Seasonal variation in benthic invertebrate recolonization of small-scale disturbances in a subtropical Florida lake
✍ Scribed by Andrea Fuller; Bruce C. Cowell
- Publisher
- Springer
- Year
- 1985
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 803 KB
- Volume
- 124
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1573-5141
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Approximately 1 1.5% of the littoral zone of a hypereutrophic Florida lake is disturbed by the construction of spawning beds by the cichlid fish, Sarotherodon aurea, during a single spawning season. Simulations of these beds were created during three seasons of the year to test for variation in recolonization rates and patterns in the benthic macroinvertebrate community.
The seasonal variation in densities of benthic invertebrate populations suggests a direct relationship between reproductive activity and recolonization rate. Recolonization rates of the numerically dominant species, Polypedilum halterale (Diptera: Chironomidae), were much more rapid in the spring and summer than in the winter. In contrast, Hyalella azteca and Glyptotendipesparipes attained peak population densities during the winter season when Polypedilum was present in low densities. These organisms invaded the disturbed area in unusually high abundances and later declined t o background levels. The final result was a winter population with densities comparable t o the control (undisturbed) area, but the species composition was different.
Similarity between disturbed and control communities during the winter season only reached 67% a month after disturbance, while communities during the warmer months attained nearly 90% similarity in less than 15 days. This lack of similarity during the winter indicates that disturbance, at the appropriate time, may play a role in community organization.