Dataset Information

Stream benthic macroinvertebrates abundances over a 6-year monitoring period of an Italian glacier-fed stream.

ABSTRACT: Background:Aquatic macroinvertebrates are widely used as bioindicators for water quality assessments involving different kinds of disruptive factors, such as hydrological regime variations or pollutant spills. Recently, they demonstrated to be effective in monitoring effects of climate change in alpine stream and rivers. Indeed, since the distribution of macroinvertebrates in glacier-fed streams has been succesfully investigated and described by several authors, the discrepancy in presence/absence and quantity of specific taxa from the established models may represent an early warning of the effects of climatic changes occurring in alpine riverine ecosystems. New information:Together with the present paper, we provide a dataset covering a period of 6 years (2010-2015) sampling of aquatic macroinvertebrates along a longitudinal transect of a glacier-fed stream located in the Italian Alps, inside the International Long Term Ecological Research (ILTER) macrosite of Matsch|Mazia (IT-25). Data were collected during the glacial melt period (April - September), with monthly resolution. Owing to the unique temporal resolution of the dataset, we aim to produce a reliable tool (i.e. reference point) for future ecological assessment on the same stream, but also to similar streams worldwide.

SUBMITTER: Scotti A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6416225 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Stream benthic macroinvertebrates abundances over a 6-year monitoring period of an Italian glacier-fed stream.

Scotti Alberto A Tappeiner Ulrike U Bottarin Roberta R

Biodiversity data journal 20190306

<h4>Background</h4>Aquatic macroinvertebrates are widely used as bioindicators for water quality assessments involving different kinds of disruptive factors, such as hydrological regime variations or pollutant spills. Recently, they demonstrated to be effective in monitoring effects of climate change in alpine stream and rivers. Indeed, since the distribution of macroinvertebrates in glacier-fed streams has been succesfully investigated and described by several authors, the discrepancy in presen ...[more]

PMID: 30872941

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Project description:Quantifying and understanding movement is critical for a wide range of questions in basic and applied ecology. Movement ecology is also fostered by technological advances that allow automated tracking for a wide range of animal species. However, for aquatic macroinvertebrates, such detailed methods do not yet exist. We developed a video tracking method for two different species of benthic macroinvertebrates, the crawling isopod Asellus aquaticus and the swimming fresh water amphipod Gammarus pulex. We tested the effects of different light sources and marking techniques on their movement behavior to establish the possibilities and limitations of the experimental protocol and to ensure that the basic handling of test specimens would not bias conclusions drawn from movement path analyses. To demonstrate the versatility of our method, we studied the influence of varying population densities on different movement parameters related to resting behavior, directionality, and step lengths. We found that our method allows studying species with different modes of dispersal and under different conditions. For example, we found that gammarids spend more time moving at higher population densities, while asellids rest more under similar conditions. At the same time, in response to higher densities, gammarids mostly decreased average step lengths, whereas asellids did not. Gammarids, however, were also more sensitive to general handling and marking than asellids. Our protocol for marking and video tracking can be easily adopted for other species of aquatic macroinvertebrates or testing conditions, for example, presence or absence of food sources, shelter, or predator cues. Nevertheless, limitations with regard to the marking protocol, material, and a species' physical build need to be considered and tested before a wider application, particularly for swimming species. Data obtained with this approach can deepen the understanding of population dynamics on larger spatial scales and of the effects of different management strategies on a species' dispersal potential.

Project description:Ecologists rely on various functional traits when investigating the functioning of ecological systems and its responses to global changes. Changing nutrient levels, for example, can affect taxa expressing different trait combinations in various ways, e.g., favoring small, fast-growing species under high phosphorus conditions. Stoichiometric traits, describing the elemental composition of organism body tissues, can help in understanding the mechanisms behind such functional shifts. So far, mainly life-history traits have been related to body stoichiometry (e.g., the growth rate hypothesis) on a limited number of taxa, and there is little knowledge of the general link between stoichiometric and other functional traits on a taxonomically large scale. Here, we highlight this link in the freshwater macroinvertebrates, testing predictions from underlying trait-based and Ecological Stoichiometry Theory (EST) in >200 taxa belonging to eight larger taxonomic groups. We applied a series of multivariate analyses on six of their stoichiometric traits (%C, %N, %P, C:N, C:P, and N:P) and 23 biological and ecological traits. We found significant relationships between stoichiometric traits and other types of traits when analyzing single-trait and multi-trait profiles. Patterns found within traits related to organism development or nutrient cycling were in line with our assumptions based on EST, e.g., traits describing predators were associated with high %N; traits suggesting a fast development (small maximum body size and high molting frequency) with high %P. Associations between ecological traits and body stoichiometry could be explained by the longitudinal stream gradient: Taxa preferring headwater habitats (i.e., high altitude, coarse substrate, and cold temperature) exhibited high %N and %P. Demonstrating the link between stoichiometric and both bio- and ecological traits on a large diversity of taxa underlines the potential of integrating stoichiometric traits into ecological analyses to improve our understanding of taxonomic and functional responses of communities-and ecosystems-to changing environmental conditions worldwide.

Dataset Information

Stream benthic macroinvertebrates abundances over a 6-year monitoring period of an Italian glacier-fed stream.

Publications

Stream benthic macroinvertebrates abundances over a 6-year monitoring period of an Italian glacier-fed stream.

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