https://doi.org/10.4081/jlimnol.2020.1933
Supraseasonal drought in an Alpine river: effects on benthic primary production and diatom community
Diatoms and chlorophyll a in an intermittent Alpine river
Submitted: 30 July 2019
Accepted: 12 December 2019
Published: 15 January 2020
Accepted: 12 December 2019
Abstract Views: 1191
PDF: 481
Supplementary: 137
HTML: 40
Supplementary: 137
HTML: 40
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Authors
Over the last decades, the ongoing global climate change, combined with consequent increasing water demand for human needs, is causing recurrent droughts in previously perennial streams. These phenomena have been dramatically increasing their extent, with significant repercussions on the entire food web. Consequences of water scarcity are particularly remarkable in mountain streams, where the frequency of droughts is increasing at a rate that does not allow species to adapt. In the present research, we monitored benthic diatom communities within an intermittent Alpine river (Pellice River; North-Western Italy) during the three key phases of its hydrological cycle: i) stable flow ii) lentification iii) rewetting of the riverbed after a supraseasonal drought lasting five months. We tested the response of diatom communities in terms of compositional, structural and functional metrics (primary production, species composition, ecological guilds, life forms and eco-morphological groups) hypothesising both taxonomic and functional changes during the different steps of this hydrological cycle. Significant changes in benthic chlorophyll a occurred in the three hydrological phases. In particular, the relative proportion of the chlorophyll a of the three main autotrophic groups inhabiting the periphyton (namely diatoms, cyanobacteria and green algae) resulted as a reliable metric for the evaluation of the hydrological disturbance. Diatom chlorophyll a significantly decreased during both lentification and drought. The three phases were significantly characterized by different species and functional groups. During the stable flow the low profile (i.e., species of short stature, adapted to high current velocities and low nutrients concentrations) was the most representative guild and Achnanthidium pyrenaicum was the most abundant species; this phase was also characterized by the presence of stalked taxa. We observed a significant decrease of high profile species (i.e., species of tall stature, adapted to high nutrients concentrations and low current velocities) during the lentification phase, which was characterized by taxa belonging to the genera Navicula, Nizschia and Ulnaria. During the rewetting, small and medium sized high profile diatoms as well as motile ones (i.e., fast moving species) characterized the assemblages. Our results showed that the complete recovery of diatom communities took at least 70 days after water return. The rapid and widespread extension of droughts in the Alpine area will have severe consequences on the river biota, also favouring the spread of invasive taxa. For this reason, outlining patterns of diatom response to droughts and detecting reliable metrics for the evaluation of this specific impact is very urgent and important.
Acuña V, Casellas M, Corcoll N, Timoner X, Sabater S, 2015. Increasing extent of periods of no flow in intermittent waterways promotes heterotrophy. Freshw. Biol. 60: 1810-1823.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.12612
APAT-IRSA CNR, 2003. Metodi analitici per le acque, vol I. Rapporti 29/2003. APAT: Roma
B-Béres V, Lukács Á, Török P, Kókai Z, Novák Z, T-Krasznai E, Tóthmérész B, Bácsi I, 2016. Combined eco-morphological functional groups are reliable indicators of colonisation processes of benthic diatom assemblages in a lowland stream. Ecol. Indic. 64: 31–38.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.12.031
B-Béres V, Tóthmérész B, Bácsi I, Borics G, Abonyi A, Tapolczai K, Rimet F, Bouchez A, Várbíró G, Török P, 2019. Autumn drought drives functional diversity of benthic diatom assemblages of continental streams. Adv. Water Resour. 126: 129-136.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2019.02.010
De Caceres M, Legendre P, 2009. Associations between species and groups of sites: indices and statistical inference. Ecology, URL http://sites.google.com/site/miqueldecaceres/
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1890/08-1823.1
De Meester L, Vanoverbeke J, Kilsdonk LJ, Urban MC, 2016. Evolving perspectives on monopolization and priority effects. Trends Ecol. Evol. 31: 136-146.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2015.12.009
Doretto A, Piano E, Falasco E, Fenoglio S, Bruno MC, Bona F, 2018. Investigating the role of refuges and drift on the resilience of macroinvertebrate communities to drying conditions: An experiment in artificial streams. River Res. Appl. 34: 777-785.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.3294
Doretto A, Bona F, Falasco E, Morandini D, Piano E, Fenoglio S, 2019. Stay with the flow: How macroinvertebrate communities recover during the rewetting phase in Alpine streams affected by an exceptional drought. River Res. Appl. DOI: 10.1002/rra.3563.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.3563
Elias CL, Calapez AR, Almeida SFP, Feio MJ, 2015. From perennial to temporary streams: an extreme drought as a driving force of freshwater communities’ traits. Mar Freshwater Res 66:469–480.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1071/MF13312
European Committee for Standardization, 2003. Water Quality Guidance Standard for the Routine Sampling and Pretreatment of Benthic Diatoms from Rivers. European Standard EN 13946. Brussels, European Committee for Standardization, p 14.
Falasco E, Piano E, Bona F, 2013. Guida al riconoscimento e all’ecologia delle principali diatomee fluviali dell’Italia nord occidentale. Biologia Ambientale 27(1): 1-292.
Falasco E, Bona F, Isaia M, Piano E, Wetzel CE, Hoffmann L, Ector L, 2015. Nupela troglophila sp. nov., an aerophilous diatom (Bacillariophyta) from the Bossea cave (NW Italy), with notes on its ecology. Fottea 15(1): 1-9.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5507/fot.2015.001
Falasco E, Piano E, Bona F, 2016a. Diatom flora in Mediterranean streams: flow intermittency threatens endangered species. Biodivers Conserv. 25: 2965–2986.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-016-1213-8
Falasco E, Piano E, Bona F, 2016b. Suggestions for diatom-based monitoring in intermittent streams. Knowl. Manag. Aquat. Ecosyst., 417, 38. DOI: 10.1051/kmae/2016025.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/kmae/2016025
Falasco E, Piano E, Doretto A, Fenoglio S, Bona F, 2018a. Resilience of benthic diatom communities in Mediterranean streams: the role of endangered species. Mar. Freshwater Res. 70: 212-224.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1071/MF17282
Falasco E, Piano E, Doretto A, Fenoglio S, Bona F., 2018b. Lentification in Alpine rivers: patterns of diatom assemblages and functional traits. Aquat. Sci. 80: 36-46.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-018-0587-y
Fenoglio S, Bo T, Cucco M, Malacarne G., 2007. Response of benthic invertebrate assemblages to varying drought conditions in the Po river (NW Italy). Ital. J. Zool. 74: 191-201.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/11250000701286696
Fenoglio S, Bo T, Cucco M, Mercalli L, Malacarne G, 2010. Effects of global climate change on freshwater biota: a review with special emphasis on the Italian situation. Ital J Zool 77: 374–383.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/11250000903176497
Hammer Ø, Harper DAT, Ryan PD, 2001. PAST: Paleontological Statistics software package for education and data analysis. Paleontologia Electronica, 4(1): 9pp.
Kahlert M, McKie BG, 2014. Comparing new and conventional methods to estimate benthic algal biomass and composition in freshwaters. Environ. Sci-Proc. Imp. 16: 2627-2634.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C4EM00326H
Lake PS, 2003. Ecological effects of perturbation by drought in flowing waters. Freshwater Biol 48: 1161–1172.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2427.2003.01086.x
Luttenton MR, Lowe RL, 2006. Response of a lentic periphyton community to nutrient enrichment at low P:N ratios. J. Phycol. 42:1007-1015.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1529-8817.2006.00254.x
McQuoid MR, Hobson LA, 1996. Diatom resting stages. J. Phycol. 32:889–902.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-3646.1996.00889.x
Oksanen J., Blanchet FG, Friendly M, Kindt R, Legendre P, McGlinn D, Minchin PR, O'Hara RB, Simpson GL, Solymos P, Stevens MHH, Szoecs E, Wagner H, 2019. vegan: Community Ecology Package. R package version 2.5-4. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=vegan
Passy SI, 2007. Diatom ecological guilds display distinct and predictable behavior along nutrient and disturbance gradients in running waters. Aquat. Bot. 86: 171-178.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquabot.2006.09.018
Passy SI, Larson CA, 2019. Niche dimensionality and herbivory control stream algal biomass via shifts in guild composition, richness, and evenness. Ecology, doi: 10.1002/ecy.2831
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2831
Piano E, Bona F, Falasco E, La Morgia V, Badino G, Isaia M, 2015. Environmental drivers of phototrophic biofilms in an Alpine show cave (SW-Italian Alps). STOTEN 536: 1007-1018.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.05.089
Piano E, Falasco E, Bona F, 2017. Mediterranean rivers: consequences of water scarcity on benthic algal chlorophyll a content. J. Limnol. 76: 39-48.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4081/jlimnol.2016.1503
Piano E, Doretto A, Falasco E, Fenoglio S, Gruppuso L, Nizzoli D, Viaroli P, Bona F, 2019a. If Alpine streams run dry: the drought memory of benthic communities. Aquat. Sci. 81: 32.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-019-0629-0
Piano E, Doretto A, Falasco E, Gruppuso L, Fenoglio S, Bona F, 2019b. The role of recurrent dewatering events in shaping ecological niches of scrapers in intermittent Alpine streams. Hydrobiologia doi.org/10.1007/s10750-019-04021-2.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-019-04021-2
Rimet F, Bouchez A, 2012. Life-forms, cell-sizes and ecological guilds of diatoms in European rivers. Knowl. Manag. Aquat. Ec. 406:01–12.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/kmae/2012018
Romaní AM, Amalfitano S, Artigas J, Fazi S, Sabater S, Timoner X, Ylla I, Zoppini A, 2012. Microbial biofilm structure and organic matter use in Mediterranean streams. Hydrobiologia 719: 43–58.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-012-1302-y
Robson BJ, Matthews TG, 2004. Drought refuges affect algal recolonization in intermittent streams. River. Res. Applic., 20: 753-763.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.789
Sabater S, 2008. Alterations of the global water cycle and their effects on river structure, function and services. Freshw. Rev. 1:75–88
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1608/FRJ-1.1.5
Soininen J, Jamoneau A, Rosebery J, Passy SI, 2016. Global patterns and drivers of species and trait composition in diatoms. Global ecol. Biogeogr. 25: 940-950.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12452
Souffreau C, Vanormelingen P, Sabbe K, Vyverman W, 2013. Tolerance of resting cells of freshwater and terrestrial benthic diatoms to experimental desiccation and freezing is habitat-dependent. Phycologia 52: 246-255.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2216/12-087.1
Stanley EH, Fisher SG, Jones JB Jr, 2004. Effects of water loss on primary production: a landscape-scale model. Aquat. Sci. – Research across Boundaries 66: 130-138.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-003-0646-9
Timoner X, Borrego CM, Acuña V, Sabater S, 2014. The dynamics of biofilm bacterial communities is driven by flow wax and wane in a temporary stream. Limnol. Oceanogr. 59: 2057-2067.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2014.59.6.2057
van den Brink PJ, Den Besten PJ, bij de Vaate A, ter Braak CJ, 2009. Principal response curves technique for the analysis of multivariate biomonitoring time series. Environ. Mon. Assess. 152: 271–281.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-008-0314-6
Van Looy K, Tonkin JD, Floury M, Leigh C, Soininen J, Larsen S, Datry, T, Heino J, LeRoy N, M Delong, Jähnig SC, Datry T, Bonada N, Rosebery J, Jamoneau A, Ormerod SJ, Collier KJ, Wolter K, 2019. The three Rs of river ecosystem resilience: Resources, recruitment, and refugia. River Res. Appl. 35: 107-120.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.3396
Wood S, Wood MS, 2015. Package ‘mgcv’. R package version, 1-7.
Zlatanović S, Fabian J, Premke K, Mutz M, 2018. Shading and sediment structure effects on stream metabolism resistance and resilience to infrequent droughts. STOTEN 621: 1233–1242.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.10.105
Zuur AF, Ieno EN, Walker NJ, Savaliev AA, Smith GM, 2009. Mixed Effect Models and Extensions in Ecology With R. Springer, Berlin.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-87458-6
Zuur AF, Ieno EN, Elphick CS, 2010. A protocol for data exploration to avoid common statistical problems. Methods Ecol. Evol. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2041-210X.2009.00001.x
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2041-210X.2009.00001.x
Edited by
Diego Fontaneto, CNR-IRSA Verbania, ItalyHow to Cite
Falasco, Elisa, Alberto Doretto, Stefano Fenoglio, Elena Piano, and Francesca Bona. 2020. “Supraseasonal Drought in an Alpine River: Effects on Benthic Primary Production and Diatom Community: Diatoms and Chlorophyll a in an Intermittent Alpine River”. Journal of Limnology 79 (2). https://doi.org/10.4081/jlimnol.2020.1933.
Similar Articles
- Cristian Granados-Martínez, Bladimir Zúñiga-Céspedes, Julio Acuña-Vargas, Diets and trophic guilds of aquatic insects in Molino River, La Guajira, Colombia , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 75 No. s1 (2016): Proceedings of the 6th National Congress of Limnology
- Robin J. Smith, Dayou Zhai, Suktonthip Savatenalinton, Takahiro Kamiya, Na Yu, A review of rice field ostracods (Crustacea) with a checklist of species , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 77 No. 1 (2018)
- Claudia Dresti, Andrea Fenocchi, Diego Copetti, Modelling physical and ecological processes in medium-to-large deep European perialpine lakes: a review , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 80 No. 3 (2021): Celebratory Issue - 80th Anniversary of the Journal of Limnology
- Cristiana Callieri, J. Salvador Hernández-Avilés, Ester M. Eckert, Michela Rogora, Gabriele Tartari, Tommaso Sforzi, Raffaella Sabatino, Roberto Bertoni, Transparent exopolymer particles (TEP), phytoplankton and picocyanobacteria along a littoral-to-pelagic depth-gradient in a large subalpine lake , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 80 No. 3 (2021): Celebratory Issue - 80th Anniversary of the Journal of Limnology
- Souhaib Hanfouri, Fayçal Ait Boumallassa, Mohamed Naimi, Mohamed Znari, Plasticity of life-history traits in the Draa barbel Luciobarbus lepineyi (Pellegrin, 1939) (Actinopterygii: Cyprinidae) in the sub-Saharan Draa basin, Morocco: effect of change in flow regime and salinity , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 83 (2024)
- Georg H. Niedrist, Birgit Lösch, Magdalena Nagler, Hannes Rauch, Samuel Vorhauser, Alberto Scotti, Roberta Bottarin, Renate Alber, Estimating aquatic invertebrate diversity in the southern Alps using data from Biodiversity Days , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 80 No. 2 (2021)
- Lisa Elzi, Edoardo Villa, Nicola Patocchi, Correlation between Phragmites australis growth and seasonal lake level variations in Lake Maggiore (Italy/Switzerland): common reed management guidelines , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 81 No. s2 (2022): Effects of water level management on lake littorals and downstream river areas
- Rocco Tiberti, Sabino Metta, Martina Austoni, Cristiana Callieri, Morabito Giuseppe, Marchetto Aldo, Michela Rogora, Gabriele A. Tartari, Jost Von Hardenberg, Antonello Provenzale, Ecological dynamics of two remote alpine lakes during ice-free season , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 72 No. 3 (2013)
- Narcís Prat, Eduardo M. García-Roger, Are there so many congeneric species of chironomid larvae in a small stream? , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 77 No. s1 (2018): Recent advances in the study of Chironomidae: An overview
- Najat Elkhiati, Mohamed Ramdani, José L. Espinar, Khalid Fahd, Laura Serrano, Ecological similarities between two Mediterranean wetlands: Sidi Boughaba (North-West Morocco) and the Doñana National Park (South-West Spain) , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 72 No. 2 (2013)
<< < 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 > >>
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.
List of Cited By :
