Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 6, 2026

Use of Chironomidae Diptera Surface-Floating Pupal Exuviae as a Rapid Bioassessment Protocol for Water Bodies
Published on: July 24, 2015
Relationships between aquatic invertebrate communities, water-level fluctuations and different habitats in a
Aurea Luiza Lemes da Silva1, Mauricio Mello Petrucio2
1Laboratório de Ecologia de Águas Continentais, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, 88040-900, Brazil. aurealuizalemes@gmail.com.
Abstract:
In lakes, the littoral habitat and its invertebrate communities are often exposed to water-level fluctuations. We examined the effects of seasonal changes on water level, substrata availability and benthic fauna in the littoral zone of Peri Lake, a shallow lake that has experienced a strong reduction in water level due to changes in rainfall. In this study, we also examined whether the abundance and composition of aquatic invertebrates differed among the four substrata. Our main objective was to assess the effect of seasonal changes on water level and benthic invertebrates inhabiting the different types of substrata. Benthic invertebrates were sampled four different substrata (Schoenoplectus californicus, sand and stones, allochthonous leaf litter, and macrophyte stands), and we also measured meteorological, physical and chemical variables. We found that complex habitats, such as allochthonous leaf litter and aquatic macrophyte, stand to be colonised by a larger number of macroinvertebrates because they provide more habitats or potential niches for colonisation by different species. In addition, we observed that during periods of low water level, the presence of substrata in the littoral zone decreased, as did the associated biota. Therefore, our results suggest that water level changes have a major functional impact on the littoral zone of the lake, and can affect substratum availability, which also impacts invertebrate communities.
Related Concept Videos
Habitat Fragmentation
What are Populations and Communities?
The Water Cycle
Relationship Formation
States of Water
Water freezes when the intermolecular forces are greater than the kinetic energy. Unlike most other substances, water is less dense in its solid state than in its liquid state. This is because each water molecule can form...
Levels of Organization
Molecules Are Composed of Atoms, and Biomolecules Are Assembled from Molecules:
The most basic levels include atoms, molecules, and biomolecules. Atoms, the smallest unit of ordinary matter, are composed of a nucleus and electrons. Molecules...

