Structure and Functional Organization of Benthic Invertebrates in a Regulated Stream

✍ Scribed by Tadeusz Fleituch

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 222 KB
• Volume: 88
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1434-2944
• DOI: 10.1002/iroh.200390029

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

This paper examines modifications of benthic structure and species/traits organization of macroinvertebrate communities affected by various hydro‐technical structures in the regulated mountain Trzemesnia stream (southern Poland). The samples of aquatic invertebrates were collected seasonally (6 times) at: (1) one control site with natural substrate and at (2) five sites altered by sills, weirs, and canals during 1999.

The stream canals, covered by Cladophora glomerata, were clearly distinguished from the other sites by: highest fauna density (mean of 8.5 10^3^ ind. m^−2^), lowest taxa richness (mean number of 4.7 taxa), and lowest diversity (H′ = 1.1). The benthic communities consisted mainly of collector‐gatherers with the highest contribution in the stream canals (range 87–96%). These results suggest that most types of stream regulations (i.e. stream bed formed by concrete bricks) negatively affect the functional organization of benthic invertebrates (collector‐gatherers, predators, and scrapers).