Eutrophication remains a major stress for freshwater biodiversity. Its deleterious consequences on biodiversity are well documented for large waterbodies. However, the impact of eutrophication may ...differ in smaller waterbodies, such as ponds and small lakes, which generally support naturally high levels of nutrients in lowlands. Furthermore, this response could depend on the scale considered, from local (individual waterbody, alpha diversity) to regional (the network of waterbodies, gamma diversity). It is also unclear whether the richness of threatened species responds in the same way as the richness of the whole assemblage. The present study investigates local‐ and regional‐scale consequences of eutrophication on taxonomic richness (all taxa) and conservation value (threatened taxa) in temperate lowland small waterbodies. Five taxonomic groups were investigated: macrophytes, gastropods, water beetles, adult dragonflies and amphibians, in a set of natural waterbodies and a set of enriched waterbodies covering a large nutrient gradient from mesotrophic to hypertrophic conditions. Globally, our study did not reveal consistent, systematic responses to eutrophication. For macrophytes, the richness and conservation value suffered from eutrophication at both local and regional scales. In contrast, for amphibians and gastropods, eutrophication did not impair biodiversity at the local nor the regional scale. Dragonflies and water beetles showed intermediate situations, with an impairment by eutrophication varying according to the type of waterbodies considered. At the regional scale, each trophic status, even the nutrient richest, brought an original contribution to biodiversity. Synthesis and applications. The management of eutrophication for small lowland waterbodies has to be considered differently than for lakes. For an individual waterbody (the local scale), nutrient enrichment is not necessarily a major impairment and its impact depends on the taxonomic group considered. Conversely, at the landscape scale, eutrophication is a major pressure on small waterbody biodiversity, especially because nutrient‐rich small waterbodies are dominant in the landscape. Therefore, conservation efforts should integrate the notion of pond regional networks or ‘pondscapes’, where the regional biodiversity is supported by a mosaic of trophic conditions, and promote the presence of less rich waterbodies.
Artificial ponds are increasingly created for the services they provide to humans. While they have the potential to offer habitats for freshwater biodiversity, their contribution to regional ...diversity has hardly been quantified. In this study, we assess the relative contribution of five types of artificial ponds to regional biodiversity of five different regions, studying amphibians, water beetles and freshwater snails. This biodiversity is also compared with that observed in natural ponds from three of the investigated regions. Our results indicate that artificial ponds host, on average, about 50% of the regional pool of lentic species. When compared to natural ponds, the artificial ponds always supported a substantially lower alpha richness (54% of the natural pond richness). The invertebrate communities presented high values of beta diversity and were represented by a restricted set of widely distributed species, and by numerous rare species. There were discrepancies among the taxonomic groups: overall, amphibians benefited most from the presence of artificial ponds, since 65% of the regional lentic species pools for this group was found in artificial ponds, whereas 43% and 42% was observed in the case of beetles and snails, respectively. However, each invertebrate group was promptly the most benefited animal group in a single pond type. Therefore, artificial pond types were complementary among them in terms of contribution to regional diversity of the three animal groups. Based on these results, we forecast that future human-dominated landscapes in which most ponds are artificial will be particularly impoverished in terms of freshwater biodiversity, underlining the need to conserve existing natural ponds and to create new “near-natural” ponds. However, if properly designed and managed, artificial ponds could make a substantial contribution to support freshwater biodiversity at a regional scale. Furthermore, the number and diversity of artificial ponds must be high in each considered landscape.
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•Artificial ponds will replace natural ponds in our future human-dominated landscapes.•We assess the relative contribution of different types of artificial and natural ponds to regional biodiversity.•Artificial ponds hosted on average about 50% of the regional species pool, then making a moderate contribution.•Natural ponds supported higher alpha richness than artificial ones, especially in the case of freshwater snails.•Conservation strategies should focus on conserving existing natural ponds and creating new “near-natural” ponds.
Theories that link plant strategies and abiotic filters discriminate between three strategies: competitive, ruderal or stress-tolerant species, and suggest that functional diversity is higher at ...intermediate values along the gradients of productivity and disturbance. The mechanism by which abiotic filters screen plant traits in aquatic plant communities has been poorly tested and has led to contrasting results. The present study aimed to test whether functional diversity and abundance of life-history traits corresponding to morphology, fecundity and longevity of aquatic plants were linked to disturbance and productivity. Fifty-nine shallow lakes that were arranged along a gradient of productivity (estimated through total phosphorus concentration) and drought-disturbance frequency were sampled for aquatic plants. Species traits were documented and functional diversity was calculated (richness, dispersion and evenness) for each lake. Increasing total phosphorus concentration was associated with decreased functional richness and dispersion but not functional evenness. Functional diversity did not differ according to disturbance frequency, regardless of the index that was measured. High productivity favoured floating species with storage organs and vegetative reproduction, especially at low disturbance frequency. For all disturbance frequencies, low productivity favoured small species without storage organs and sexual reproduction. The present study partly supports the theoretical model. At high productivity levels, because phytoplankton is a better competitor for light than aquatic plants, plant traits are screened stringently, and species with traits that allow them to reach the photic zone are selected.
Summary
1. The way light stress controls the recruitment of aquatic plants (phanerogams and charophytes) is a key process controlling plant biodiversity, although still poorly understood. Our aim was ...to investigate how light stress induced by phytoplankton, that is, independent from the aquatic plants themselves, determines the recruitment and establishment of plant species from the propagule bank. The hypotheses were that an increase in light stress (i) decreases abundance and species richness both of established aquatic plants and of propagules in the bank and (ii) decreases the recruitment success of plants from this bank.
2. These hypotheses were tested in 25 shallow lakes representing a light stress gradient, by sampling propagule banks before the recruitment phase and when the lakes are devoid of actively growing plants (i.e. at the end of winter), established vegetation at the beginning of the summer and phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll a) during the recruitment and establishment phase.
3. The phytoplankton biomass was negatively correlated with the richness and abundance of established vegetation but was not correlated with the propagule bank (neither species richness nor propagule abundance). The similarity between the propagule bank and established vegetation decreased significantly with increasing phytoplankton biomass.
4. The contrast in species composition between the vegetation and the propagule bank at the highest light stress suggests poor recruitment from the propagule bank but prompts questions about its origin. It could result from dispersal of propagules from neighbouring systems. Propagules could also originate from a persistent propagule bank formerly produced in the lake, suggesting strong year‐to‐year variation in light stress and, as a consequence, in recruitment and reproductive success of plants.
Résumé Afin d'évaluer l'impact potentiel de la vidange, les flux de nutriments et de matières sont quantifiés lors du remplissage et de la vidange d'un étang construit en dérivation, à l'aval d'une ...chaîne d'étangs. La cinétique de vidange a été établie à l'aide d'un modèle numérique de terrain restituant la surface topographique de l'étang. Les matières en suspension et les principaux nutriments ont été régulièrement quantifiés. La qualité hydrobiologique du cours d'eau récepteur a été contrôlée pendant et après la vidange. L'étang a exporté 8.5 tonnes de matières en suspension et des quantités de nutriments relativement élevées. Nos résultats confirment l'existence de deux phases critiques, ne concernant cependant qu'un très faible volume d'effluent. Compte tenu des capacités élevées de sédimentation des matières en suspension, la courte durée d'exposition associée à un linéaire de fossés suffisant pourrait limiter l'impact de ces matières rejetées.
Citation Vallod, D. & Sarrazin, B. (2010) Caractérisation de l'effluent de vidange d'un étang de pisciculture extensive. Hydrol. Sci. J.
55(3), 394-402.
Questions: The highest species richness is usually expected at an intermediate stage of development since the last major disturbance event, but some studies have shown that ecosystem productivity and ...dispersal may modify this pattern, suggesting the need for further studies on the effects of productivity and dispersal on the dynamics of species richness through succession. In this study, we analysed aquatic plant species richness in relation to (1) succession stage, measured as numbers of years since the last disturbance that affected the ecosystems; (2) lake productivity, measured as the chlorophyll a concentration; and (3) connectivity to similar nearby ecosystems, a proxy for the potential input of diaspores. Location: Shallow lakes of the Dombes region, France. Methods: Every 5—7 yr these shallow lakes are emptied and left to dry out for 1 yr. These drought disturbances lead to complete destruction of the submerged aquatic plant communities. Sixty lakes arranged along a gradient of productivity were selected. The probability of diaspore input was considered to increase from upstream to downstream, as lakes are organized in hydrologically connected networks via ditches, through which the downstream lakes receive water from the upstream lakes. For each lake, the aquatic plant species richness (from systematic summer vegetation sampling), time since the last disturbance (last summer drying), productivity (estimated as chlorophyll a concentration) and probability of diaspore input (assessed from position in the network) were recorded. Results: The aquatic plant species richness decreased with the time since the last disturbance for all of the lakes, but there was a significant interaction with the chlorophyll a concentration and position of the lake in the network. At the lowest ecosystem productivities, the relationship between successional stage and species richness was hump-shaped, whereas the species richness decreased with increasing time since the last disturbance when productivity increased. The lake's position in the network did not influence species richness during the first 2 yr after disturbance, but from year 3 and thereafter, lakes connected to high numbers of upstream lakes consistently exhibited decreased richness, contradicting the expected trend of increasing species richness with increasing diaspore inputs. Conclusions: This study indicates that both ecosystem productivity and connectivity strongly affected the relationship between aquatic plant species richness and succession, and that these factors should be taken into account in further developments of the intermediate disturbance hypothesis.
In aquaculture, management practices such as supplementary feeding or fertilisation of water are generally considered to improve fish yield in ponds or shallow lakes. Nevertheless, in semi-natural ...systems where many ponds or lakes are situated in a cultural landscape, this is much less evident for certain fish farmers because fish production systems are often quite extensive, and fish production is only one economic activity among others for these fish farmers. In this paper we analyse the influence of different management practices on fish yield and nutrient status of fish ponds’ water and sediments, and we have an additional regard on potential implications of this in the perspective of the European Water Framework Directive. This directive demands that artificial water bodies such as fish ponds have to attain a good ecological potential in 2015, and thus to adapt water body management to achieve this.
In total, 83 fish ponds were studied from 2007 to 2009 in the Dombes region, France. This region is characterised by 1100 nutrient rich fish ponds located in a heterogeneous agricultural landscape with cropping, animal husbandry and forestry. Different water parameters (PO43−, NO3−, total P, total N, NH4+, chlorophyll-a) were analysed from April to October in each year. Sediments were sampled in March and October and analysed for available P, total N, organic matter and Ca concentration. Data about pond management practices such as fertilisation of pond water, supplementary feeding as well as fertilisation and liming of pond grounds when they are emptied and let dried out during a year, and harvested fish were collected by interviewing pond owners and pond managers.
The main results found are that the combination of the annual management practices supplementary feeding and fertilisation, increased significantly the fish yields. When combining the annual with the non-annual management practices fertilisation of pond grounds and liming of pond grounds during a year when ponds are emptied, highest yield were obtained. Using only the non-annual practices, yields could be positively influenced. Lowest yields were found when no management practice was applied. Significant, but contrasting effects of pond management practices on water or sediment parameters were only found for available P of sediments and NO3− for the management practices supplementary feeding, fertilisation of water, or liming of the pond ground. Whereas available P of sediments showed higher values with the three practices, NO3− in the water showed lower values. Although only few significant differences were found, means of parameters showed a certain trend as they were in many cases, besides for total N and NO3−, higher with the management practice.
Our results show that there is a limited effect of pond management practices on the chemical status of the pond water and sediments. This also suggests a limited potential to change management practices to respond to the demand of the European Water Framework Directive for good water quality and ecological potential.
Nutrient-rich water bodies are usually expected to host low species richness at the local scale (water body). Nevertheless, they can support a diverse and sometimes unique biodiversity when diversity ...is considered at a regional scale. This discrepancy between the two scales is well documented for natural water bodies, but little is known about biodiversity of artificial water bodies, like fish ponds. We hypothesise that nutrient-rich water bodies can collectively host high species richness at the regional scale. Thus, these are important ecosystems for the regional conservation of biodiversity. We investigated 84 fish ponds in the Dombes region, France, with five taxonomic groups: macrophytes, phytoplankton, macroinvertebrates, dragonflies, and amphibians. Species richness patterns were determined for α- (single pond), β- (between ponds), and γ- (regional pond network) levels. For most studied species groups, richness per fish pond and at the regional level proved to be relatively high in comparison with natural ponds in other landscapes. Contribution of α-diversity to regional diversity was highest for dragonflies with 41 %, and lowest for amphibians and macrophytes with 16 and 18 %, respectively. For macroinvertebrate families and phytoplankton genera it was intermediate. Contribution of β-diversity to regional diversity was similar for all species groups with 22–25 %. Furthermore, some ponds hosted a large number of less frequent species and some endangered species, indicating that the conservation of biodiversity of fish ponds must be established at a regional scale.
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