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Macroinvertebrate community dynamics in a temperate European Atlantic river. Do they conform to general ecological theory?

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Abstract

Spatial and temporal dynamics of macroinvertebrate communities have usually been linked to several environmental and anthropic factors. The aim of this study is to elucidate how important are these factors in structuring macroinvertebrate communities from temperate regions. Regarding the macroinvertebrate number of taxa, the Habitat Template Model, the Dynamic Equilibrium Hypothesis and the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis will be tested in order to know how important the diversity of instream elements and the hydrological disturbance frequency are in defining the macroinvertebrate taxonomic richness. Thus, the structure and composition of macroinvertebrate communities were analysed in nine sites of the Pas River basin, a temperate Atlantic basin in northern Spain, during winter, spring, summer and autumn 2005, together with water physicochemical and environmental characteristics. Macroinvertebrate abundance increased downstream and during summer, probably favoured by lower hydraulic stress and water organic enrichment. As predicts the Habitat Template Model, the macroinvertebrate number of taxa was related to habitat heterogeneity. However, no clear relationship amongst macroinvertebrate richness and water quality was found. The macroinvertebrate taxonomic richness did not correspond exactly with the Dynamic Equilibrium Hypothesis and the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis because it was relatively high in the absence of hydrological disturbances (summer). Thus, disturbance events may play a secondary role in determining the seasonal dynamic of the number of taxa. However, hydrological disturbances can be considered the most important factors explaining the seasonal pattern of macroinvertebrate abundance. On the other hand, spatial patterns of macroinvertebrate community structure and composition were mainly determined by resource availability, hydraulic conditions, habitat heterogeneity and human alterations, whilst hydrological predictability and resource availability might play a major role in determining seasonal dynamics.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the Environment Department of the Regional Government of Cantabria (Spain) within the umbrella of a global project for the implementation of the Water Framework Directive in the Cantabria Region, and by a research project financed by the 2004–2007 National Plan for Research in Science & Technology (Spanish Government; Project CGL2006-10282). We thank Russell and Fiona Death, Nuria Bonada, Sonja Stendera, Koen Martens and other anonymous reviewers who provided useful comments on previous versions of this manuscript. We are also grateful to Iago López Martínez and Pablo Ugarte Hernández de la Torre for their help in the field. This article constitutes part of Mario Alvarez-Cabria’s Ph.D. Thesis.

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  1. Instituto de Hidráulica Ambiental “IH Cantabria”, Grupo de Emisarios Submarinos e Hidráulica Ambiental, Universidad de Cantabria, Avda. de los Castros s/n, 39005, Santander, Spain

    Mario Álvarez-Cabria, José Barquín & José Antonio Juanes

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  1. Mario Álvarez-Cabria
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Correspondence to Mario Álvarez-Cabria.

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Álvarez-Cabria, M., Barquín, J. & Juanes, J.A. Macroinvertebrate community dynamics in a temperate European Atlantic river. Do they conform to general ecological theory?. Hydrobiologia 658, 277–291 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0498-y

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