Development of a submerged aquatic vegetation community index of biotic integrity for use in Lake Ontario coastal wetlands
- 作者：Greg P. Grabasa ; Greg.Grabas@ec.gc.ca ; E. Agnes Blukacz-Richardsa ; Satu Pernanenb
- 关键词：Index of biotic integrity ; Submerged aquatic vegetation ; Coastal wetlands ; Lake Ontario ; Breeding bird biodiversity ; Wetland management
- 刊名：Journal of Great Lakes Research
- 出版年：2012
- 期刊代码：pc101_03801330
- 类别：ear
- 出版时间：June, 2012
- 卷：38
- 期：2
- 页码：243-250
- 文件大小：873 K
摘要
Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) supports biodiversity in the Great Lakes basin by providing an important source of food and habitat for breeding marsh birds and fish and it is desirable to have indices enabling reporting on the condition of SAV, to complement already available indices for the condition of fish, aquatic macroinvertebrate, and bird communities and water quality. We developed a SAV index of biotic integrity (SAV IBI) with 6 years of quadrat-based vegetation species composition data (2003, 2005-2009) collected across 46 coastal wetlands on the Canadian side of Lake Ontario. We evaluated the suitability of thirteen potential metrics that described species richness, floristic quality, and cover. Metrics with a significant linear or non-linear response to disturbance (as assessed by a water quality index; WQI) were retained for use in the SAV IBI. Retained metrics included turbidity-intolerant species richness, native species richness, coefficient of conservatism, and total cumulative coverage. Lower SAV IBI scores indicated poorer coastal wetland conditions. Coastal wetlands in poor condition were located in more urbanized watersheds (e.g., Durham Region) relative to wetlands in more natural watersheds. Fish and breeding bird community condition showed strong significant relationships with the SAV IBI, suggesting that SAV was an important component of fish and bird biodiversity. Our SAV assessment index and its relationship to faunal diversity can be used to inform conservation decisions.