Modelling lake macroinvertebrate species in the shallow sublittoral: relative roles of habitat, lake morphology, aquatic chemistry and sediment composition

Abstract

Macroinvertebrates are one of the key components of lake ecosystems and are required to be monitored alongside other biological groups to define ecological status according to European Union legislation. Macroinvertebrate communities are highly variable and complex and respond to a diverse series of environmental conditions. The purpose of this study was to examine the relative importance of environmental variables in explaining macroinvertebrate abundance. A total of 45 sub-alpine lakes were sampled for macroinvertebrates in the shallow sublittoral. Environmental variables were grouped into four types: (1) aquatic physical and chemical parameters, (2) littoral and riparian habitat, (3) lake morphometric parameters and (4) sediment chemical characteristics. Nonparametric multiplicative regression (NPMR) was used to model the abundance of individual macroinvertebrate taxa. Significant models were produced for nine out of the 24 taxa examined. Sediment characteristics were the group most frequently included in models and also the factors to which taxa abundance was the most sensitive. Aquatic physical and chemical variables were the next group most frequently included in models although chlorophyll a was not included in any of the models and total phosphorus in only one. This indicates that many taxa may not show a direct easily interpretable response to eutrophication pressure. Lake morphometric factors were included in several of the models although the sensitivity of macroinvertebrate abundance tended to be lower than for sediment and aquatic physical and chemical factors. Habitat factors were only included in three models although riparian vegetation was found to have a significant influence on the abundance of Ephemera danica indicating that ecotone integrity is likely to play a role in its ecology. Overall, the models tended to be specific for species with limited commonality across taxa. Models produced by NPMR indicate that the response of macroinvertebrates to environmental variables can be successfully described but further research is required focussing in more detail on the response of key taxa to relevant environmental parameters and anthropogenic pressures

Effects of environmental factors and predation on benthic communities in headwater streams

“…The importance of water chemistry in governing zoobenthos is well documented. Aquatic chemistry variables are frequently used to explain the variation in macroinvertebrate communities in lentic systems (Heino 2000;Free et al 2009). Alkalinity has been shown to be significant in determining the littoral community composition of lakes close to reference condition in Europe (Little et al 2006) and also as a significant covariate affecting the response of many ecological assessment metrics when tested alongside variables indicative of eutrophication such as total phosphorus and chlorophyll a (O'Toole et al 2008).…”

Influences of habitat type and environmental variables on benthic macroinvertebrate communities in a large shallow subtropical lake (Lake Taihu, China)

“…Previous studies have reported several factors that influenced benthic macroinvertebrate communities. These studies suggested that variability in physical factors (e.g., water depth, grain size, habitat complexity and wind exposure) (Sauter and Gu¨de, 1996;Shostell and Williams, 2007;Bazzanti et al, 2009), chemical factors (e.g., nutrients in water and sediment, dissolved oxygen and pH) (Free et al, 2009), and biological factors (e.g., fish predation, macrophytes) (Ce´re´ghino et al, 2008) significantly affect the benthic community.…”

How representative are subfossil assemblages of Chironomidae and common benthic invertebrates for the living fauna of Lake De Waay, the Netherlands?

“…Several groups of aquatic invertebrates have been shown to be sensitive to changes in their environment (Frey 1964;Smol et al 2001) and are, therefore, often used as indicators in biomonitoring studies (Rosenberg and Resh 1993;Free et al 2009). Not only is the living community indicative of the present state of lakes, but fossil invertebrate assemblages can also provide information about past changes in lake ecosystems (Frey 1964;Rumes et al 2005).…”