The role of abiotic and biotic factors within influencing macroinvertebrate communities in a subtropical eutrophic reservoir with thermal stratification

ABSTRACT

In this study, we investigated the plankton, water, and macroinvertebrates in Nanwan Reservoir, a subtropical eutrophic reservoir with thermal stratification. We evaluated the status of macroinvertebrate communities and explored the relationships between macroinvertebrate community status and both abiotic and biotic factors. This reservoir exhibited the worst water quality and a high risk of algal blooms in the autumn, whereas it had the best water quality in the spring. The presence of thermal stratification adversely affected macroinvertebrate communities, leading to decreases in species richness, abundance, and diversity. The water characteristics and dominant macroinvertebrate species confirmed that the reservoir was experiencing progressive eutrophication. During the thermal stratification period, the reservoir exhibited a worse status of macroinvertebrate communities, accompanied by an abundance of plankton. The results of PLSR and the Spearman rank test revealed that several abiotic factors, such as water temperature, chlorophyll-a, soluble phosphate, pH, and transparency, as well as biotic factors including the abundance of protozoans, Cyanobacteria, phytoplankton, Bacillariophyta, and Euglenophyta, were the most important factors affecting macroinvertebrate communities. The results of PLS-SEM revealed that both abiotic factors and biotic factors had non-negligible effects on the status of macroinvertebrate communities, with higher effect from abiotic factors compared to biotic factors.

KEYWORDS:

• Macroinvertebrates
• PLSR
• abiotic factors
• biotic factors
• plankton
• eutrophic subtropical reservoir

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their gratitude to Qiang Shen, Hongjun Wang, and Shaobo Gao for their valuable assistance during the fieldwork.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

Juxiang Hu and Jun Hu designed the experiments. Shiyun Chi analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript. Lianfeng Zhou performed the experiments. Jinxiu Zheng and Sixin Li improved the English and provided some advice.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the Joint Funds for Regional Innovation and Development of the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grand number: U21A2002], Biodiversity Survey and Assessment Project of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, China [grand number: 2019HJ2096001006], National Natural Science Foundation of China [grand number: 51779158, 51409178, 51279112, and 51509169], Water Environmental Quality Assessment Project of Reservoir Water Source in Typical Big Cities (KFJ-SW-YW036), Special Funds for Public Industry Research Projects of the National Ministry of Water Resources [grand number: 201501030], and the National Key Research and Development Program [grand number: 2017YFC0405303].

Notes on contributors

Shiyun Chi

Shiyun Chi graduated from the College of Life Sciences at Hubei University with a master's degree in ecological science. He currently serves as a researcher at the River and Lake Ecology Research Center of the Institute of Hydroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ministry of Water Resources, and is a mentor for postgraduate students at the Joint Training Base of Hohai University. He specialises in the ecological study of freshwater benthic macroinvertebrates and published more than 50 academic papers.

Jun Hu

Dr. Jun Hu primarily engages in aquatic ecology monitoring and risk assessment, as well as ecological flow evaluation. He holds a Ph.D. in environmental science from the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He has published several papers in journals in the fields of environmental science and ecology, such as environmental science and pollution research, environmental monitoring and assessment and aquatic ecology. Currently, he is employed at the River and Lake Ecology Research Center of the Institute of Hydroecology, Ministry of Water Resources and Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Jinxiu Zheng

Ms. Jinxiu Zheng graduated from the College of Resources and Environment at Wuhan University in 2005. She primarily specialises in aquatic ecology research and has published numerous scientific papers in the fields of aquatic ecology and water environment. Currently, she is a senior engineer at the Institute of Hydroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ministry of Water Resources, and is primarily engaged in journal editing work.

Sixin Li

Dr. Sixin Li graduated from the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. His primary research interests lie in ecological toxicology and environmental chemistry, with particular emphasis on the trophic transfer and bioaccumulation of heavy metals in aquatic food webs. He has published numerous related papers in this field. Currently, he serves as an associate researcher at the River and Lake Ecology Research Center of the Institute of Hydroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ministry of Water Resources.

Ming Li

Dr. Ming Li graduated from the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and mainly specialises in environmental science and standards research. He is currently a senior engineer and researcher at the Hubei Standardization and Quality Institution of China, and has published more than 20 academic papers.

Juxiang Hu

Ms. Juxiang Hu serves as the director of the River and Lake Ecology Research Center at the Institute of Hydroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ministry of Water Resources. Her primary research interests include the monitoring and evaluation of river and lake aquatic ecology, as well as aquatic ecological restoration. She has published over 100 academic papers.