Drivers of macroinvertebrate assemblages in littoral and pelagic habitats of a large shallow lake: implications for bioassessment

Abstract

Different measures of macroinvertebrate diversity (species diversity, functional diversity, phylogenetic diversity) and functional feeding groups (FFGs) are commonly used to assess the ecological status of large shallow lakes. In this study, biodiversity and FFGs in a large shallow lake, Lake Hongze, differed between littoral and pelagic habitats, with the spatial variability of littoral assemblages more correlated with nutrient concentrations, whilst pelagic assemblages were more associated with wave-induced disturbance (e.g., mean effective fetch). Species diversity was poorly correlated with measures of nutrient concentrations, whereas functional diversity, phylogenetic diversity, and functional feeding groups are promising indicators of nutrient concentrations. Lastly, our findings support the use of biodiversity and FFGs to disentangle the effects of nutrients and wave-induced disturbance on macroinvertebrate assemblages. Furthermore, monitoring both littoral and pelagic habitats in large shallow lakes is recommended to better understand and quantify ecosystem changes.

Keywords

Functional feeding groups; Functional diversity; Species diversity; Phylogenetic diversity; Biomonitoring

Published in

Hydrobiologia
2024, volume: 851, number: 15, pages: 3755–3766
Publisher: SPRINGER

SLU Authors

• Zhang, You

  • Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • Chinese Academy of Sciences

• Johnson, Richard

  • Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Ecology

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-024-05534-1

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/129399