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Aquatic and terrestrial invertebrate community responses to drying in chalk streams
Author(s) -
Bunting George,
England Judy,
Gething Kieran,
Sykes Tim,
Webb Jon,
Stubbington Rachel
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
water and environment journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.437
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1747-6593
pISSN - 1747-6585
DOI - 10.1111/wej.12621
Subject(s) - streams , invertebrate , benthic zone , biodiversity , perennial stream , aquatic ecosystem , environmental science , ecology , species richness , ecosystem , terrestrial ecosystem , aquatic plant , hydrology (agriculture) , biology , macrophyte , geology , computer network , geotechnical engineering , computer science
Temporary streams are dynamic ecosystems that shift between wet and dry states and include the ‘winterbourne’ chalk streams of south England. Our understanding of temporary stream biodiversity is biased, with most research to date exploring aquatic invertebrate communities in benthic sediments during flowing phases. We surveyed the invertebrate communities of the Candover Brook chalk stream, comparing aquatic (benthic, hyporheic) and terrestrial communities in reaches with different flow permanence regimes. We used kick and Bou–Rouch sampling methods to collect aquatic invertebrates, and compared the terrestrial communities characterised by pitfall traps and ground searches and in different seasons. Although aquatic taxa richness was lower in temporary compared to perennial reaches, the total biodiversity of temporary stream channels was enhanced by contributions from both aquatic and terrestrial species, including several of conservation interest. We recommend that both aquatic and terrestrial communities should be considered in research and monitoring to characterise the biodiversity and ecological quality of temporary streams.