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The importance of sedimenting organic matter, relative to oxygen and temperature, in structuring lake profundal macroinvertebrate assemblages

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Abstract

We quantified the role of a main food resource, sedimenting organic matter (SOM), relative to oxygen (DO) and temperature (TEMP) in structuring profundal macroinvertebrate assemblages in boreal lakes. SOM from 26 basins of 11 Finnish lakes was analysed for quantity (sedimentation rates), quality (C:N:P stoichiometry) and origin (carbon stable isotopes, δ13C). Hypolimnetic oxygen and temperature were measured from each site during summer stratification. Partial canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) and partial regression analyses were used to quantify contributions of SOM, DO and TEMP to community composition and three macroinvertebrate metrics. The results suggested a major contribution of SOM in regulating the community composition and total biomass. Oxygen best explained the Shannon diversity, whereas TEMP had largest contribution to the variation of Benthic Quality Index. Community composition was most strongly related to δ13C of SOM. Based on additional δ13C and stoichiometric analyses of chironomid taxa, marked differences were apparent in their utilization of SOM and body stoichiometry; taxa characteristic of oligotrophic conditions exhibited higher C:N ratios and lower C:P and N:P ratios compared to the species typical of eutrophic lakes. The results highlight the role of SOM in regulating benthic communities and the distributions of individual species, particularly in oligotrophic systems.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to following people for their assistance in the field or laboratory: Tuula Sinisalo, Helena Jäntti, Virve Kustula, Olli Nousiainen, Pertti Saaristo, Lauri Arvola, Kalevi Salonen, Mika Nieminen and Timo Ruokonen. Special thanks to Oulun Verkkopalloseura and Puijo Tennis Team for those tens of empty tennis ball tubes we needed. Financial support for this study was provided by the Maj and Tor Nessling Foundation, the VALUE Finnish Graduate School and the FUNCDYN program of the European Science Foundation.

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  1. Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, 40014, Jyväskylä, Finland

    Jussi Jyväsjärvi, Roger I. Jones & Heikki Hämäläinen

  2. Balaton Limnological Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 35, Tihany, 8237, Hungary

    Gergely Boros

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  1. Jussi Jyväsjärvi
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Jyväsjärvi, J., Boros, G., Jones, R.I. et al. The importance of sedimenting organic matter, relative to oxygen and temperature, in structuring lake profundal macroinvertebrate assemblages. Hydrobiologia 709, 55–72 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-012-1434-0

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