Abstract
In small, lentic ecosystems in agricultural areas, eutrophication often results in excessive growth of small, free-floating plants. A dense layer of plants on the water surface changes the underwater light climate drastically and in turn leads to hypoxic or even anoxic conditions. Knowledge of the effects on macroinvertebrates of reduced light conditions and oxygen stress as result of eutrophication is limited. We thus examined in a field situation the influence of an unpredictable, 10-day period of low oxygen availability as a result of poor underwater light conditions. In a before–after control–impact design, the underwater light climate and dissolved oxygen concentration of ditch sections were manipulated, and the macroinvertebrate assemblage composition was recorded during the 4 weeks before and after treatment. A poor underwater light climate in combination with normoxic conditions did not affect the invertebrate assemblage composition, but the combination of low-light intensity and anoxic conditions did alter it. Interestingly, these changes were not apparent directly after treatment but developed in the weeks following, indicating that although the invertebrates could cope with a shading-induced period of hypoxia, costs were associated with the event over a longer time period.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Martin van den Hoorn, Agata van Oosten-Siedlecka, Dennis Waasdorp, and Dorine Dekkers for their help in the field and sorting of macroinvertebrate samples. This study was funded by REFRESH nr. EU FP7 collaborative project “Adaptive Strategies to Mitigate the Impacts of Climate Change on European Freshwater Ecosystems” (REFRESH, grant agreement 244121, 2010-2014). Furthermore, it was part of the Ecological Research Dutch Ditches (PLONS) Project, funded by the Foundation of Applied Water Research (STOWA), and was supported financially by the strategic research program “Sustainable spatial development of ecosystems, landscapes, seas and regions,” funded by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Conservation and Food Quality and carried out by Wageningen University and Research Centre (KB-01-002-007-ALT).
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Handling Editor: Junjiro N. Negishi.
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Verdonschot, R.C.M., Verdonschot, P.F.M. Shading effects of free-floating plants on drainage-ditch invertebrates. Limnology 15, 225–235 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10201-013-0416-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10201-013-0416-x