations and the conservation of the habitat structures of the hypolacustric interstitial are urgently needed.

show abstract

Section: Discussion Afp Versus Sfp Effectssupporting

confidence: 88%

Flood pulse effects on benthic invertebrate assemblages in the hypolacustric interstitial zone of Lake Constance

O’Leary

Wantzen

2012

Ann. Limnol. - Int. J. Lim.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Many shredder species start their life cycle already in autumn during leaf fall and reach their maximum biomass during autumn and spring (Cummins et al, 1989;Bjelke, 2005). Earlier studies from the same site (Baumgärtner, 2004) documented that in Lake Constance, Gammarus roeseli has high biomass during winter and decreasing abundances until March. In spring, abundances increase due to reproduction, whereas biomass reaches a minimum in summer.…”

Section: Importance Of Shreddersmentioning

confidence: 90%

Leaf litter degradation in the wave impact zone of a pre-alpine lake

et al. 2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Contrary to streams, decomposition processes of terrestrial leaf litter are still poorly understood in lakes. Here, we examined the decomposition of two leaf species, beech (Fagus sylvatica) and poplar (Populus nigra 'italica') in the littoral zone of a large pre-alpine lake at a wave exposed site. We focussed on the shredding impact of benthic invertebrates in a field experiment and on the effects of wave-induced disturbances under field and mesocosm conditions. In contrast to our expectations, benthic shredders did not reveal an important role in leaf processing under the conditions of the field experiment (early spring time, wave impact zone). Strong wave turbulence during storm events significantly reduced leaf mass, FPOM and invertebrate densities at field conditions. Several reasons can explain the low importance of shredders in our field study: (a) phenology of the shredder species, (b) feeding preferences and alternative food sources for gammarids, (c) generally low abundance of the native gammarid species due to the recent occurrence of an invasive predator, (d) disturbance of shredder activity due to high wave impact and (e) relatively low food value of the offered leaves. We suggest that leaf litter decomposition in lakes occurs in specific process domains, which largely depend on the hydraulic characteristics and on water-level fluctuations.

show abstract

“…Many studies have been conducted to assess the influence of WL variations on the community of fish or other aquatic organisms (Pompeu, Godinho, 2006;Paulovits et al, 2007;Baumgärtner et al, 2008;Zohary, Ostrovsky, 2011;Dutterer et al, 2013). These studies demonstrated that both the fluctuations of water levels in natural environments (caused by annual cycle and climate change), as well as in reservoirs and other artificial water bodies, promoted impacts on the fish communities and other components of the aquatic biota, as well as in water quality parameters.…”

Section: E160084[2]mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of reservoirs water level variations on fish recruitment

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The construction of hydroelectric power plants has many social and environmental impacts. Among them, the impacts on fish communities, which habitats are drastically modified by dams, with consequences across the ecosystem. This study aimed to assess the influence of water level (WL) variations in the reservoirs of the Itá and Machadinho hydroelectric plants on the recruitment of fish species from the upper Uruguay River in southern Brazil. The data analyzed resulted from the WL variation produced exclusively by the hydroelectric plants generation and were collected between the years 2001 and 2012. The results showed significant correlations between the abundance of juvenile fish and the hydrological parameters only for some reproductive guilds. The species that spawn in nests showed, in general, a clear preference for the stability in the WL of the reservoirs, while the species that spawn in macrophytes or that release demersal eggs showed no significant correlation between the abundance of juvenile fish and hydrological parameters. A divergence of results between the two reservoirs was observed between the species that release semi-dense eggs; a positive correlation with a more stable WL was only observed in the Machadinho reservoir. This result can be driven by a wider range of WL variation in Machadinho reservoir.Keywords: Hydrological Parameters, Itá, Juveniles, Machadinho, Reproduction, Uruguay River.A construção de usinas hidrelétricas implica em diversos impactos sociais e ambientais. Dentre esses, o impacto causado sobre a comunidade de peixes, cujos habitats são drasticamente modificados pelas barragens, causam consequências em todo o ecossistema. Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a influência da variação dos níveis de água dos reservatórios das usinas hidrelétricas de Itá e Machadinho sobre o recrutamento das espécies de peixes do alto rio Uruguai, sul do Brasil. Os dados analisados resultaram da variação de nível de água decorrente exclusivamente da operação da usina e foram coletados entre os anos de 2001 e 2012. Os resultados mostraram correlações significativas entre a abundância dos juvenis de peixes e os parâmetros hidrológicos apenas para determinadas guildas reprodutivas. As espécies que desovam em ninhos mostraram, em geral, uma clara preferência pela estabilidade do nível de água dos reservatórios, enquanto que as espécies que desovam em macrófitas ou que liberam ovos demersais não mostraram correlação significativa entre a abundância de juvenis com os parâmetros hidrológicos. Uma divergência de resultados entre os dois reservatórios foi observada entre as espécies que liberam ovos semi-densos, onde apenas no reservatório de Machadinho houve correlação positiva com a maior estabilidade do nível de água. Esse resultado pode ser motivado pela maior amplitude de variação do nível de água no reservatório de Machadinho quando comparado com o de Itá.

show abstract

Effects of water-depth and water-level fluctuations on the macroinvertebrate community structure in the littoral zone of Lake Constance

Cited by 56 publications

References 35 publications

Flood pulse effects on benthic invertebrate assemblages in the hypolacustric interstitial zone of Lake Constance

Flood pulse effects on benthic invertebrate assemblages in the hypolacustric interstitial zone of Lake Constance

Leaf litter degradation in the wave impact zone of a pre-alpine lake

Effects of reservoirs water level variations on fish recruitment

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About