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Long-term changes in community assembly, resistance, and resilience following experimental floods
1Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag, 8600 Duebendorf, Switzerland. Robinson@eawag.ch
Summary
Sequential experimental floods in a regulated river shifted macroinvertebrate community assembly. Community resistance and resilience were independent of these shifts, highlighting evolutionary adaptation to environmental changes.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Riverine Ecology
- Community Ecology
Background:
- Flow-regulated rivers experience altered disturbance regimes.
- Understanding long-term ecological responses to experimental floods is crucial for river management.
- Macroinvertebrate communities are key indicators of river health and ecosystem function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate long-term changes in macroinvertebrate community assembly, resistance, and resilience following a decade of experimental floods.
- To determine the relationship between flood magnitude and impacts on macroinvertebrate density, taxon richness, and periphyton biomass.
- To assess the role of habitat filtering and evolutionary properties in shaping riverine communities under altered flow regimes.
Main Methods:
- Conducted 22 experimental floods over 10 years in a flow-regulated river.
- Monitored physico-chemistry, macroinvertebrates, and periphyton biomass before and after floods.
- Analyzed macroinvertebrate drift and seston during floods using nonmetric dimensional scaling (NMDS) and hysteresis analysis.
Main Results:
- Floods reduced macroinvertebrate density and taxon richness, with larger floods (> 25 m3/s) causing greater impacts.
- Community assembly showed temporal shifts towards a pre-dam assemblage, indicating habitat filtering.
- Community resistance and resilience were not directly related to community assembly shifts, suggesting evolutionary adaptation.
- Macroinvertebrate drift and seston exhibited hysteresis, with larger floods producing higher peaks.
Conclusions:
- Sequential floods drive temporal shifts in riverine macroinvertebrate community assembly.
- Community resistance and resilience appear to be intrinsic evolutionary properties, not solely driven by immediate community composition.
- Long-term ecological perspectives are essential for managing regulated and fragmented river systems effectively.
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