Original paper
Water depth but not season mediates the effects of human lakeshore modification on littoral macroinvertebrates in a large lowland lake
Pätzig, Marlene; Grüneberg, Björn; Brauns, Mario
Fundamental and Applied Limnology Volume 186 Nr. 4 (2015), p. 311 - 321
published: Jun 1, 2015
ArtNo. ESP141018604003, Price: 29.00 €
Abstract
Lakeshores are subjected to ongoing increase of human utilization and degradation. The development of effective assessment tools based on littoral macroinvertebrates is currently limited by the lack of knowledge as to whether effects of lakeshore modification on macroinvertebrate communities are mediated by water depth and season. We quantified the macroinvertebrate community of a large lowland lake (Lake Scharmützelsee, Germany) at natural shores and shores modified by marinas and beaches in three depth zones between April and November 2011. The effect of lakeshore modification on macroinvertebrate diversity and community composition was most pronounced in the upper littoral and less important in the middle littoral and profundal zone. Conversely, seasonal effects on upper littoral macroinvertebrate diversity and composition were less important than shore type in comparison with the middle littoral and profundal zone. We recommend that future assessment methods based on macroinvertebrates should focus on the upper littoral zone, where effects of lakeshore modifications are strongest and communities are most susceptible to anthropogenic impairments. Our results also suggest that a single seasonal sampling is sufficient to capture the compositional differences of macroinvertebrate communities associated with human lakeshore modifications.
Keywords
profundal • biodiversity • shoreline development • spatial heterogeneity • beach • marina