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Structure and diversity of blackfly assemblages in the Luvuvhu River system, South Africa in response to changing environmental gradients

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Abstract

Blackflies are amongst the most abundant and diverse group of aquatic insects globally, being rarely absent from rivers, their distributions are largely driven by current velocity, conductivity and total dissolved solids (TDS). While research on blackflies has mainly focused on medical, veterinary and economic aspects, ecological studies in the Afrotropical Region are relatively scarce. This study aimed to determine the response of blackfly species to environmental drivers in the north-eastern tropical regions of South Africa. Generalized Linear mixed models and the Permutational Multivariate Analysis of Variance were fitted to model blackfly richness and abundance structure. The Threshold Indicator Taxa Analysis (TITAN) was used to analyze species-specific change along environmental gradients. A total of 1343 larvae, representing seven blackfly species in four sub-genera, were collected from 22 sites over a twelve-month period. Water temperature and flow velocity were the most important drivers of species richness. Conductivity and land cover had the strongest effect on community composition across species and sites. Species responded synchronously along flow velocity and water temperature gradients at 1.6 m.s−1 and between 20–22 °C, respectively. Simulium (Metomphalus) hargreavesi was identified at an indicator species for flow velocity, while three were indicator species for water temperature change. We demonstrated that the richness and relative abundance of blackflies are driven by different variables across the Luvuvhu catchment. The new information obtained from this study provides an insight on the importance of protecting and managing the natural environment in a high biodiversity and endemism area.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available in the FigShare repository, https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14185787.v2.

Code Availability

All statistical analyses used R statistical software—‘lme4’, ‘vegan’, ‘TITAN’ packages.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the University of Venda for providing laboratory and field work facilities for this project. This research was funded by the National Research Foundation through the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) Chair on Biodiversity Value and Change in the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve in the University of Venda. Fananani Mbulaheni, Lorraine Ramotjiki, and Murunwa Nelufule, all from University of Venda, are thanked for their assistance in the field. We gratefully acknowledge Ferdy de Moor (Albany Museum) for assistance with blackfly species identification.

Funding

The financial support from the National Research Foundation through the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) Chair on Biodiversity Value and Change in the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve and the University of Venda is acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Venda, Chair in Biodiversity Value and Change in the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve, Thohoyandou, 0950, South Africa

    P. A. Ramulifho & S. H. Foord

  2. Department of Zoology and Centre for Invasion Biology, University of Venda, Private Bag x5050, Thohoyandou, 0950, South Africa

    P. A. Ramulifho & S. H. Foord

  3. Centre for Water Resources Research, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Scottsville, South Africa

    N. A. Rivers-Moore

  4. Freshwater Research Centre, Cape Town, 7700, South Africa

    N. A. Rivers-Moore

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  1. P. A. Ramulifho
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RPA, SHF and NRM conceived the study. RPA wrote the initial draft of the paper and performed data analyses. NRM and SHF edited and gave scientific comments. All authors contributed to discussions that shaped the manuscript.

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Correspondence to P. A. Ramulifho.

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Ramulifho, P.A., Foord, S.H. & Rivers-Moore, N.A. Structure and diversity of blackfly assemblages in the Luvuvhu River system, South Africa in response to changing environmental gradients. Hydrobiologia 849, 711–723 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-021-04741-4

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