Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Nutrient- and sediment-induced macroinvertebrate drift in Honduran cloud forest streams

  • Primary Research Paper
  • Published:
Hydrobiologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Montane cloud forests are hydrologically unique, critically endangered ecosystems and frequently major sources of potable water, which have come under increasing pressure from human activities. It is therefore of vital importance that our understanding of the effects of anthropogenic stressors on the aquatic biota in these ecosystems is improved. To this end, a series of flow channel-based field experiments was performed to quantify the effects of nutrient enrichment and deposited fine sediment (two stressors commonly observed in tropical regions) on river macroinvertebrate assemblages in a cloud forest park in Honduras. Macroinvertebrate communities responded to the addition of nutrients (released from struvite) through an increased percentage abundance drifting and to elevated sediment levels with an increased percentage abundance and richness drifting in the first 24 h following treatment. A shift in community structure was also observed in response to elevated nutrients with lower abundances of some taxa and an overall decrease in richness. Our results indicate that increased nutrient loading and sedimentation can alter benthic macroinvertebrate community composition in high-altitude neotropical streams. Macroinvertebrate communities may be impacted via direct toxicity of nutrients and clogging of interstitial spaces and/or reductions in refugia due to sedimentation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alba-Tercedor, J. & A. Sanchez-Ortega, 1988. Un metodo rapido y simple para evaluar la calidad biologica de las agues corrientes basado en el de Hallawell (1987). Limnetica 4: 51–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Armitage, P. D., D. Moss, J. F. Wright & M. T. Furse, 1983. The performance of a new biological water quality score system based on macroinvertebrates over a wide range of unpolluted running-water sites. Water Research 17: 333–347.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bellinger, B. J., C. Cocquyt & C. M. O’Reilly, 2006. Benthic diatoms as indicators of eutrophication in tropical streams. Hydrobiologia 573: 75–87.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bornemisza, E., 1982. Nitrogen cycling in coffee plantations. Plant and Soil 67: 241–246.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bridger, G. L., M. L. Salutsky & R. W. Starostka, 1962. Micronutrient sources, metal ammonium phosphates as fertilizers. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 10: 181–188.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brittain, J. E. & T. J. Eikeland, 1988. Invertebrate drift: a review. Hydrobiologia 166: 77–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruijnzeel, S. & L. S. Hamilton, 2000. Decision time for cloud forests. IHP Humid Tropics Programme Series No. 13. UNESCO Division of Water Sciences. UNESCO, Paris.

  • Bryce, S. A., G. A. Lomnicky & P. R. Kaufmann, 2010. Protecting sediment-sensitive aquatic species in mountain streams through the application of biologically based streambed sediment criteria. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 29: 657–672.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bubb, P., I. May, L. Miles & J. Sayer, 2004. Cloud forest agenda. UNEP-WCMC Biodiversity Series No 20. UNEP-WCMC, Cambridge: 1–32.

  • Buss, D. F., D. F. Baptista, J. L. Nessimian & M. Egler, 2004. Substrate specificity, environmental degradation and disturbance structuring macroinvertebrate assemblages in neotropical streams. Hydrobiologia 518: 179–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Camargo, J. A., A. Alonso & A. Salamanca, 2005. Nitrate toxicity to aquatic animals: a review with new data for freshwater invertebrates. Chemosphere 58: 1255–1267.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Connolly, N. M. & R. G. Pearson, 2007. The effect of fine sedimentation on tropical stream macroinvertebrate assemblages: a comparison using flow-through artificial stream channels and recirculating mesocosms. Hydrobiologia 592: 423–438.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies-Colley, R. J., C. W. Hickey, J. M. Quinn & P. A. Ryan, 1992. Effects of clay discharges on streams. Hydrobiologia 248: 215–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Department of the environment, 2009. Statutory instruments no. 272 European communities environmental objectives (surface waters) regulations.

  • Doeg, T. J. & G. A. Milledge, 1991. Effect of experimentally increasing concentration of suspended sediment on macroinvertebrate drift. Marine and Freshwater Research 42: 519–526.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doeg, T. J. & J. D. Koehn, 1994. Effects of draining and desilting a small weir on downstream fish and macroinvertebrates. Regulated Rivers: Research & Management 9: 263–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doumenge, C., D. Gilmour, M. R. Pérez & J. Blockhus, 1995. Tropical Montane Cloud Forests: Conservation Status and Management Issues. Tropical Montane Cloud Forests. Springer, San Juan, Puerto Rico: 24–37.

  • Flecker, A. S., 1992. Fish predation and the evolution of invertebrate drift periodicity: evidence from neotropical streams. Ecology 73: 438–448.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fossati, O., J.-G. Wasson, C. Hery, G. Salinas & R. Marin, 2001. Impact of sediment releases on water chemistry and macroinvertebrate communities in clear water Andean streams (Bolivia). Archiv für Hydrobiologie 151: 33–50.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gaterell, M. R., R. Gay, R. Wilson, R. J. Gochin & J. N. Lesterm, 2000. An economic and environmental evaluation of the opportunities for substituting phosphorus recovered from wastewater treatment works in existing UK fertiliser markets. Environmental Technology 21: 1067–1084.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Graham, A. A., 1990. Siltation of stone-surface periphyton in rivers by clay-sized particles from low concentrations in suspension. Hydrobiologia 199: 107–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grantham, T., M. Cañedo-Argüelles, I. Perrée, M. Rieradevall & N. Prat, 2012. A mesocosm approach for detecting stream invertebrate community responses to treated wastewater effluent. Environmental pollution 160: 95–102.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, R. J., G. E. Likens, S. B. Fiance & G. R. Hendrey, 1980. Experimental acidification of a stream in the Hubbard Brook experimental forest, New Hampshire. Ecology 61: 976–989.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, L. S., 1995. Mountain cloud forest conservation and research: a synopsis. Mountain Research and Development 15: 259–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hickey, C. W. & M. L. Vickers, 1994. Toxicity of ammonia to nine native New Zealand freshwater invertebrate species. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 26: 292–298.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hickey, C. W., L. A. Golding, M. L. Martin & G. F. Croker, 1999. Chronic toxicity of ammonia to New Zealand freshwater invertebrates: a mesocosm study. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 37: 338–351.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hillaby, B. A. & D. J. Randall, 1979. Acute ammonia toxicity and ammonia excretion in rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri). Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 36: 621–629.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hilsenhoff, W. L., 1988. Rapid field assessment of organic pollution with a family-level biotic index. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 7: 65–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iwata, T., S. Nakano & M. Inoue, 2003. Impacts of past riparian deforestation on stream communities in a tropical rain forest in Borneo. Ecological Applications 13: 461–473.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Izagirre, O., A. Serra, H. Guasch & A. Elosegi, 2009. Effects of sediment deposition on periphytic biomass, photosynthetic activity and algal community structure. Science of the Total Environment 407: 5694–5700.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kaller, M. D. & K. J. Hartman, 2004. Evidence of a threshold level of fine sediment accumulation for altering benthic macroinvertebrate communities. Hydrobiologia 518: 95–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lecerf, A., P. Usseglio-Polatera, J.-Y. Charcosset, D. Lambrigot, B. Bracht & E. Chauvet, 2006. Assessment of functional integrity of eutrophic streams using litter breakdown and benthic macroinvertebrates. Archiv für Hydrobiologie 165: 105–126.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mason, C. F., 2002. Biology of freshwater pollution. Essex, UK, Pearson Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merritt, R. W. & K. W. Cummins, 2008. An introduction to the aquatic insects of North America, 4th ed. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co., Dubuque.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miltner, R. J. & E. T. Rankin, 1998. Primary nutrients and the biotic integrity of rivers and streams. Freshwater Biology 40: 145–158.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Minshall, G. W., 1988. Stream ecosystem theory: a global perspective. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 7: 263–288.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mokaya, S. K., J. M. Mathooko & M. Leichtfried, 2004. Influence of anthropogenic activities on water quality of a tropical stream ecosystem. African Journal of Ecology 42: 281–288.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mol, J. H. & P. E. Ouboter, 2004. Downstream effects of erosion from small-scale gold mining on the instream habitat and fish community of a small neotropical rainforest stream. Conservation Biology 18: 201–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mundie, J. H., K. S. Simpson & C. J. Perrin, 1991. Responses of stream periphyton and benthic insects to increases in dissolved inorganic phosphorus in a mesocosm. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 48: 2061–2072.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Callaghan, P. 2013. Macroinvertebrate communities of the rivers draining Cusuco National Park, Honduras with particular reference to bioassessment needs. School of Biology and Environmental Science. Unpublished, University College Dublin. PhD.

  • Olsen, D. A. & M. C. Watzin, 2009. Do agricultural pollutants affect competition between filter-feeding caddis fly larvae? Results of laboratory microcosm experiments. Freshwater Biology 54: 406–416.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piggott, J. J., K. Lange, C. R. Townsend & C. D. Matthaei, 2012. Multiple stressors in agricultural streams: a mesocosm study of interactions among raised water temperature, sediment addition and nutrient enrichment. PLoS ONE 7: e49873.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Quinn, J., R. Davies-Colley, C. Hickey, M. Vickers & P. Ryan, 1992. Effects of clay discharges on streams. Hydrobiologia 248: 235–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rabení, C. F., K. E. Doisy & L. D. Zweig, 2005. Stream invertebrate community functional responses to deposited sediment. Aquatic Sciences 67: 395–402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramírez, A. & C. M. Pringle, 2001. Spatial and temporal patterns of invertebrate drift in streams draining a neotropical landscape. Freshwater Biology 46: 47–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds-Vargas, J. S., D. D. Richter & E. Bornemisza, 1994. Environmental impacts of nitrification and nitrate adsorption in fertilized andisols in the Valle Central of Costa Rica. Soil Science 157: 289–299.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rice, R. A., 1999. A place unbecoming: the coffee farm of northern Latin America. Geographical Review 89: 554–579.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Richards, C., R. Haro, L. Johnson & G. Host, 1997. Catchment and reach-scale properties as indicators of macroinvertebrate species traits. Freshwater Biology 37: 219–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ríos-Touma, B., N. Prat & A. C. Enclada, 2012. Invertebrate drift and colonization processes in a tropical Andean stream. Aquatic Biology 14: 233–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ross, S. M., J. B. Thornes & S. Nortcliff, 1990. Soil hydrology, nutrient and erosional response to the clearance of terra firme forest, Maracá Island, Roraima, Northern Brazil. The Geographical Journal 156: 267–282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryu, H.-D., C.-S. Lim, Y.-K. Kim, K.-Y. Kim & S.-I. Lee, 2011. Recovery of struvite obtained from semiconductor wastewater and reuse as a slow-release fertilizer. Environmental Engineering Science 29: 540–548.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott, G. & R. L. Crunkilton, 2000. Acute and chronic toxicity of nitrate to fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas), ceriodaphnia dubia, and Daphnia magna. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 19: 2918–2922.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, V., 2003. Eutrophication of freshwater and coastal marine ecosystems a global problem. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 10: 126–139.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, A. J., R. W. Bode & G. S. Kleppel, 2007. A nutrient biotic index (NBI) for use with benthic macroinvertebrate communities. Ecological Indicators 7: 371–386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Springer, M., P. Hanson & A. Ramírez, 2010. Macroinvertebrados de agua dulce de Costa Rica I. Revista de Biologia Tropical 58(Suppl 4): 240.

  • Suren, A. M. & I. G. Jowett, 2001. Effects of deposited sediment on invertebrate drift: an experimental study. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 35: 725–737.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagenhoff, A., C. R. Townsend & C. D. Matthaei, 2012. Macroinvertebrate responses along broad stressor gradients of deposited fine sediment and dissolved nutrients: a stream mesocosm experiment. Journal of Applied Ecology 49: 892–902.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wicks, B. J., R. Joensen, Q. Tang & D. J. Randall, 2002. Swimming and ammonia toxicity in salmonids: the effect of sub lethal ammonia exposure on the swimming performance of coho salmon and the acute toxicity of ammonia in swimming and resting rainbow trout. Aquatic Toxicology 59: 55–69.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wiley, M. J. & S. L. Kohler, 1980. Positioning changes of mayfly nymphs due to behavioral regulation of oxygen consumption. Canadian Journal of Zoology 58: 618–622.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, M., T. R. Fisher & J. M. Melack, 1997. Solute dynamics in soil water and groundwater in a central Amazon catchment undergoing deforestation. Biogeochemistry 38: 303–335.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wood, P. J., A. R. Vann & P. J. Wanless, 2001. The response of Melampophylax mucoreus (Hagen) (Trichoptera: Limnephilidae) to rapid sedimentation. Hydrobiologia 455: 183–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood, P. J., J. Toone, M. T. Greenwood & P. D. Armitage, 2005. The response of four lotic macroinvertebrate taxa to burial by sediments. Archiv für Hydrobiologie 163: 145–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, J. F. & A. D. Berrie, 1987. Ecological effects of groundwater pumping and a natural drought on the upper reaches of a chalk stream. Regulated Rivers: Research & Management 1: 145–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the people of Cusuco National Park for their cooperation and guidance on the numerous excursions in the forest. We also thank the staff and volunteers of Operation Wallacea for supporting the project as well as the Graduate Research Education Programme in sustainable development (GREP) funded jointly by the Irish Research Council for Science Engineering and Technology (IRCSET), and the Irish Research Council for Health and Social Sciences (IRCHSS) for funding the project.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biology and Environmental Science, Science Centre West, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland

    P. O’Callaghan & M. Kelly-Quinn

  2. Jessica Ware Lab, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, 195 University Ave, Newark, NJ, 07102, USA

    M. Jocqué

  3. Operation Wallacea, Hope House, Old Bolingbroke, Lincolnshire, UK

    P. O’Callaghan & M. Jocqué

  4. Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), Vautierstraat 29, 1000, Brussels, Belgium

    M. Jocqué

Authors
  1. P. O’Callaghan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M. Jocqué
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. M. Kelly-Quinn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to P. O’Callaghan.

Additional information

Handling editor: Luz Boyero

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

O’Callaghan, P., Jocqué, M. & Kelly-Quinn, M. Nutrient- and sediment-induced macroinvertebrate drift in Honduran cloud forest streams. Hydrobiologia 758, 75–86 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2271-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2271-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation