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Concordance in biological condition and biodiversity between diatom and macroinvertebrate assemblages in Chinese arid-zone streams

Hydrobiologia volume 829, pages 245–263 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

Understanding the concordance between aquatic assemblages in ecological assessments and their responses to human-induced disturbances are fundamental steps toward achieving sustainable stream and catchment management. Using diatom, macroinvertebrate, and environmental data collected from northwest Chinese arid-land streams, we tested the concordance between the two assemblages in (1) the assessment results using multimetric indices (MMIs), (2) the stressors affecting the MMIs and beta-diversity, and (3) the response trajectories of MMI and beta-diversity to disturbances. Random Forest analyses revealed that diatom and macroinvertebrate metrics responded most sensitively to climatic and geomorphic variables, respectively. Diatom MMI scores had greater precision and responsiveness than macroinvertebrate MMI scores. Diatom MMI scores were negatively related to gradients in observed–expected conductivity, chemical oxygen demand, and vegetated riparian zone width. Macroinvertebrate MMI scores responded strongly to observed–expected mean substrate composition, conductivity, and phosphate. Diatom beta-diversity decreased, as nitrate, channel alternation, and phosphate increased beyond expected natural background levels. Macroinvertebrate beta-diversity was the lowest when both nitrite and % cobble neared their natural background expectations. Our results indicate that protecting aquatic systems from anthropogenic pressures depends not only on revealing causes of impairment, but also on anticipating and understanding the responses to various stressors of multiple stream biotic assemblages.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51509159) and the National Grand Science and Technology Special Project of Water Pollution Control and Improvement (No. 2014ZX07204-006) for funding, and colleagues at the Laboratory of Aquatic Insects and Stream Ecology of Nanjing Agricultural University for assistance with macroinvertebrate sampling and processing, and for water chemistry analyses. The authors thank the editors and all anonymous referees for their valuable suggestions that helped improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Eco-environmental Sciences Research, Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, Nanjing, 210024, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Kai Chen & Qiuwen Chen

  2. Laboratory of Aquatic Insects and Stream Ecology, Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Dandan Sun, Abdul R. Rajper & Beixin Wang

  3. Hydrology and Water Resources Survey Bureau of Altay, Altay, 836599, Xinjiang Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China

    Mahati Mulatibieke

  4. Amnis Opes Institute and Department of Fisheries & Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 97333, USA

    Robert M. Hughes

  5. Environmental Science and Management, Portland State University, Portland, OR, 97207, USA

    Yangdong Pan

  6. Altay Mountains Two-river Source Reserve, Altay, 836599, Xinjiang Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China

    Aletai Tayibazaer

Authors
  1. Kai Chen
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  2. Dandan Sun
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  3. Abdul R. Rajper
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  4. Mahati Mulatibieke
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  5. Robert M. Hughes
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  6. Yangdong Pan
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  7. Aletai Tayibazaer
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  8. Qiuwen Chen
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  9. Beixin Wang
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Qiuwen Chen or Beixin Wang.

Additional information

Handling editor: Zhengwen Liu

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Chen, K., Sun, D., Rajper, A.R. et al. Concordance in biological condition and biodiversity between diatom and macroinvertebrate assemblages in Chinese arid-zone streams. Hydrobiologia 829, 245–263 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-018-3836-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-018-3836-0

Keywords

  • MMI
  • IBI
  • Diversity
  • Natural variability
  • Stressors
  • Random forest