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Short-term changes in-stream macroinvertebrate communities following a severe fire in the Lake Tahoe basin, California

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Abstract

Large and severe wildfires can dramatically alter terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. We documented changes in benthic macroinvertebrate communities and physical habitat at two sites along Angora Creek, CA, USA for 2 years following a severe fire. Although post-fire years had low precipitation, canopy cover and bank stability declined dramatically following the wildfire (canopy cover: 88% pre-fire, 22% post-fire; stable bank: 93% pre-fire, 11% post-fire). Substrate also changed substantially, with fine sediment 8× more abundant post-fire and cobble 7× less abundant post-fire. We found no consistent changes in taxonomic richness or diversity following the fire, but post-fire densities and percentage of sensitive taxa were significantly reduced. We observed large reductions in relative abundances of shredder and scraper taxa, while collector-gatherer abundances increased. Community composition shifted away from pre-fire configurations, and continued to diverge in the second year following the fire. Scores from a regionally derived index of biotic integrity (IBI) were variable but overall much lower in post-fire samples and did not show recovery after 2 years. Overall, our study demonstrated substantial post-fire effects to aquatic ecosystems even in the absence of large flooding or scouring events, and showed that these effects can be transmitted downstream into unburned reaches.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to extend personal thanks to Raina Patriocinio, Christopher Springer, and Eric Holmes for personal assistance with data collection, and the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board for generously providing laboratory space. We thank the Kearney Foundation of Soil Science, UC Davis Graduate Group in Ecology Block Grant, Jastro Shields Fellowship, Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, and California SWAMP for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources, University of California, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Allison A. Oliver & Randy A. Dahlgren

  2. Department of Zoology, Oregon State University, 3029 Cordley Hall, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA

    Michael T. Bogan

  3. Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory, University of California, HCR 79, P.O. Box 198, Mammoth Lakes, CA, 93546, USA

    David B. Herbst

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  1. Allison A. Oliver
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  4. Randy A. Dahlgren
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Correspondence to Allison A. Oliver.

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Oliver, A.A., Bogan, M.T., Herbst, D.B. et al. Short-term changes in-stream macroinvertebrate communities following a severe fire in the Lake Tahoe basin, California. Hydrobiologia 694, 117–130 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-012-1136-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-012-1136-7

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