Aquatic phases have a stronger effect on lotic benthic diatoms than human-induced microhabitat variability

Here, we studied the influence of changes of aquatic phases (standing and flowing phases) and human-induced habitat variability (natural and artificial) on the composition and diversity of benthic diatom assemblages in a small lowland stream in the Pannonian Ecoregion. Significant differences in com...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Hydrobiologia 2024-02, Vol.851 (4), p.897-914
Main Authors: Kiss, Stefánia, Nemes-Kókai, Zsuzsanna, Lukács, Áron, Bácsi, István, T-Krasznai, Enikő, Márton, Kamilla, B-Béres, Viktória
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anthropogenic factors
Benthos
Biodiversity
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Composition
Diatoms
Ecological distribution
Ecological effects
Ecology
Extreme values
Extreme weather
Freshwater & Marine Ecology
Habitats
Human influences
Life Sciences
Marine microorganisms
Microalgal Functional Traits
Microenvironments
Microhabitat
Microhabitats
Nature conservation
Phases
Plankton
Streambeds
Variability
Water conservation
Water management
Zoology
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Summary:Here, we studied the influence of changes of aquatic phases (standing and flowing phases) and human-induced habitat variability (natural and artificial) on the composition and diversity of benthic diatom assemblages in a small lowland stream in the Pannonian Ecoregion. Significant differences in composition were hypothesized between phases and habitats. Lower diversity was hypothesized in the flowing phase and in the artificial habitat. In addition, worser ecological status were assumed in the artificial habitat and in the standing phase than in the others. Our results only partially supported our hypotheses. While there was no significant difference in the composition of the assemblages between the natural and concreted habitats, the alteration in flow conditions resulted in a significant change. No significant differences in diversity were found between aquatic phases. In contrast, biodiversity was higher in the artificial habitat than in the natural one. While the anthropogenic impact, i.e., concreted streambed has no significant influence on diatom-based ecological status, values of diatom indices were significantly higher in the flowing phase. Our results highlight that extreme weather events play a major role in shaping diatom assemblages even during a short period, which should be taken into account in water management and nature conservation measures.
ISSN:0018-8158
1573-5117
DOI:10.1007/s10750-023-05405-1