Factors structuring macroinvertebrate communities in a headwater stream and its springs in the Upper Austrian Limestone Alps

The Almbach, a headwater stream in the Upper Austrian foothills of the Alps bordered by mountain pastures was studied to gain insight into the benthic macroinvertebrate community and its habitat. Two springs, one of them fenced in to prevent livestock access, and two more sites of the headwater section were investigated. A discriminant analysis (DA) based on hydrochemistry and phytobenthos revealed three functions with 86% of all samples correctly classified to the four sites. The first function clearly separated the two springs with phosphorus and oxygen as the most important discriminating factors. Spring sites and headwater sites were split up by the second function mainly due to nitrate concentration, but no differences could be detected for the two stream sites. With the exception of the fenced spring, indicator taxa could be assigned to all sites by means of an Indicator Species Analysis (ISA). Polyvalent taxa groups such as Gastropoda and Ostracoda were indicators for the unfenced spring site. This is in accordance to observed low abundances of sensitive plecopteran taxa and suggests a negative impact of livestock trampling on the invertebrate community. Redundancy Analysis explained 99% of the macroinvertebrate‐environment relation. The first axis separated springs from stream sites and was correlated with nitrate, pH, water temperature and phytobenthos eveness. Phosphorus was responsible for splitting the unfenced spring and the downstream station from the fenced spring and the upstream location along the second axis. Ephemeropteran taxa like Habrophlebia sp. were related to elevated pH, increased water temperature and low nitrate concentrations. In accordance to the ISA, nitrate played an important role for tolerant Gastropoda and Ostracoda at the unfenced spring. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Desiccation and recolonization of phytobenthos in a regulated desert river: Colorado River at Lees Ferry,Arizona, USA

We tested the recolonization of the phytobenthic community in the tailwaters of Glen Canyon Dam following long- and short-term experimentally induced desiccation. The response of Cladophora glomerata, Oscillatoria spp., miscellaneous phytobenthos species and periphyton was studied over 18 weeks using three treatments: (1) undisturbed control cobbles from the submerged zone; (2) cobbles desiccated and replaced into the submerged zone; and (3) cobbles desiccated and replaced into the varial zone. Periphyton density and compositional response resulting from these treatments were also examined. Desiccation treatments were significantly different in biomass from controls throughout the study. The biomass of desiccated and replaced river cobbles averaged <30% of the controls for C. glomerata and periphyton during the 18-week recolonization period. In contrast, the biomass of the control Oscillatoria and miscellaneous phytobenthos species averaged only 3 and 50% of that in the desiccation treatments, respectively. Cladophora, the dominant alga, comprised 77% of the phytobenthic biomass. A significant positive relationship between discharge, Cladophora and periphyton biomass was present in all treatments, while there was a negative relationship with discharge for Oscillatoria and miscellaneous phytobenthos species. There was a significant inverse correlation, as well as a pattern of separate biomass dominance, between C. glomerata and Oscillatoria. Cladophora was the dominant phytobenthos species on cobbles below the baseflow and Oscillatoria was dominant on cobbles in the varial zone. In general, the Cladophora biomass decreased under intermittent drying conditions, while Oscillatoria declined under permanently wet conditions. Diatom composition was not significantly different between treatments; however, their density was lower on desiccated cobbles. Diatom density on desiccated cobbles in the submerged and varial zones averaged 69 and 42% of that of the controls, respectively. Recovery and maintenance of benthic resources are hindered by fluctuating flow regimes driven by electricity and irrigation requirements. Repeated desiccation of the phytobenthos has major effects on the bottom-up interactions in the Colorado River ecosystem. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.