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Evaluating the potential of treated effluent as novel habitats for aquatic invertebrates in arid regions

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Abstract

Increasing anthropogenic demands for freshwater have altered many aquatic systems, including the drying of formerly perennial streams. The discharge of treated effluent has returned perennial flow in some of these streams, especially in arid and semi-arid regions, but the ability of treated effluent to support diverse aquatic communities is poorly understood. We examined the potential of treated effluent to create aquatic invertebrate habitat using the effluent-dependent Santa Cruz River in southern Arizona, USA as a case study. We identified 92 invertebrate taxa across our ten sampling sites and two sampling dates. Community composition was primarily shaped by water quality but also by stream drying (on daily time scales) and benthic substrate. Specifically, Linear Mixed-Effects models revealed a strong positive relationship between dissolved oxygen and taxonomic richness and a strong negative relationship between stream drying and invertebrate density. Although there are unique challenges to biota in effluent-dependent systems, our results suggest that treated wastewater could be managed to augment or recreate aquatic habitats that have been otherwise diminished or lost.

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Acknowledgements

This study was completed as part of DE Eppehimer’s PhD dissertation at the University of Arizona and was supported by funding from the University of Arizona, Arid Lands Resource Sciences, the Graduate and Professional Student Council, National Park Service, WateReuse Arizona, Southern Arizona Environmental Management Society, and the Lincoln Institute’s Babbitt Dissertation Fellowship Program. We thank student technicians Andrew Corrales and Betsy Allen for their field and lab contributions. Gary Deen and the Pima County Flood Control District provided access to field sites. This paper was greatly improved by the comments of multiple reviewers. The lower Santa Cruz River is the traditional homeland of the Tohono O’odham.

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  1. School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Environment and Natural Resources Building 2, 1064 East Lowell Street, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA

    Drew E. Eppehimer, Hamdhani Hamdhani, Kelsey D. Hollien & Michael T. Bogan

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  1. Drew E. Eppehimer
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Eppehimer, D.E., Hamdhani, H., Hollien, K.D. et al. Evaluating the potential of treated effluent as novel habitats for aquatic invertebrates in arid regions. Hydrobiologia 847, 3381–3396 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-020-04343-6

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