Influence of selected environmental factors on macroinvertebrates in mountain streams

Abstract

The objectives of our survey were: to analyze the structure of macroinvetebrate communities in mountain streams in national parks and Biosphere Reserves (Poland, the Slovak Republic), to determine the environmental factors that influence the structure of macroinvertebrate communities and to assess the stream habitats including the bank and channel features, any modifications, land use and channel vegetation. Our results showed that in addition to the conductivity, the altitude, stream gradient and the values of the HQA index that reflected more natural features in the channel and river corridor were most important. The River Habitat Survey (RHS) method reflects not only the morphology but also the relationships between habitat features and the structure of macroinvertebrate communities and it provides a more holistic approach to assessing the health condition of stream ecosystems. Headwater streams support unique macroinvertebrate taxa that are found nowhere else in a catchment and may also constitute refuges for in-stream biota. Some of the least water pollution-tolerant macroinvertebrate taxa were recorded.

Macrophyte and macroinvertebrate patterns in unimpacted mountain rivers of two European ecoregions

“…Our previous studies referred to the environmental factors and biological indices applied to benthic macroinvertebrates and macrophytes both at reference and human-impacted streams in two Ecoregions 9 and 10 ( Lewin et al, 2014). The results of our previous survey showed that temperature of the water, pH, conductivity, stream gradient, altitude and values of the Habitat Quality Assessment index (HQA) were the parameters most associated (statistically significant) with the distribution of benthic macroinvertebrate taxa and values of the metrics in reference mountain streams of Ecoregions 9 and 10 ( Lewin et al, 2013Lewin et al, , 2015. Taking into consideration at the same time both the reference and human-impacted streams of the same Ecoregions, only four environmental variables were important, i.e.…”

Evaluation of land use impact on river water quality using macroinvertebrates as bioindicator in Lahumoko Watershed, Buton Island, Indonesia

“…The velocity and discharge had significantly negative correlation with total individual and family abundance especially Goeridae, and Thiaridae (Lewin et al 2015;Jun et al 2016;Mathers et al 2017), but significantly positive correlation with family Messovelidae that tolerates a high velocity (Wang et al 2016;Nguyen et al 2018). Stream velocity and flow discharge are the most important variable which influences diversity, community composition and spatial pattern abundance of macroinvertebrates (Rawi et al 2013;Nguyen et al 2018).…”

“…The Lahumoko's upstream watershed area is represented by LM1, LM2, and LM3, showing that Ephemeroptera Order's Heptageniidae family and Trichoptera Order's Goeridae family had been found. This group of organisms belongs to the EPT group, very sensitive to pollution, so if these macroinvertebrates are found in the water, the water could be considered unpolluted, so the water quality of those three stations was considered slightly polluted (Young et al 2014;Lewin et al 2015). According to River Continuum Concept, the upstream is dominated by scrapper and shredder (Vannote et al 1980).…”

“…Most macroinvertebrates taxa from Ephemoptera and Trichoptera were negatively correlated with gradient streams, positively correlated with altitude. Several studies showed that these taxa have a negative correlation with river flow altitude (Lewin et al 2015).…”

“…Subsequently, macroinvertebrates provide an ecological response to the river's new environmental conditions in the form of changes in composition, abundance, and diversity (Lewin et al 2015). Macroinvertebrates play a key role in regulating carbon, nutrient deposition and decomposition of organic matter in river ecosystems (Pinna et al 2003;Fonnesu et al 2004;Sangiorgio et al 2004;Minshall et al 2014).…”