Terrestrial invertebrates of dry river beds are not simply subsets of riparian assemblages |
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| Authors: | Alisha L Steward Jonathan C Marshall Fran Sheldon Bronwyn Harch Satish Choy Stuart E Bunn Klement Tockner |
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| Institution: | 1.Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University,Brisbane,Australia;2.Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management,Ecosciences Precinct,Brisbane,Australia;3.CSIRO Mathematics, Informatics and Statistics, Ecosciences Precinct,Brisbane,Australia;4.Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), and Institute of Biology, Freie Universit?t Berlin,Berlin,Germany |
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| Abstract: | Dry river beds are common worldwide and are rapidly increasing in extent due to the effects of water management and prolonged
drought periods due to climate change. While attention has been given to the responses of aquatic invertebrates to drying
rivers, few studies exist on the terrestrial invertebrates colonizing dry river beds. Dry river beds are physically harsh
and they often differ substantially in substrate, topography, microclimate and inundation frequency from adjacent riparian
zones. Given these differences, we predicted that dry river beds provide a unique habitat for terrestrial invertebrates, and
that their assemblage composition differs from that in adjacent riparian zones. Dry river beds and riparian zones in Australia
and Italy were sampled for terrestrial invertebrates with pitfall traps. Sites differed in substrate type, climate and flow
regime. Dry river beds contained diverse invertebrate assemblages and their composition was consistently different from adjacent
riparian zones, irrespective of substrate, climate or hydrology. Although some taxa were shared between dry river beds and
riparian zones, 66 of 320 taxa occurred only in dry river beds. Differences were due to species turnover, rather than shifts
in abundance, indicating that dry river bed assemblages are not simply subsets of riparian assemblages. Some spatial patterns
in invertebrate assemblages were associated with environmental variables (irrespective of habitat type), but these associations
were statistically weak. We suggest that dry river beds are unique habitats in their own right. We discuss potential human
stressors and management issues regarding dry river beds and provide recommendations for future research. |
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