Damming affects riverine macroinvertebrate metacommunity dynamics: Insights from taxonomic and functional beta diversity

Jun Wang; Chengzhi Ding; Juan Tao; Xiaoming Jiang; Jani Heino; Liuyong Ding; Wan Su; Meiling Chen; Kai Zhang; Daming He

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142945

Damming affects riverine macroinvertebrate metacommunity dynamics: Insights from taxonomic and functional beta diversity

Sci Total Environ. 2021 Apr 1:763:142945. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142945. Epub 2020 Oct 14.

Authors

Jun Wang¹, Chengzhi Ding², Juan Tao³, Xiaoming Jiang⁴, Jani Heino⁵, Liuyong Ding⁶, Wan Su⁷, Meiling Chen⁸, Kai Zhang⁹, Daming He¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China; Institute of International Rivers and Eco-security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China. Electronic address: wangjun168@ynu.edu.cn.
² Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China; Institute of International Rivers and Eco-security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China. Electronic address: chzhding@ynu.edu.cn.
³ Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China; Institute of International Rivers and Eco-security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China. Electronic address: taojuanat@gmail.com.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Eco-hydraulic in Northwest Arid Region of China, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an 710048, China. Electronic address: jiangxm@xaut.edu.cn.
⁵ Freshwater Centre, Finnish Environment Institute, Oulu, Finland. Electronic address: jani.heino@environment.fi.
⁶ Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China; Institute of International Rivers and Eco-security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China. Electronic address: liuyongding@aol.com.
⁷ Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China; Institute of International Rivers and Eco-security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China. Electronic address: wan_su188@163.com.
⁸ Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China; Institute of International Rivers and Eco-security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China. Electronic address: chenmeiling_2@126.com.
⁹ Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China; Institute of International Rivers and Eco-security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China. Electronic address: amoyzk4@gmail.com.
¹⁰ Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China; Institute of International Rivers and Eco-security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China. Electronic address: dmhe@ynu.edu.cn.

PMID: 33127148
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142945

Abstract

Understanding ecological processes that drive metacommunity dynamics is essential for elucidating the mechanisms of community assembly and for guiding biodiversity conservation. This is especially important in dammed rivers. Here, we examined the taxonomic and functional beta diversity of macroinvertebrates and their underlying drivers in a dammed tropical river and compared the patterns with those in an adjacent undammed river. We found that both taxonomic and functional beta diversities were higher in the dammed river than in the undammed river across wet and dry seasons. The replacement component contributed most to the overall beta diversity for both taxonomic and functional facets, and this component was higher in the dammed river than in the undammed river. In addition, the taxonomic richness difference component was significantly higher in the dammed river in the dry season, but the functional richness difference component showed no difference between the two rivers and between the two seasons. Environmental filtering was the primary driver of total beta diversity and its replacement component, whereas the richness difference component was mainly explained by spatial factors, but these drivers varied in the dammed river in different seasons. Overall, our results indicated that damming induced changes in physiochemical variables (e.g., temperature, conductivity, and nutrients), accompanied by alterations in flow regime and longitudinal connectivity, increased replacement and loss of taxa or traits. These changes have consequently led to alteration of macroinvertebrate taxonomic and functional community dissimilarity and affected the relative effects of environmental and spatial factors on beta diversity and its components. Our study helps understand the ecological processes associated with dam impacts on macroinvertebrate biodiversity and the conservation potential of undammed rivers. In addition, our results showed that taxonomic and functional beta diversities can provide complementary information about dam impacts on riverine biodiversity.

Keywords: Dams; Ecological processes; Lancang River; Macroinvertebrates; Replacement; β diversity.

MeSH terms

Animals
Biodiversity*
Ecosystem
Invertebrates
Rivers*
Seasons