Abstract
Of the mechanisms that remove benthic algae during flood disturbances, relatively little is known about the effects of sediment scour. We investigated suspended sediment scour using naturally colonized benthic algal communities exposed to realistic velocities and suspended sediment concentrations in a laboratory flowtank. Increased velocity alone removed benthic algal biomass, and high suspended sediment concentrations further increased algal removal. Efficacy of biomass removal by velocity and suspended sediments was community-specific; communities with a tightly adherent cohesive mat physiognomy were resistant to removal, despite taxonomic similarity to easily disturbed communities. In addition, some taxa were more susceptible to removal by disturbance than others. The duration of scour and physical refugia on the substratum also influenced algal biomass removal. Our results indicate that suspended sediment scour may be an important mechanism for algal removal during flood events, and some variability in biomass removal among flood events may be the result of differences in suspended sediment load.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
E. A. Bergey (1999) ArticleTitleCrevices as refugia for stream diatoms: Effect of crevice size on abraded substrates Limnology and Oceanography 44 1522–1529
E. A. Bergey V. H. Resh (1994) ArticleTitleEffects of burrowing by a stream caddisfly on case-associated algae Journal of the North American Benthological Society 13 379–390
B. J. F. Biggs (1987) ArticleTitleEffects of sample storage and mechanical blending on the quantitative analysis of river periphyton Freshwater Biology 18 197–203
B. J. F. Biggs (1995) ArticleTitleThe contribution of disturbance, catchment geology and landuse to the habitat template of periphyton in stream ecosystems Freshwater Biology 33 419–438
B. J. F. Biggs (1996) Patterns in benthic algae of streams R. J. Stevenson M. L. Bothwell R. L. Lowe (Eds) Algal Ecology: Freshwater Benthic Ecosystems Academic Press San Diego (CA) 31–56
B. J. F. Biggs M. E. Close (1989) ArticleTitlePeriphyton biomass dynamics in gravel bed rivers: The relative effects of flows and nutrients Freshwater Biology 22 209–231 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaK3cXksVGrs7Y%3D
B. J. F. Biggs M. J. Duncan A. M. Suren J. R. Holomuzki (2001) The importance of bed sediment stability to benthic ecosystems of streams M. P. Mosley (Eds) Gravel-Bed Rivers, 5 New Zealand Hydrological Society Wellington (NZ) 423–450
B. J. F. Biggs S. N. Francoeur A. D. Huryn R. Young C. J. Arbuckle C. R. Townsend (2000) ArticleTitleTrophic cascades in streams: effects of nutrient enrichment on autotrophic and consumer benthic communities under two different fish predation regimes Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 57 1380–1394 Occurrence Handle10.1139/cjfas-57-7-1380
B. J. F. Biggs D. G. Goring V. I. Nikora (1998a) ArticleTitleSubsidy and stress responses of stream periphyton to gradients in water velocity as a function of community growth form Journal of Phycology 34 598–607 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1529-8817.1998.340598.x
B. J. F. Biggs C. Kilroy (2000) Stream periphyton monitoring manual New Zealand Ministry for the Environment/NIWA Christchurch (NZ)
B. J. F. Biggs R. A. Smith (2002) ArticleTitleTaxonomic richness of stream algae: Effects of flood disturbance and nutrients Limnology and Oceanography 47 1175–1186 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DC%2BD38XmtVWhur0%3D
B. J. F. Biggs R. A. Smith M. J. Duncan (1999) ArticleTitleVelocity and sediment disturbance of periphyton in headwater streams: Biomass and metabolism Journal of the North American Benthological Society 18 222–241
B. J. F. Biggs R. J. Stevenson R. L. Lowe (1998b) ArticleTitleA habitat matrix conceptual model for stream periphyton Archiv für Hydrobiologie 143 21–56
B. J. F. Biggs H. A. Thomsen (1995) ArticleTitleDisturbance in stream periphyton by perturbations in shear stress: Time to structural failure and differences in community resistance Journal of Phycology 31 233–241 Occurrence Handle10.1111/j.0022-3646.1995.00233.x
S. A. Blenkinsopp M. A. Lock (1994) ArticleTitleThe impact of storm-flow on river biofilm architecture Journal of Phycology 30 807–818 Occurrence Handle10.1111/j.0022-3646.1994.00807.x
Blinn D. W. & G. A. Cole, 1991. Algal and invertebrate biota in the Colorado river: Comparisons of pre- and post-dam conditions. In Colorado River Ecology and Dam Management. National Academy Press, Washington (DC): 102–123.
N. R. Bond B. J. Downs (2003) ArticleTitleThe independent and interactive effects of fine sediment and flow on benthic invertebrate communities characteristic of small upland streams Freshwater Biology 48 455–465 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2427.2003.01016.x
M. J. Duncan B. J. F. Biggs (1998) Substrate stability vs flood frequency and its ecological implications for headwater streams H. S. Wheater C. Kirby (Eds) Hydrology in a Changing Environment, 1 John Wiley and Sons Ltd Chichester (UK) 347–355
S. G. Fisher N. B. Grimm (1991) Streams and disturbance: Are cross-system comparisons useful? J. Cole G. Lovett S. Findlay (Eds) Comparative Analyses of Ecosystems: Patterns, Mechanisms, and Theories Springer-Verlag New York (NY) 196–221
S. N. Francoeur B. J. F. Biggs R. L. Lowe (1998) ArticleTitleMicroform bed clusters as refugia for periphyton in a flood-prone headwater stream New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 32 363–374
A. A. Graham (1990) ArticleTitleSiltation of stone-surface periphyton in rivers by clay-sized particles from low concentrations in suspension Hydrobiologia 199 107–115 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00005603
N. B. Grimm S. G. Fisher (1989) ArticleTitleStability of periphyton and macroinvertebrates to disturbance by flash floods in a desert stream Journal of the North American Benthological Society 8 293–307
J. Heinlein (2000) Flood Disturbance of Stream Periphyton: The Independent and Interactive Effects of Water Velocity, Suspended Sediment, and Initial Community Biomass Bowling Green State University Bowling Green (OH)
D. M. Hicks G. A. Griffiths (1992) Sediment load M. P. Mosley (Eds) Waters of New Zealand New Zealand Hydrological Society Wellington (NZ) 229–248
D. M. Hicks B. Gomez N. A. Trustrum (2000) ArticleTitleErosion thresholds and suspended sediment yields, Waipaoa River basin, New Zealand Water Resources Research 36 1129–1142 Occurrence Handle10.1029/1999WR900340
R. R. Horner E. B. Welch M. R. Seeley J. M. Jacoby (1990) ArticleTitleResponses of periphyton to changes in current velocity, suspended sediment and phosphorus concentration Freshwater Biology 24 215–232
I. Jowett B. J. F. Biggs (1997) ArticleTitleFlood and velocity effects on periphyton and silt accumulation in two New Zealand rivers New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 31 287–300
M. E. Krejci R. L. Lowe (1986) ArticleTitleImportance of sand grain mineralogy and topography in determining microspatial distribution of episammic diatoms Journal of the North American Benthological Society 5 211–220
A. Laubel M. Svendsen B. Kronvang S. E. Larsen (1999) ArticleTitleBank erosion in a Danish lowland stream system Hydrobiologia 410 279–285 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1003854619451
A. R. Miller R. L. Lowe J. T. Rotenberry (1987) ArticleTitleSuccession of diatom communities on sand grains Journal of Ecology 75 693–709
C. G. Peterson (1996) Response of benthic algal communities to natural physical disturbance R. J. Stevenson M. L. Bothwell R. L. Lowe (Eds) Algal Ecology: Freshwater Benthic Ecosystems Academic Press San Diego (CA) 375–402
C. G. Peterson K. D. Hoagland R. J. Stevenson (1990) ArticleTitleTiming of wave disturbance and the resistance and recovery of a freshwater epilithic microalgal community Journal of the North American Benthological Society 9 54–67
C. G. Peterson R. J. Stevenson (1992) ArticleTitleResistance and resilience of lotic algal communities: Importance of disturbance timing and current Ecology 73 1445–1461
C. G. Peterson A. C. Weibel N. B. Grimm S. G. Fisher (1994) ArticleTitleMechanisms of benthic algal recovery following spates: Comparison of simulated and natural events Oecologia 98 280–290 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00324216
N. L. Poff J. V. Ward (1989) ArticleTitleImplications of streamflow variability and predictability for lotic community structure: A regional analysis of streamflow patterns Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 46 1805–1818
M. E. Power A. J. Stewart (1987) ArticleTitleDisturbance and recovery of an algal assemblage following flooding in an Oklahoma stream American Midland Naturalist 117 333–345
V. H. Resh A. V. Brown A. P. Covich M. E. Gurtz W. L. Hiram G. W. Minshall S. R. Reice A. L. Sheldon J. B. Wallace R. C. Wissmar (1988) ArticleTitleThe role of disturbance in stream ecology Journal of the North American Benthological Society 7 433–455
C. T. Robinson U. Uehlinger M. T. Monaghan (2004) ArticleTitleStream ecosystem response to multiple experimental floods from a reservoir River Research and Applications 20 359–377 Occurrence Handle10.1002/rra.743
T. Stott G. Leeks S. Marks A. Sawyer (2001) ArticleTitleEnvironmentally sensitive plot-scale timber harvesting: Impacts on suspended sediment, bedload and bank erosion dynamics Journal of Environmental Management 63 2–25 Occurrence Handle10.1006/jema.2001.0459
C. J. F. ter Braak (1995) Ordination R. H. G. Jongman C. J. F. ter Braak O. F. R. Tongeren ParticleVan (Eds) Data Analysis in Community and Landscape Ecology, 2 Cambridge University Press Cambridge (UK) 91–173
C. J. F. ter Braak P. Smilauer (1998) CANOCO Reference Manual and User’s Guide to CANOCO for Windows: Software for Canonical Community Ordination (Version 4) Microcomputer Power Ithaca (NY)
R. J. Stevenson (1996) The stimulation and drag of current R. J. Stevenson M. L. Bothwell R. L. Lowe (Eds) Algal Ecology: Freshwater Benthic Ecosystems Academic Press San Diego (CA) 321–340
U. Uehlinger (1991) ArticleTitleSpatial and temporal variability of the periphyton biomass in a prealpine river (Necker, Switzerland) Archiv für Hydrobiologie 123 219–237
M. J. Winterbourn P. A. Ryan (1994) ArticleTitleMountain streams in Westland, New Zealand: Benthic ecology and management issues Freshwater Biology 32 359–373
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Francoeur, S.N., Biggs, B.J.F. Short-term Effects of Elevated Velocity and Sediment Abrasion on Benthic Algal Communities. Hydrobiologia 561, 59–69 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-005-1604-4
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-005-1604-4