Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Biodiversity and Structure of Macroinvertebrate Communities Along a Small Permanent Salinity Gradient (Meurthe River, France)

  • Published:
Hydrobiologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Changes in the macroinvertebrate community were investigated over 10 months at four sites along a 19 km salinity gradient (0.21–2.60 g l−1) in a sixth-order stream, the Meurthe River, northeastern France. Abiotic characteristics other than salinity were similar between the sites. Macroinvertebrate taxonomic richness decreased by 30% downstream of the 1.4 g l−1 sites while diversity, evenness or total abundance of taxa did not change along the gradient. In terms of functioning, a slight change in relative abundances of invertebrate feeding groups followed the salinity gradient. Eight invertebrate assemblages occurred within specific salinity distributions were identified. The exotics Gammarus tigrinus, Dreissena polymorpha, Corbicula fluminalis and Corophium curvispinum, were more abundant at the highest salinity site. These results suggest that rising salinity concentrations drastically affect the species composition, including favouring exotic species.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • A.F.N.O.R. 1995. Qualité de l’eau – T 90-005. Association Française de Normalisation – norme homologuée T 90-005

  • I. Art M. Sary (2000) ArticleTitleCartographie des débits d’étiages: application au basin de la Meurthe Revue géographique de l’Est 1–2 35–47

    Google Scholar 

  • J. N. Beisel P. Usseglio-Polatera V. Bachmann J. C. Moreteau (2003) ArticleTitleA comparative analysis of evenness index sensitivity International Review of Hydrobiology 88 3–15 Occurrence Handle10.1002/iroh.200390004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • N. A. Berezina (2003) ArticleTitleTolerance of freshwater invertebrates to changes in water salinity Russian Journal of Ecology 34 261–266 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1024597832095

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S. E. Bunn P. M. Davies (1992) ArticleTitleCommunity structure of macroinvertebrate fauna and water quality of saline river system in south-western Australia Hydrobiologia 248 143–160 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00006082

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Y. Cao D. P. Larsen (2001) ArticleTitleRare species in multivariate analysis for bioassessment: some considerations Journal of the North American Benthological Society 20 144–153

    Google Scholar 

  • C. Den-Hartog F. W. B. Brink ParticleVan den G. Velde ParticleVan Der (1992) ArticleTitleWhy was the invasion of the River Rhine by Corophium curvispinum and Corbicula species so successful? Journal of Natural History 26 1121–1129

    Google Scholar 

  • T. H. Dietz D. Lessard H. Silverman J. W. Lynn (1994) ArticleTitleOsmoregulation in Dreissena polymorpha: the importance of␣Na, Cl, K and particularly Mg Biological Bulletin 187 76–83

    Google Scholar 

  • T. H. Dietz S. J. Wilcox R. A. Byrne J. W. Lynn H. Silverman (1996) ArticleTitleOsmotic and ionic regulation of North American zebra mussels (Dreissena Polymorpha) American Zoologist 36 364–372

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Gallardo-Mayenco (1994) ArticleTitleFreshwater macroinvertebrate distribution in two basins with different salinity gradients (Guadalete and Guadaira river basins, south-western Spain) International Journal of Salt Lake Research 3 75–91

    Google Scholar 

  • B. T. Hart P. Bailey R. Edwards K. Hortle K. James A. McMahon C. Meredith K. Swadling (1990) ArticleTitleEffects of salinity on river, stream and wetland ecosystems in Victoria, Australia Water Research 24 1103–1117

    Google Scholar 

  • B. T. Hart P. Bailey R. Edwards K. Hortle K. James A. McMahon C. Meredith K. Swadling (1991) ArticleTitleA review of the salt sensitivity of the Australian freshwater biota Hydrobiologia 210 105–144

    Google Scholar 

  • H. B. N. Hynes (1966) The Biology of Polluted Water Liverpool University Press Liverpool 202

    Google Scholar 

  • H. B. N. Hynes (1970) The Ecology of Running Waters Toronto University Press Toronto 555

    Google Scholar 

  • K. Jazdzewski (1980) ArticleTitleRange extension of some gammaridean species in European inland waters caused by human activity Crustaceana 6 84–107

    Google Scholar 

  • B. J. Kefford (1998) ArticleTitleThe relationship between electrical conductivity and selected macroinvertebrate communities in four river systems of south-west Victoria, Australia International Journal of Salt Lake Research 7 153–170 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1009019404720

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • B. J. Kefford P. J. Papas D. Nugegoda (2003) ArticleTitleRelative salinity tolerance of macroinvertebrates from the Barwon River, Victoria, Australia Marine and Freshwater Research 54 755–765 Occurrence Handle10.1071/MF02081

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • C. E. Lee M. A. Bell (1999) ArticleTitleCauses and consequences of recent freshwater invasions by saltwater animals Trends in Ecology and Evolution 14 284–288 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0169-5347(99)01596-7 Occurrence Handle10370267

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • H. V. Leland S. V. Fend (1998) ArticleTitleBenthic invertebrate distributions in the San Joaquin River, California, in relation to physical and chemical factors Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 55 1051–1067 Occurrence Handle10.1139/cjfas-55-5-1051

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S. Löfgren (2001) ArticleTitleThe chemical effects of de-icing salt on soil and stream water of five catchments in southeast Sweden Water Air Soil Pollution 130 863–868 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1013895215558

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • A. E. Magurran (1988) Ecological Diversity and its Measurement Princeton University Press Princeton 179

    Google Scholar 

  • R. F. McMahon (2002) ArticleTitleEvolutionary and physiological adaptations of aquatic invasive animals: r selection versus resistance Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 59 1235–1244 Occurrence Handle10.1139/f02-105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • L. Metzeling (1993) ArticleTitleBenthic macroinvertebrate community structure in streams of different salinities Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 44 335–351

    Google Scholar 

  • L. Metzeling T. Doeg W. O’Connor (1995) The impact of salinization and sedimentation on aquatic biota R. A., Bradstock T. D. Auld D. A. Keith R. T. Kingsford D. Lunny D. P. Silertsen (Eds) Conservation Biodiversity: Threats and Solutions Surrey Beatty & Sons London 126–136

    Google Scholar 

  • I. Munoz N. Prat (1994) ArticleTitleMacroinvertebrate community in the lower Ebro River (NE Spain) Hydrobiologia 286 65–78 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00008498

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • J. D. Olden N. Leroy Poff M. R. Douglas M. E. Douglas K. D. Fausch (2004) ArticleTitleEcological and evolutionary consequences of biotic homogenization Trends in Ecology & Evolution 19 18–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Piscart, C., A. Lecerf, P. Usseglio-Polatera, J. C. Moreteau and J. N. Beisel, Biodiversity patterns along a salinity gradient: the case of net-spinning caddisflies. Biodiversity and conservation (in press)

  • S. D. Rundle M. J. Attrill A. Arshad (1998) ArticleTitleSeasonality in macroinvertebrate community composition across a neglected ecological boundary, the freshwater-estuarine transition zone Aquatic Ecology 32 211–216 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1009934828611

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • A. A. Savage (1982) ArticleTitleThe survival and growth of Gammarus tigrinus Sexton (Crustacea: Amphipoda) in relation to salinity and temperature Hydrobiologia 94 201–212 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00016400

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • K. Shea P. Chesson (2002) ArticleTitleCommunity ecology theory as a framework for biological invasions Trends in Ecology & Evolution 17 170–176

    Google Scholar 

  • B. Statzner B. Higler (1986) ArticleTitleStream hydraulics as a major determinant of benthic invertebrate zonation patterns Freshwater Biology 16 127–139

    Google Scholar 

  • H. Tachet P. Richoux M. Bournaud P. Usseglio-Polatera (2000) Invertébrés d’eau douce: Systématique biologie et écologie Paris, 588 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Thioulouse D. Chessel S. Dolédec J. M. Olivier (1997) ArticleTitleADE-4: a multivariate analysis and graphical display software Statistical Computation 7 75–83 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1018513530268

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • C. R. Townsend (1996) ArticleTitleConcepts in river ecology: pattern and process in the catchments hierarchy Archiv für Hydrobiologie 113: IssueID Suppl. 3–12

    Google Scholar 

  • R. L. Vannote G. W. Minshall J. R. Cummins J. R. Sedell C. E. Cushing (1980) ArticleTitleThe river continuum concept Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 37 130–137

    Google Scholar 

  • J. H. Ward (1963) ArticleTitleHierarchical grouping to optimize an objective function Journal of the American Statistical Association 58 236

    Google Scholar 

  • D. D. Williams N. E. Williams Y. Cao (1999) ArticleTitleRoad salt contamination of groundwater in a major metropolitan area and development of a biological index to monitor its impact Water Research 34 127–138 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0043-1354(99)00129-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • W. D. Williams (1987) ArticleTitleSalinization of Rivers and streams: an important environmental hazard Ambio 16 181–185

    Google Scholar 

  • W. D. Williams R. G. Taaffe A. J. Boulton (1991) ArticleTitleLongitudinal distribution of macroinvertebrates in two␣rivers subject to Salinization Hydrobiologia 210 151–160

    Google Scholar 

  • W. D. Williams A. J. Boulton R. G. Taaffe (1990) ArticleTitleSalinity as a determinant of salt lake fauna: a question of scale Hydrobiologia 197 257–266 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00026955

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. UFR SciFA, Laboratoire BFE, Université de Metz, Campus Bridoux, Av. du Général Delestraint, 57070, Metz, France

    Christophe Piscart, Jean-Claude Moreteau & Jean-Nicolas Beisel

Authors
  1. Christophe Piscart
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jean-Claude Moreteau
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jean-Nicolas Beisel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jean-Nicolas Beisel.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Piscart, C., Moreteau, JC. & Beisel, JN. Biodiversity and Structure of Macroinvertebrate Communities Along a Small Permanent Salinity Gradient (Meurthe River, France). Hydrobiologia 551, 227–236 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-005-4463-0

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-005-4463-0

Key words

Search

Navigation