Issue 7, 2014

High frequency variability of environmental drivers determining benthic community dynamics in headwater streams

Abstract

Headwater streams are an important feature of the landscape, with their diversity in structure and associated ecological function providing a potential natural buffer against downstream nutrient export. Phytobenthic communities, dominated in many headwaters by diatoms, must respond to physical and chemical parameters that can vary in magnitude within hours, whereas the ecological regeneration times are much longer. How diatom communities develop in the fluctuating, dynamic environments characteristic of headwaters is poorly understood. Deployment of near-continuous monitoring technology in sub-catchments of the River Eden, NW England, provides the opportunity for measurement of temporal variability in stream discharge and nutrient resource supply to benthic communities, as represented by monthly diatom samples collected over two years. Our data suggest that the diatom communities and the derived Trophic Diatom Index, best reflect stream discharge conditions over the preceding 18–21 days and Total Phosphorus concentrations over a wider antecedent window of 7–21 days. This is one of the first quantitative assessments of long-term diatom community development in response to continuously-measured stream nutrient concentration and discharge fluctuations. The data reveal the sensitivity of these headwater communities to mean conditions prior to sampling, with flow as the dominant variable. With sufficient understanding of the role of antecedent conditions, these methods can be used to inform interpretation of monitoring data, including those collected under the European Water Framework Directive and related mitigation efforts.

Graphical abstract: High frequency variability of environmental drivers determining benthic community dynamics in headwater streams

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
13 Ker. 2013
Accepted
07 Meur. 2014
First published
20 Meur. 2014

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2014,16, 1629-1636

Author version available

High frequency variability of environmental drivers determining benthic community dynamics in headwater streams

M. A. Snell, P. A. Barker, B. W. J. Surridge, A. R. G. Large, J. Jonczyk, C. McW. H. Benskin, S. Reaney, M. T. Perks, G. J. Owen, W. Cleasby, C. Deasy, S. Burke and P. M. Haygarth, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2014, 16, 1629 DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00680H

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements