Responses of stream macroinvertebrate communities to progressive forest harvesting: Influences of harvest intensity,stream size and riparian buffers

Harvesting of forests causes a range of disturbances, including changes to hydrology, nutrient inputs, water quality, food sources, habitat structure and channel morphology, which can impact streams over several years and are reflected in changes in community structure. We aimed to determine the relative magnitudes of impact and rates of recovery of benthic macroinvertebrate communities, and associated changes in biotic indices (Quantitative Macroinvertebrate Community Index and an Index of Biotic Integrity), in reaches of different sized streams within progressively logged catchments. We conducted annual summer surveys over seventeen years in fifteen New Zealand streams that differed in size (upstream catchment area between 40 and 2360 ha, mean channel widths between 2.5 and 16 m) and harvest intensity in the surrounding catchment. The largest post-harvest changes in biotic indices and community structures occurred in streams draining relatively small to medium catchments (<500 ha) where >40% of the upstream catchment had been harvested, and particularly after harvesting of overstorey riparian vegetation adjacent to study reaches. The impacts of harvest on invertebrate communities were less evident in wider streams draining catchments over 500 ha, but the largest changes from pre-harvest biotic indices and community structure still generally occurred after harvesting of riparian vegetation along these streams. The changes in community structure after harvesting of riparian vegetation typically included increases in the densities of Diptera, Mollusca and Oligochaetes, and decreases in the densities of Ephemeroptera. These results demonstrate that impacts on benthic macroinvertebrate communities increased as the proportion of upstream catchment harvested increased and/or after riparian vegetation was harvested. Some of the communities in headwater streams had largely recovered towards pre-harvest structures, whereas post-harvest recovery was less evident in relatively large streams, over the duration of the study.     

Comparative biodiversity of rivers, streams, ditches and ponds in an agricultural landscape in Southern England

Information about the relative biodiversity value of different waterbody types is a vital pre-requisite for many strategic conservation goals. In practice, however, exceptionally few inter-waterbody comparisons have been made. The current study compared river, stream, ditch and pond biodiversity within an 80 km² area of lowland British countryside. The results showed that although all waterbody types contributed to the diversity of macrophytes and macroinvertebrates in the region, they differed in relative value. Individual river sites were rich but relatively uniform in their species composition. Individual ponds varied considerably in species richness, with the richest sites supporting similar numbers of taxa to the best river sections, but the poorest sites amongst the most impoverished for all waterbody types. At a regional level, however, ponds contributed most to biodiversity, supporting considerably more species, more unique species and more scarce species than other waterbody types. Streams typically supported fewer species and fewer unique species at local and regional level than either ponds or rivers. Ditches (most of which were seasonal) were the least species-rich habitat, but supported uncommon species, including temporary water invertebrates not recorded in other waterbody types. Multivariate analysis indicated that permanence, depth, flow and altitude were the main environmental variables explaining invertebrate and plant assemblage composition. The findings, as a whole, suggest that ponds and other small waterbodies can contribute significantly to regional biodiversity. This contrasts markedly with their relative status in national monitoring and protection strategies, where small waterbodies are largely ignored.     

宝应湖水体大型底栖无脊椎动物组成和多样性分析

[目的]调查宝应湖水质状况。[方法]于2012年秋季和2013年春季对宝应湖水体大型底栖无脊椎动物的组成和多样性进行了调查。[结果]共采集大型底栖无脊椎动物28种,隶属3门6纲14科。其中,软体动物19种,占67.9%;节肢动物6种,占21.4%;环节动物3种,占10.7%;优势种为赤豆螺、纹沼螺、梨形环棱螺、铜锈环棱螺、中国圆田螺和长角涵螺;2012年秋季宝应湖水体大型底栖无脊椎动物的生物量明显高于2013年春季;湖体水质状况良好。[结论]该研究结果可为宝应湖渔业的可持续发展及水环境保护提供理论依据。     

长江口及邻近海域大型无脊椎动物数量分布及其与环境因子的关系

根据2006年6、8、10月长江口及邻近海域缺氧区底拖网定点捕捞调查资料,分析了长江口及邻近海域大型无脊椎动物群落结构组成及数量分布.结果表明,长江口大型无脊椎动物种类共49种,隶属2纲5目25科37属;生物量组成以蟹类为主,占大型无脊椎动物总生物量的58.20％;个体数密度组成以虾类为主,占大型无脊椎动物总密度的92...     

乌江流域大型底栖动物群落结构及其水质生物评价

为了解乌江流域的底栖动物群落结构和水质状况,2006年7-8月对贵州境内乌江流域干流和16条主要支流共34个断面的底栖动物进行了调查,并利用生物学污染指数(BPI)、Goodnight-Whitley生物指数(G.I)和Shannon-Wiener指数(H)对流域水质进行了评价。共获底栖动物132 种,隶属4门7纲54科,其中线形动物1种,环节动物21种,软体动物37种,节肢动物73种,在种类数上以软体动物和水生昆虫占优势,分别占总物种数的28.03%和53.78%。流域底栖动物密度为22-21712 ind./m2,其中霍甫水丝蚓、凸旋螺相对密度较高,在流域分布较为广泛,是流域的优势种;乌江大桥、沙沱电站、沿河二桥、思渠等断面具有较高的生物多样性(H=2.97~3.56)。底栖动物群落主要包括软体动物或以软体动物为主、软体动物+节肢动物或以软体动物+节肢动物为主、环节动物为主、节肢动物+环节动物或以节肢动物为主等类型,软体动物为群落中的优势种。水质生物评价显示：基于BPI, 有21个断面受到轻度到中度污染;基于H, 有31个断面受到中度到严重污染;基于G.I, 则34个断面分别受到轻度到严重污染。为使流域水质得到改善,必须对污染源进行控制。