Native species in lakes commonly are affected by cultural eutrophication and introductions of nonnative species. The effects of these disturbances on benthic communities in large lakes have been understudied, despite the integral role that benthos play in maintaining habitat complexity and ecosystem processes. Lake Tahoe has experienced progressive eutrophication and introductions of nonnative ...

several studies suggest that invertebrate abundance and richness are disrupted and reset at confluences. thus, junctions contribute disproportionately to the overall aquatic biodiversity of the river. in general terms, authors have reported high abundance and diversity due to the major physical heterogeneity at junctions. however, data are still scarce and uncertainties are plentiful.the impact...

In the present study, we examined the effects of different drying conditions on the composition, structure and function of benthic invertebrate assemblages. We approached this objective by comparing invertebrate assemblages in perennial and intermittent sites along two intermittent Mediterranean streams with contrasting predictability, duration, and spatial patterns of drying: Fuirosos (high pr...

Fundamental to the scientific method is the use of controls or control conditions against which results obtained under test conditions are compared. In field studies, all variables cannot be controlled and replicates cannot be randomly assigned to treatments, so an attempt is made to choose test and control conditions (often represented by different sites) that are as similar as possible; the v...

Benthic fauna play a crucial role in organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling at the sediment-water boundary in aquatic ecosystems. In terrestrial systems, grazing herbivores have been shown to influence below-ground communities through alterations to plant distribution and composition, however whether similar cascading effects occur in aquatic systems is unknown. Here, we assess the r...

1. The relationship between benthic invertebrate assemblage composition and surrounding land use has been examined in various ways, but most studies are undertaken at a coarse scale, or they compare obviously different landscapes. In Japan, these obvious differences in landscape are rare, and humans reside even in remote montane areas. 2. In order to clarify the influence of human residence on ...

Dispersal capacity plays a fundamental role in the riverine benthic invertebrate colonization of new habitats that emerges following flash floods or restoration. However, an appropriate measure of dispersal capacity for benthic invertebrates is still lacking. The dispersal of benthic invertebrates occurs mainly during the aquatic (larval) and aerial (adult) life stages, and the dispersal of eac...

Benthic grazing strongly controls periphyton biomass. The question therefore arises whether benthic grazing could be used as a tool to reduce excessive growth of periphyton in nutrient-enriched rivers. Although benthic invertebrate grazers reduce the growth of periphyton, this is highly context dependent. Here we assessed whether the only obligate herbivorous fish in European rivers, the common...

From 1999-2001, we evaluated the effects of anthropogenic activities in and around Lake Texoma, Oklahoma-Texas, USA, on the structure of littoral-zone fish and benthic invertebrate assemblages at 20 potentially impacted sites relative to paired reference sites. Spatial structuring of both assemblages was strongly related to variables associated with water clarity, water-column chlorophyll-a lev...

Standard design of invertebrate activity traps limits their use to water depths that exceed the maximum foraging depth of most shorebirds. Assessment of nektonic invertebrate availability in shallow waters is desirable because shorebird diets may include these organisms. Thus, we designed a modified activity trap to assess invertebrate abundance in water depths ≤10 cm. We tested our design by c...