Habitat quality–physicochemical water quality–littoral macroinvertebrate community nexus in Lugo Lake (Ethiopia): Priorities for sustainable water resources management

The integration of water quality characteristics with habplot-based habitat quality assessment score (HabQA) has received little attention in ecological quality assessment studies. This study investigated the macroinvertebrate community structure in relation with lake habitat quality and physicochemical water quality variables in Lugo Lake (Ethiopia). Twelve sampling sites (eight agricultural and four recreational) were included. The variation among macroinvertebrates data was significantly explained by HabQA score and soluble reactive phosphorus. The study revealed the greater importance of habitat quality characteristics in comparison with the other conventional physicochemical characteristics on macroinvertebrate community structure. We strongly recommend the use of HabQA system while studying macroinvertebrate community structure for a deeper understanding of the environmental functioning of tropical lakes. The results suggested the need to apply integrated and sustainable protection and management of the lake catchment (including wetlands) to enhance the ecological integrity and hence biodiversity of lakes.