围垦对长江口南岸底栖动物群落结构及多样性的影响

通过对长江口南岸围垦潮滩和自然潮滩大型底栖无脊椎动物进行取样调查,研究了围垦潮滩的底栖动物群落结构及其多样性特性,分析了围垦对潮滩底栖动物群落结构及多样性的影响,研究发现,（1）围垦氏栖动物群落种类减少,种类组成发生变化;总趋势是,围垦以后,甲壳动物种类明显减少,由7种减少到1种;随着围垦时间延长,多毛类种类减少,由4种减少到3种,直到最后消失,而软体动物和昆虫幼虫种类所占比例则明显增加,分别从占总种数的29．41％,5．89％增加到50．00％和25．00％;（2）围垦1a且仍受潮水影响的潮滩,底栖动物种类丰度虽有降低,但其密度和生物量却明显增加,分别从132．10个/m^2,35.31g/m^2（湿重）增加到218．32个／m/ 2和79．66g/m^2（湿重）,围垦2a且潮水不能进入的潮滩,底栖动物生物量大大降低,降到3．02g/m^2（湿重）;（3）围垦时间短且仍受潮水影响的潮滩与未围垦的自然潮滩相比,其底栖动物多样性降低不明显,围垦时间长且潮水不能进入的潮滩,底栖动物多样性明显降低,反映了围垦导致潮滩湿地生境退化;（4）围垦对底栖动物群落结构及多样性的影响,是通过改变潮滩湿地生境中的多种环境因子造成的,如潮滩高保,水,动力,沉积物特性,植被演替等,是各种因子综合作用的结果。     

河流岸带湿地沉积物重金属分布对植被物种多样性和底栖动物群落特征的影响

河流岸带湿地栖息地完整性对河流水环境、水生态和水文的安全与健康具有重要意义,为探究河流岸带湿地表层沉积物重金属分布特征及其对植被和底栖动物的影响,对滦河干流上中下游河段表层沉积物、植物群落和底栖动物调查分析,采用生物毒性效应系数法和综合潜在生态风险指数法评价沉积物重金属污染特征,采用植被物种多样性指数和底栖动物完整性指数评价滦河植物和底栖动物群落特征,探究岸带湿地沉积物重金属空间分布与植被及底栖动物群落特征之间关系。结果表明,滦河表层沉积物总体呈清洁水平,但不同河段重金属空间分布差异较大,下游重金属生态危害系数和潜在生态风险指数高于上中游。湿地物种调查共识别维管束植物219种,大型无脊椎底栖动物105种,综合评价结果表明下游植物群落物种多样性和底栖动物群落完整性低于上中游。滦河下游岸带湿地沉积物重金属对生物群落具有生物毒性和潜在的生态风险,降低了植被物种多样性和底栖动物群落完整性。大型底栖动物完整性指数能够综合反映底栖动物群落结构特征变化,对河岸带湿地生态健康评价和监测具有重要意义。     

互花米草入侵对盐沼和红树林滨海湿地底栖动物群落的影响

盐沼和红树林等滨海湿地支持着丰富的生物多样性和复杂的食物网,其中底栖动物群落在滨海湿地食物网中起着不可替代的营养枢纽作用,但也极易受到外来干扰的影响而发生变化,进而影响整个滨海湿地的生物多样性及物质循环和能量流动。作为中国滨海湿地面临的严重威胁之一,互花米草入侵对底栖动物群落结构和食物网关系的影响需要引起关注。互花米草入侵滨海湿地生态系统会对其底栖动物群落结构和食物网关系造成影响,但具体的入侵后果和影响程度受到诸多因素制约。本文主要从原生植被覆盖状况、入侵时间、互花米草生长特征以及底栖动物类群等多个角度探讨了互花米草对滨海湿地底栖动物群落结构的影响,并阐述了互花米草入侵导致的底栖动物食物网关系的变化及其潜在机制,指出了当前研究的不足,并对未来滨海湿地管理中应予以关注的研究内容提出了建议。     

水位调控措施治理互花米草对大型底栖动物群落的影响

采用物理控制措施治理崇明东滩自然保护区外来入侵植物互花米草(Spartina alterniflora)的蔓延和扩散,对保护该地区的生物多样性具有重要的意义.研究跟踪了崇明东滩治理互花米草示范样地内水位调控措施对大型底栖动物群落的影响.结果显示,潮间带大型底栖动物的密度和生物量具有显著的季节性波动,实施持续水位调控措施样地中大型底栖动物的密度、生物量和丰富度指数均显著低于同时期对照样地.破堤排水后的恢复样地中,随着恢复时间延长,大型底栖动物密度、生物量和丰富度指数均有不同程度的恢复.应用DCA排序方法有助于进一步分析大型底栖动物群落与水位调控措施强度之间的相互关系.研究结果表明,水位调控措施会对盐沼植被中大型底栖动物的密度、生物量和多样性产生负面影响,但这种影响在治理互花米草水位调控措施结束后可逐渐自然恢复.     

灵昆岛围垦区内外滩涂大型底栖动物生物多样性

2006年2月至2006年11月在灵昆岛东滩湿地选择1997年围垦潮沟滩涂以及围垦区外的自然滩涂作为样地,开展了自然滩涂与围垦潮沟滩涂大型底栖动物群落生物多样性比较的调查研究.共发现大型底栖动物36种,隶属7门8纲22科,这些物种中软体动物、节肢动物和环节动物共占物种总数的83.33%.其中在围垦区内的4个样点共发现大型底栖动物27种,在自然滩涂上的4个样点共发现大型底栖动物32种.通过对定量取样获得的各群落大型底栖动物密度数据进行计算,得到了各种大型底栖动物的生态位宽度和围垦区内外不同生境中大型底栖动物群落生物多样性指数(Shannon-Weiner指数 H'、Pielou指数 J、Simpson指数 D),结果显示围垦滩涂潮沟上的光滩和边滩以及自然滩涂上的高潮带和中潮带滩涂的Shannon-Weiner多样性指数 H'较高,Simpson优势度指数D则相对较低,表明了这些位点的大型底栖动物的多样性程度较高,而长满互花米草(Spartina alterniflora)位点的Shannon-Weiner多样性指数 H'和Pielou均匀度指数 J都要小于受潮水作用相似的邻近滩涂,但Simpson优势度指数D却相对较高,这表明互花米草入侵已改变了原来的大型底栖动物群落结构.运用相似度指数Jc、成对t检验以及聚类和排序等多种统计学方法对围垦滩涂潮沟和自然滩涂上的各个位点进行了群落相似性分析,结果表明潮位是影响自然滩涂上大型底栖动物分布的一个重要因素,不同潮位之间的大型底栖动物群落差异比较明显.相对而言,围垦区内各生境之间的大型底栖动物群落分化程度较低,即围垦导致潮位因素对大型底栖动物的分布的影响降低.     

长江口北支大型底栖动物群落周年变化特征

分析了长江口北支滩涂大型底栖动物的群落结构和多样性变化特征。共采集大型底栖动物78种,包括环节动物7种、软体动物23种、节肢动物28种、脊索动物18种、其它两种,全年优势种有8种。密度为0.08 ind/m^2（1月）-1.24 ind/m^2（7月）,生物量为0.006 g/m^2（2月）-0.58 g/m^2（5月）,Margalef丰富度指数（D）为0.82（1月）-3.88（7月）,Pielou均匀度指数（J）为0.60（9月）-0.86（1月）,Shannon-Wiener多样性指数（H＇）为1.59（2月）-2.76（10月）。底栖动物密度与环境因子进行相关性分析显示,北支潮间带的大型底栖动物群落按照盐度、沉积特征等不同可分为3组,盐度和温度是影响底栖动物群落分布的主导因子。     

北方滨海人工湿地水生生物群落快速重建目标及适宜物种清单确定——以天津临港二期湿地为例

由于滨海湿地的萎缩和退化对全球鸟类迁徙构成了严重威胁，开展自然湿地或人工构建湿地生态恢复已经成为滨海湿地保护与研究的重要内容。以天津临港二期湿地为例，研究北方滨海人工湿地生物群落快速重建目标及适宜物种清单的确定方法。临港二期湿地2019年共检出浮游植物110种、浮游动物28种，而大型底栖动物仅1种，鱼类未检出，水体生物种类结构单一，难以为迁徙侯鸟提供充足食源。选择与临港二期湿地相同（近）区域、同盐度水平的北大港湿地自然保护区以及临港一期湿地作为备选参照湿地（参考湿地）进行同步生物多样性调查分析，结果表明，北大港水库东区、北大港水库西区、临港一期湿地具有较好的浮游动植物、底栖动物多样性及鱼类资源，可以作为临港二期湿地修复的参照湿地。与参照湿地相比，临港二期湿地具有较好的浮游植物生物多样性，应重点恢复底栖动物与鱼类群落，考虑到后期鱼类恢复后的食物需求，可同步进行浮游动物的增殖放流。以参照湿地生物多样性调查结果与文献资料数据为依据，确定临港二期湿地底栖动物生态恢复目标为：Shannon-Wiener生物多样性指数远期（10年）达到3.00，近期（5年）达到1.58；生物密度远期（10年）恢复至600个/m²，近期（5年）恢复至300个/m²；同时确定了临港湿地生物群落快速重建的底栖动物清单（15种）与鱼类清单（14种），并提出了临港二期湿地生态系统恢复的食物网构建路线图。研究结果表明，选择同区域、类似的天然湿地作为参考湿地，通过生物调查与生物多样性比选，确定具体参照湿地，并依据参照湿地生态特征确定待修复湿地的生物群落快速重建目标与适宜物种清单，是合理可行的。     

中国自然湿地底栖动物生态学研究进展

底栖动物是湿地生态系统中的一个重要组成部分,在能量流动和物质循环中起着承上启下的作用。其群落结构能反映出底质条件、水质状况、水温等非生物因子以及植被、物种间的影响、捕食压力等生物因子的情况。本文概括了底栖动物的概念、生活型和功能群的划分,探讨了底栖动物群落生态学研究的特点及目前中国底栖动物的研究重点和主要研究成果,重点讨论了底栖动物群落分布的时空差异、底栖动物与环境因子之间的关系以及底栖动物的生物指示作用,并展望了底栖动物研究的未来发展趋势。     

松花江流域大型底栖动物群落结构与水质评价

【目的】松花江流域是中国最早的工业基地之一,其水生态环境遭到严重破坏,环境保护工作面临巨大挑战。开展松花江流域水质评价及典型生物类群多样性状况调查,可为松花江流域生态系统的保护和修复提供依据。【方法】于2016年7月调查整个松花江流域近岸的大型底栖动物群落组成和测定水质理化指标,开展其水质理化特征评价和生物指数评价,并探讨底栖动物群落分布与水环境因子间的关系。【结果】理化指标评价结果显示,南源松花江水质状况最差,处于中度污染;北源松花江处于轻度污染;梧桐河水质最好,处于良好状态。松花江流域3个河段的底栖动物群落结构存在空间差异性。另外,梧桐河的物种多样性最高,北源松花江次之,南源松花江最低。溶解氧和营养元素K的浓度是驱动底栖动物群落组成发生显著性差异的主要环境因子。生物指数评价结果显示,3个河段水质均处于轻度污染状态。【结论】松花江流域水质处于轻度到中度污染状态。有机污染是松花江流域面临的主要水质环境问题,对松花江流域底栖动物群落结构产生了显著影响。因此,控制有机质的输入是维持松花江流域水生态系统平衡的重要举措之一。     

漩门湾不同类型湿地大型底栖动物群落特征比较研究

为研究漩门湾围垦后自然滩涂湿地和不同利用方式人工湿地7种生境的大型底栖动物群落结构现状和受扰动情况,2010年10月至2012年7月在两个区域中进行了为期两周年8个季度的大型底栖动物调查,结果表明:两周年共获得大型底栖动物5门8纲41科63种;第一周年为47种,其中自然滩涂湿地41种,人工湿地14种;第二周年为58种,其中自然滩涂湿地50种,人工湿地10种,人工湿地的物种数明显少于自然滩涂湿地。采集到的物种以软体动物和节肢动物为主,分别为32种和23种,各占总物种数的50.00%和37.10%。两周年的年均栖息密度和年均生物量在生境间从高到低依次为,年均栖息密度第一周年HSGTHHRLSCNYSK,第二周年GTHSHHSCNYRLSK;年均生物量第一周为HSRLHHGTNYSKSC,第二周年是HSHHRLGTNYSCSK。3种大型底栖动物的生物多样性指数(Margalef丰富度指数(S)、Shannon-Wiener多样性指数(H')、Pielou均匀度指数(J))分析表明,两周年7种生境3种多样性指数均处在不断的变化之中,人工湿地的Margalef丰富度指数(S)和Shannon-Wiener多样性指数(H')相对于自然滩涂湿地偏低,而Pielou均匀度指数(J)人工湿地大于自然滩涂湿地。聚类和排序的结果表明,围垦使大型底栖动物的群落结构发生明显的变化。ABC曲线分析结果表明,自然滩涂湿地受到的干扰程度较轻,而人工湿地受到的干扰程度较大。围垦改变了潮滩高程、水动力、盐度、沉积物特性,再加上人类活动的影响,这些因素是造成底栖动物群落结构及生物多样性变化的主要原因,围垦结束后的生态修复十分必要。     

黄河三角洲芦苇湿地底栖无脊椎动物与环境因子的关系研究——以石油开采区与淡水补给区为例

分别于2018年5月和8月对黄河三角洲芦苇湿地19(淡水补给区11处,石油开采区8处)处采样点的底栖无脊椎动物和水体理化指标进行调查采样,运用统计方法分析两个区域物种组成、优势种、多样性、群落结构以及与环境因子的关系。结果表明:两季共采集到底栖无脊椎动物54种,主要以水生昆虫、腹足纲和软甲纲为主,淡水补给区和石油开采区各类群组成差异明显。独立样本T检验表明淡水补给区和石油开采区水体理化指标间差异显著(P0.05)。双因子方差分析显示,昆虫纲和腹足纲密度在两区域差异显著(P0.05),软甲纲和腹足纲密度在季节上差异明显(P0.05)。底栖无脊椎动物优势种共10种,淡水补给区指示物种8种,而石油开采区未发现有指示物种。聚类和非参数多维排序(nM DS)显示,底栖无脊椎动物群落结构相似性较低; RDA结果表明:淡水补给区底栖无脊椎动物群落结构主要受Cond,TDS,Sal,pH,Eh,HCO_3~-,SO_4~(2-)等环境因子的影响。石油开采区底栖无脊椎动物群落结构影响较大的环境因子为HCO_3~-、NH_4-N。     

Partitioning the effects of environmental and spatial heterogeneity on distribution of plant diversity in the Yellow River Estuary

For successful conservation and restoration of biodiversity, it is important to understand how diversity is regulated. In the ecological research community, a current topic of interest is how much of the variation in plant species richness and composition is explained by environmental variation (niche-based model), relative to spatial processes (neutral theory). The Yellow River Estuary (YRE) is a newly formed and fragile wetland ecosystem influenced by both the Yellow River and Bohai Bay. Here, we applied variance partitioning techniques to assess the relative effects of spatial and environmental variables on species richness and composition in the YRE. We also conducted a species indicator analysis to identify characteristic species for three subestuaries within the YRE. Partial redundancy analysis showed that the variations in species richness and composition were explained by both environmental and spatial factors. The majority of explained variation in species richness and composition was attributable to local environmental factors. Among the environmental variables, soil salinity made the greatest contribution to species abundance and composition. Soil salinity was the most important factor in the Diaokou subestuary, while soil moisture was the most important factor influencing species richness in the Qingshui and Chahe subestuaries. The combined effects of soil salinity and moisture determined species richness and composition in the wetlands. These results increase our understanding of the organization and assembly of estuarine plant communities.     

Invertebrate community patterns in Mediterranean temporary wetlands along hydroperiod and salinity gradients

1. Temporary aquatic habitats often are inhabited by a unique fauna and flora and contribute significantly to regional diversity. Temporary wetlands around the world are disappearing rapidly. The individual and interacting impacts of factors influencing community structure and dynamics in temporary wetlands are not always well known.
2. Camargue wetlands are mainly characterized by variable salinity and hydroperiod. The individual and combined impacts of these local factors, together with regional variables, on invertebrate communities remain unknown. We therefore characterized and sampled invertebrates in 30 temporary wetlands along salinity and hydroperiod gradients in the Camargue (Southern France) 3, 5 and 7 months after inundation.
3. Over the three sampling occasions, a total of 17 cladoceran species and 49 macroinvertebrate taxa were identified. Hydroperiod and salinity were the most important variables explaining variation in taxonomic composition and can be considered key factors shaping the invertebrate communities in Camargue wetlands. The impact on taxon richness was significantly positive for hydroperiod but significantly negative for salinity. Regional factors had no significant effect on the structure of the studied invertebrate communities, suggesting that dispersal was not limiting and that species sorting was the most important structuring process.
4. The results of this study suggest that the combined and interacting effects of salinization and hydrological modification of Mediterranean temporary wetlands (due to water management, climate change, etc.) can result in reduced diversity in large numbers of Mediterranean wetlands and induce a considerable decline in regional diversity of aquatic invertebrates.     

Assembly processes and source tracking of planktonic and benthic bacterial communities in the Yellow River estuary

Estuaries connect rivers with the ocean and are considered transition regions due to the continuous inputs from rivers. Microbiota from different sources converge and undergo succession in these transition regions, but their assembly mechanisms along environmental gradients remain unclear. Here, we found that salinity had a stronger effect on planktonic than on benthic microbial communities, and the dominant planktonic bacteria changed more distinctly than the dominant benthic bacteria with changes in salinity. The planktonic bacteria in the brackish water came mainly from seawater, which was confirmed in the laboratory, whereas the benthic bacteria were weakly affected by salinity, which appeared to be a mixture of the bacteria from riverine and oceanic sediments. Benthic bacterial community assembly in the sediments was mainly controlled by homogeneous selection and almost unaffected by changes in salinity, the dominant assemblage processes for planktonic bacteria changed dramatically along the salinity gradient, from homogeneous selection in freshwater to drift in seawater. Our results highlight that salinity is the key driver of estuarine microbial succession and that salinity is more important in shaping planktonic than benthic bacterial communities in the Yellow River estuary.     

Nearshore subtidal community structure compared between inner coast and outer coast sites in Southeast Alaska

Processes that structure subarctic marine communities, particularly in glaciated regions, are not well understood. This understanding is needed as a baseline and to manage these communities in the face of future climate-driven changes. This study investigates two coastal regions of Southeast Alaska with the goals to (a) identify and compare patterns of subtidal community structure for macroalgal, fish, macroinvertebrate (>5?cm), and small epibenthic invertebrate (<5?cm) communities between inner coast and outer coast sites and (b) link patterns of community structure to habitat and environmental parameters. Species assemblage and benthic habitat data were used to compare species diversity and community composition at 6?m and 12?m depths at nine inner coast and nine outer coast sites. Multivariate analysis was applied to reduce environmental variables to major gradients, to resolve community structure, and to relate community structure to habitat and environmental variables. Increased salinity and decreased temperature at outer coast sites compared with inner coast sites were associated with community structure, with greater species diversity at outer coast sites at 6?m depth. Invertebrate community composition was associated with benthic habitat, including crust and coralline algae for macroinvertebrates, and algal cover and substrate for small epibenthic invertebrates. This research suggests that marine communities in glaciated regions are strongly influenced by freshwater input and that future climate-driven changes in freshwater input will likely result in marine community composition changes.     

Multi-scale segregations and edaphic determinants of marsh plant communities in a western Pacific estuary

Whether and how the roles of environmental factors in producing vegetation patterns in coastal marshes vary with spatial scale is not well understood. We investigated the relationship between plant communities and edaphic factors in the Yangtze estuary at three spatial scales. Plant communities and edaphic factors were quantified at high and low tidal levels in both freshwater and salt marshes. Canonical correspondence analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between plant communities and edaphic factors at the landscape scale (freshwater vs. salt marsh), the zonation scale (high vs. low tidal level) and the patch scale (dominant vs. other species). Soil salinity, moisture content, pH, bulk density, and organic carbon could well explain segregations of plants at the landscape and zonation scales. However, the same factors exhibited only very weak relationships to plant communities at the patch scale. These results suggest that plant communities in the Yangtze estuary are segregated at different spatial scales by different environmental factors. As spatial scale is often not explicitly addressed investigating community assembly rules, our study underscores the importance of scaling for an improved understanding of community organization in coastal wetlands.     

Linking forest harvest and landscape factors to benthic macroinvertebrate communities in the interior of British Columbia

Detecting the magnitude of human-induced disturbance events, such as forest harvest, on biological communities is often confounded by other environmental gradients and scales at which these effects are examined. In this study, benthic invertebrates were collected from 43 streams across four basins and two geographic regions to (1) determine whether invertebrate abundance and community structure are best explained by historic forest harvest, landscape variables or a combination of both, and (2) evaluate associations among harvest, landscape variables, in-stream physical habitat, and invertebrates. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling showed that invertebrate community structure was primarily explained by watershed area and elevation, and basin and region but not by measures of forest harvest. Model selection using an information-theoretic approach and Akaike’s information criterion indicated that watershed area was the most important variable explaining clinger and long-lived taxa richness, while basin was the most important variable explaining total abundance, and total, Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera taxa richness. Forest harvest ranked lower than landscape variables in relative importance in all models. These results suggest that landscape characteristics were relatively more important in predicting invertebrate community structure than forest harvest, and should therefore be considered when assessing the impacts of both reach and watershed scale forest harvest on benthic communities. Perhaps, the levels of forest harvest examined in this study had only marginal effects on benthic invertebrates because these ecosystems are naturally resilient as a result of frequent disturbance from forest fires.     

Testing for temporal coherence across spatial extents: the roles of climate and local factors in regulating stream macroinvertebrate community dynamics

Temporal coherence or spatial synchrony refers to the tendency of population, community or ecosystem dynamics to behave similarly among locations through time as a result of spatially‐correlated environmental stochasticity (Moran effect), dispersal or trophic interactions. While terrestrial studies have treated synchrony mainly as a population‐level concept, the majority of freshwater studies have focused on community‐level patterns, particularly in lake planktonic communities. We used spatially and temporally hierarchical data on benthic stream invertebrates across six years, with three seasonal samples a year, in 11 boreal streams to assess temporal coherence at three spatial extents: 1) among regions (watersheds), 2) among streams within a region, and 3) among riffles within a stream, using the average of correlation coefficients for stream/riffle pairs across years. Our results revealed the primacy of strongly synchronized climatic factors (precipitation, air temperature) in inducing temporal coherence of macroinvertebrate assemblages across geographically distinct sites (i.e. Moran effect). Coherence tended to decrease with increasing spatial extent, but positive coherence was detected for most biological variables even at the largest extent (about 350 km). The generally high level of coherence reflected the strong seasonality of boreal freshwater communities. A hydrologically exceptional year enhanced the synchrony of biological variables, particularly total macroinvertebrate abundance. Regionally low precipitation in that year led to a substantial decrease in benthic densities across a broad spatial extent, followed by a rapid post‐drought recovery. Coherence at the among‐riffle (within‐stream) extent was lower than expected, implying that local‐scale habitat filters determine community dynamics at smaller spatial extents. Thus, temporal coherence of stream benthic communities appears to be controlled by partly different processes at different spatial scales.     

Characterizing the role benthos plays in large coastal seas and estuaries: A modular approach

Ecologists studying coastal and estuarine benthic communities have long taken a macroecological view, by relating benthic community patterns to environmental factors across several spatial scales. Although many general ecological patterns have been established, often a significant amount of the spatial and temporal variation in soft-sediment communities within and among systems remains unexplained. Here we propose a framework that may aid in unraveling the complex influence of environmental factors associated with the different components of coastal systems (i.e. the terrestrial and benthic landscapes, and the hydrological seascape) on benthic communities, and use this information to assess the role played by benthos in coastal ecosystems. A primary component of the approach is the recognition of system modules (e.g. marshes, dendritic systems, tidal rivers, enclosed basins, open bays, lagoons). The modules may differentially interact with key forcing functions (e.g. temperature, salinity, currents) that influence system processes and in turn benthic responses and functions. Modules may also constrain benthic characteristics and related processes within certain ecological boundaries and help explain their overall spatio-temporal variation. We present an example of how benthic community characteristics are related to the modular structure of 14 coastal seas and estuaries, and show that benthic functional group composition is significantly related to the modular structure of these systems. We also propose a framework for exploring the role of benthic communities in coastal systems using this modular approach and offer predictions of how benthic communities may vary depending on the modular composition and characteristics of a coastal system.     

Size distribution of aquatic invertebrates in two prairie wetlands, with and without fish, with implications for community production

1. We compared the size distribution of aquatic invertebrates in two prairie wetlands, one supporting a population of fathead minnows and the other fishless. Both wetlands were sampled in three depth zones on three dates, allowing assessment of temporal and spatial variation.
2. We determined biomass of aquatic invertebrates in 17 log₂ size classes, and used these data to develop normalized size spectra. We also coupled size distributions with an allometric model to estimate relative production at the community level.
3. The composition of the invertebrate communities differed greatly between sites, and invertebrate biomass was higher in nearly all size classes in the fishless wetland. Intercepts of normalized size spectra were significantly different between wetlands, but slopes generally were not, indicating differences in standing-stock biomass but similar size structures between the two invertebrate communities. Higher standing-stock biomass in the fishless wetland resulted in higher relative production per unit area, but similar size distributions resulted in similar mass-specific production (P/B) between wetlands.
4. Our results indicate that invertebrate communities in prairie wetlands may have relatively consistent size structures in spite of large differences in community composition and standing-stock biomass. We hypothesize that the observed differences are because of predation by the minnow population and/or differences in the macrophyte communities between the two sites. However, the relative importance of macrophytes and fish predation in structuring invertebrate communities in prairie wetlands is poorly known.