Evaluating environmental conditions of a temporary pond complex using rotifer emergence from dry soils
详细信息 查看全文
- 作者：David G. Angeler ; Miguel Alvarez-Cobelas ; Salvador Sá ; nchez-Carrillo
- 关键词：Anthropogenic stress ; Dry phase ; Impact assessment ; Nutrient conditions ; Propagule banks ; Temporary wetlands ; Rotifera
- 刊名：Ecological Indicators
- 出版年：2010
- 出版时间：March 2010
- 年：2010
- 卷：10
- 期：2
- 页码：545-549
- 全文大小：235 K
文摘
In this study we evaluated the usefulness of rotifer emergence from dry soils to indicate the environmental status of a remnant temporary pond complex in an agricultural area in central Spain. Because the ponds did not flood during our project, emergence was studied in relation to environmental variables in outdoor microcosms. Redundancy analysis and nestedness analysis showed that salinity and total nitrogen concentrations shaped the emerged communities. Depauperate rotifer assemblages from pond microcosms with higher salinity and nitrogen levels were nested subsets of species-rich communities from microcosms of less enriched sites. Rotifer community structure also identified small ponds as reference sites that should receive priority in conservation and degradation mitigation programs. Results suggest that rotifer emergence from rewetted sediments using microcosms can be useful for evaluating the nutrient status during the dry phase of temporary wetlands. While results from this approach are conservative, requiring comparisons with field observations, their tentative value lies in alerting management and providing a basis for future research of poorly studied but threatened temporary habitats. Rotifer emergence could be a useful alternative to traditional biological indicators of nutrient status that depend on the presence of water.