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Impacts of a Small Dam on Riverine Zooplankton
Author(s) -
Zhou Shuchan,
Tang Tao,
Wu Naicheng,
Fu Xiaocheng,
Cai Qinghua
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
international review of hydrobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1522-2632
pISSN - 1434-2944
DOI - 10.1002/iroh.200711038
Subject(s) - zooplankton , copepod , river ecosystem , environmental science , hydropower , channel (broadcasting) , ecology , geography , hydrology (agriculture) , fishery , biology , ecosystem , crustacean , geotechnical engineering , electrical engineering , engineering
In order to explore the temporal impacts of a small dam on riverine zooplankton, monthly samples were conducted from November 2005 to June 2006 in a reach of Xiangxi River, China, which is affected by a small hydropower plant. A total of 56 taxa of zooplankton were recorded during the study and rotifers were the most abundant group, accounting for 97% of total taxa, while the others were copepod nauplii and copepod adults. This study indicated that: (1) the small dam in the Xiangxi River study area created distinct physical and ecological conditions relative to free‐flowing lotic reaches despite the constrained channel and small size of the dam; (2) the existence of the plant's small dam had a significant effect on the zooplankton community. In long periods of drought or dry seasons the effect of the dam on potamoplankton was more pronounced ( e.g ., November, February, March, and May). But the downfall or the connectivity of channel appeared to decrease the effect of small hydropower plants on riverine zooplankton ( e.g ., April). The present observation underscores the need for additional studies that provide more basic data on riverine zooplankton communities and quantify ecological responses to dam construction over longer time spans. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)