Influence of riparian condition on aquatic macroinvertebrate communities in an agricultural catchment in south-eastern Australia |
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Authors: | Omar L Arnaiz Andrea L Wilson Robyn J Watts Mark M Stevens |
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Institution: | (1) Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Locked Mail Bag 588, Wagga Wagga, NSW, 2678, Australia;(2) Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, PO Box 789, Albury, NSW, 2640, Australia;(3) E H Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation (Industry & Investment NSW and Charles Sturt University), Yanco Agricultural Institute, Private Mail Bag, Yanco, NSW, 2703, Australia; |
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Abstract: | Riparian vegetation is known to affect aquatic macroinvertebrate communities through contributions of organic matter and shading.
Despite the widespread degradation of riparian vegetation in Australia, there are relatively few studies examining the effect
of changes in riparian vegetation on in-stream macroinvertebrate assemblages on individual catchments. In particular, information
is lacking on the responses of macroinvertebrate communities in catchments dominated by agriculture, where farms that are
managed at the paddock scale result in riparian vegetation condition varying over relatively short distances. In this study,
macroinvertebrate assemblages were assessed from 12 reaches along a 25-km section of a small agricultural stream in south-eastern
Australia. Riparian condition was assessed using in-stream coarse woody debris (CWD) levels and the rapid appraisal of riparian
condition (RARC) index, a numerical system for categorising the health of riparian areas that incorporates sub-indices reflecting
habitat continuity, vegetation cover, plant debris levels, native vegetation dominance, and other indicative features. There
was a significant positive correlation between RARC scores and macroinvertebrate taxon richness (p < 0.01), and also between CWD scores and macroinvertebrate taxon richness (p < 0.05). In contrast, there was no significant correlation observed between riparian condition and the other macroinvertebrate
indices (abundance, Shannon diversity, SIGNAL and SIGNAL2). Macroinvertebrate communities were significantly different in
stream reaches from different riparian condition categories (ANOSIM; p < 0.05). Our results indicate that efforts to rehabilitate riparian vegetation may have a positive effect on in-stream biota
even when implemented at a relatively small scale by individual landholders. |
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