Influence of riparian habitat on aquatic macroinvertebrate community colonization within riparian zones of agricultural headwater streams

Abstract

Little is known about aquatic macroinvertebrate colonization of aquatic habitats within riparian zones of headwater streams in the midwestern United States. Many headwater streams and their riparian habitats in this region have been modified for agricultural drainage. Riparian habitat modifications caused by agricultural drainage may influence aquatic macroinvertebrate colonization within the riparian zones of headwater streams. However, the effects of agricultural drainage-induced riparian modifications have not been evaluated because others have focused on the impact of agricultural drainage on aquatic macroinvertebrates within the streams. We placed water-filled mesocosms in the riparian zones of two channelized and two unchannelized streams in central Ohio and sampled them from June to August 2009 to determine if differences in physical habitat, water chemistry, and aquatic macroinvertebrate colonization occurred between riparian zone types and among sampling dates. Canopy cover was greater in unchannelized than channelized riparian zones. Dissolved oxygen was greater in channelized than unchannelized riparian zones only during the latter half of the study. Turbidity and nutrients progressively increased throughout the study. Taxa richness was greater in unchannelized than channelized riparian zones. Copepod relative abundance, zooplankton relative abundance, and Shannon diversity index was greater in unchannelized than channelized riparian zones only during the latter half of the study. Abundance, taxa richness, culicid relative abundance, and dipteran relative abundance increased from the beginning of the study to the end. Our results indicate aquatic community colonization in the riparian zones of headwater streams is influenced by riparian habitat type and nutrients.

Planting grass filter strips: Does it influence the structure and function of riparian habitats of agricultural headwater streams?

“…These results are consistent with others [4,8,[37][38][39][40] who documented how changes in riparian structure alters Our results are also consistent with others [13,[41][42][43] who have documented decreased water temperatures within containers or aquatic habitats within forested riparian habitats having greater canopy cover than those within herbaceous riparian habitats. Williams et al [41] documented that containers placed in forested habitats had reduced water temperatures compared to containers placed in open fields in Canada.…”

“…Mokany et al [43] also found that increasing the amount of the shade found over temporary pools in Australia reduced water temperature within the pools. Despite an inability to account for the effect of time of day on water temperature measurements, Seger et al [13] periodically observed that water temperatures in water filled containers within forested riparian habitats having greater canopy cover were less than water temperatures in containers within herbaceous riparian habitats with less canopy cover adjacent to agricultural headwater streams in central Ohio.…”

“…Agriculturally induced changes in riparian structure and function lead to habitat simplification, changes in trophic structure, and reduced biodiversity within riparian habitats of agricultural streams [11][12][13].…”

Biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from an urban forest fragment in Central Amazon (Brazil): Effects of opening areas on abundance, richness, and composition

“…In general, higher invertebrate richness and abundance are commonly observed in forested rather than non-forested areas, and these areas also differ in species composition (Blaustein et al 1999, Ngai et al 2008, Seger et al 2012). These differences can be attributed mainly to the greater input of detritus in containers in the closed area (Kling et al 2007, Yee andJuliano 2007).…”

“…Thus, closed areas provide higher availability of food and habitats for different species, which can stimulate oviposition (Reiskind and Wilson 2004). Moreover, other factors may influence the community of Ceratopogonidae, such as predation or abiotic variables (Seger et al 2012, Rubio et al 2013.…”