Wood in rivers affects invertebrate community traits
11/07/2019

The bed of a river is an important habitat for invertebrates with a diverse range of organisms living within and on the sediment. These invertebrate communities may appear similar at different locations within a river reach, but subtle variations in environmental conditions result in invertebrate species assemblages presenting different characteristics.
For a long time, dead wood has been considered a nuisance in rivers and removed for flood risk, transport, recreation and aesthetic reasons. With changing management practices and new scientific knowledge, wood is beginning to be recognized for its important role driving river processes, both above and below riverbeds, which affect river biodiversity. Yet, how the processes driven by wood affect invertebrate characteristics remains unknown. Functional traits are species characteristics (e.g. body size and form) that reflect adaptation to the surrounding environment, which can provide information on the environmental conditions and pressures to which the species are subjected. To better understand how invertebrates in the bed of rivers respond to wood-induced processes, we explored multiple traits of invertebrates and how they differ at sites where wood is present and absent.
We studied naturally occurring woody debris accumulations in a lowland river in southern England. We sampled invertebrate species living near the surface of the riverbed and deeper in the sediment (see figure). At each sampling site, we also collected environmental information, e.g. sediment type, flow velocity, oxygen and nutrient concentrations, to quantify the variation of traits as a function of environmental variables representing important attributes of wood.
We found that very small invertebrates living more deeply within the sediment had different biological (i.e. aquatic stages, reproduction), physiological (i.e. dispersal, feeding habits) and behavioural (i.e. substrate preferences) traits when found near wood, but the traits of bigger invertebrate living near the riverbed surface did not differ. In the presence of wood, the small invertebrates living below the riverbed were characterized by functional traits that were related to the physical and sedimentological processes occurring around wood (e.g. sediment scour and sorting). The results suggest that wood creates a more dynamic environment with greater variations in local abiotic conditions, resulting in species traits that relate to adaptation to temporal disturbance and spatial refugia. Consequently, the wider ecological effect of wood should be considered when planning river restoration and management solutions.
We found that very small invertebrates living more deeply within the sediment had different biological (i.e. aquatic stages, reproduction), physiological (i.e. dispersal, feeding habits) and behavioural (i.e. substrate preferences) traits when found near wood, but the traits of bigger invertebrate living near the riverbed surface did not differ. In the presence of wood, the small invertebrates living below the riverbed were characterized by functional traits that were related to the physical and sedimentological processes occurring around wood (e.g. sediment scour and sorting). The results suggest that wood creates a more dynamic environment with greater variations in local abiotic conditions, resulting in species traits that relate to adaptation to temporal disturbance and spatial refugia. Consequently, the wider ecological effect of wood should be considered when planning river restoration and management solutions.
For further information read the publication: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2435.13381
Categories & Tags:
Leave a comment on this post:
You might also like…
Meet Mendeley: a powerful referencing tool that does the hard work for you!
Are you looking for a way to manage your references, create in-text citations and reference lists for your assignments or thesis? If so, you may wish to consider using Mendeley. What is it? Mendeley is ...
Adding documents to your Mendeley account
To make the most of a Mendeley account, it is useful to create and maintain a ‘Library’ of references. You can add references and documents to this Library in a number of ways: 1) Drag ...
Choosing the right reference management tool for you…
Are you thinking about using reference management software to help you manage your references? The Library is here to help you. While Mendeley has been our go-to reference management software for some years, we've recently ...
Cranfield Seed Fund recipient, Cosysense, are using AI to solve air conditioning problems and provide a net zero alternative
If you’ve ever worked in an office environment you’ve probably been involved in, or overheard, a conversation about the air conditioning. Well, it’s no surprise it’s a common complaint when research shows that up ...
An Eye-Opening Journey in Advanced GIS & Remote Sensing at Cranfield University
My experience in the Advanced GIS and Remote Sensing course at Cranfield University was nothing short of transformational. From day one, the course was designed to provide both technical expertise and real-world applications. What ...
EBSCO databases – User interface changes
EBSCO has recently introduced a new user interface which you will see when you access any of our EBSCO databases - Business Source Complete, EBSCO eJournals and eBooks, GreenFILE, PsycARTICLES and PsycINFO. If you've used ...