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Riparian and watershed land use alters food web structure and shifts basal energy in agricultural streams

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Abstract

We examined food web structure in headwater streams to determine whether riparian buffers can mitigate the effects of agricultural land use on stream ecosystem function. Study sites were located in the Midwestern US and divided into three land use groups (forested, buffered, agricultural) based on the amount of riparian forest and row crop agriculture in the watershed. Stable isotope analysis (δ13C and δ15 N) was performed on basal energy sources and consumers (6 invertebrate groups and 7 fish species) with isotopic metrics used to assess variation in food web structure related to land use, instream environmental parameters, and food resources. Land use differences were associated with community-wide isotopic shifts with all trophic diversity metrics greater in forested compared to agricultural streams, whereas buffered streams were generally intermediate. Agricultural streams had compressed food webs with high trophic redundancy indicative of a shared resource pool for all consumers. In contrast, forested and buffered stream food webs showed larger trophic niche area due to greater utilization of detrital energy and higher variability in trophic position among invertebrates and fish. Circular statistics revealed fish communities shifted to lower trophic positions and increased dependence on periphyton production in agricultural streams. The presence of riparian forests was associated with a broader range of resources used by consumers, expanded trophic diversity, and elevated fish trophic position in buffered streams. Results suggest that riparian forests can improve food web structure in streams impacted by croplands and provide further support for restoring buffer areas to moderate adverse effects of agriculture.

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The datasets used and/or analyses during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Shaun Chow, Hannah Grant, and undergraduates at the University of Illinois for help in the field and laboratory. We also thank the University of Illinois graduate students and staff at the Illinois Natural History Survey’s Kaskaskia Biological Station for their valuable feedback. We would like to acknowledge the helpful comments of Scott Collins and two anonymous reviewers that improved the manuscript. This work was supported by research grants from the Illinois American Fisheries Society and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant College Program, and a dissertation completion fellowship from the University of Illinois to Eden Effert-Fanta.

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  1. Eden L. Effert-Fanta

    Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, Eastern Illinois University, 600 Lincoln Avenue, Charleston, IL, 61920, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1816 South Oak Street, Champaign, IL, 61820, USA

    Eden L. Effert-Fanta & David H. Wahl

  2. Academic Affairs and Provost’s Office, Western Kentucky University, 1905 College Heights Boulevard, Bowling Green, KY, 42101, USA

    Robert U. Fischer

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Eden Effert-Fanta conceived of the study idea. All authors contributed to the study design. Field work, lab processing and data analyses were completed by Eden Effert-Fanta. Eden Effert-Fanta wrote the first draft of the manuscript. Robert Fischer and David Wahl provided editorial advice.

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Correspondence to Eden L. Effert-Fanta.

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Effert-Fanta, E.L., Fischer, R.U. & Wahl, D.H. Riparian and watershed land use alters food web structure and shifts basal energy in agricultural streams. Aquat Sci 84, 61 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-022-00895-y

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