Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T08:12:06.462Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Impact of hydropeaking on hyporheic invertebrates in an Alpine stream (Trentino, Italy)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 August 2009

Maria Cristina Bruno*
Affiliation:
Fondazione Edmund Mach, IASMA Research and Innovation Centre, Environment and Natural Resources Area, Via E. Mach 1, 38010 S. Michele all'Adige (TN), Italy Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali, Università della Tuscia, Largo dell'Università snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Bruno Maiolini
Affiliation:
Fondazione Edmund Mach, IASMA Research and Innovation Centre, Environment and Natural Resources Area, Via E. Mach 1, 38010 S. Michele all'Adige (TN), Italy
Mauro Carolli
Affiliation:
Fondazione Edmund Mach, IASMA Research and Innovation Centre, Environment and Natural Resources Area, Via E. Mach 1, 38010 S. Michele all'Adige (TN), Italy
Luana Silveri
Affiliation:
Fondazione Edmund Mach, IASMA Research and Innovation Centre, Environment and Natural Resources Area, Via E. Mach 1, 38010 S. Michele all'Adige (TN), Italy
Get access

Abstract

The impact of repeated hydropeaking events was assessed in the Alpine stream Noce Bianco (Trentino, NE Italy). Three stations were selected, one upstream and two at 0.25 km and 6 km downstream from a hydropower plant which causes 7-fold discharge increases. We collected hyporheic invertebrates for two years. Taxa diversity and abundance were reduced in the impacted sites, especially affecting the stygobites, which were significantly less abundant at the impacted sites, whereas stygoxene invertebrates increased exponentially. Repeated hydropeaking events alter the physical-chemical characteristics of the hyporheic habitat, resulting in the recorded faunistic pattern. The deposition of the fine sediment transported by the turbinated water downstream of the power plant and the absence of natural peak floods which remove fine sediments, probably cause a reduction of the interstitial space interstitial habitat available to stygobitic taxa. Surface water natural thermal regime is altered by the hypolimnetic discharges, and such alterations propagate into the hyporheic, affecting the stenothermic taxa. Some benthic taxa used the hyporheic habitat as a refuge to avoid catastrophic drift during hydropower production operation. The main trophic roles represented in the hyporheic assemblages do not support an important role for biological interactions such as predation in determining the fine-scale patchiness of the hyporheos.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© EDP Sciences, 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, N.H. and Cummins, K.W., 1979. Influences of diet on life histories of aquatic insects. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. , 36, 335342. CrossRef
Anselmetti F.S., Bühler R., Finger D., Girardclos S., Lancini A., Rellstab C. and Sturm M., 2007. Effects of Alpine hydropower dams on particle transport and lacustrine sedimentation. Aquat. Sci., 69, 179–198.
Autorità di Bacino dell'Adige, 2003. Quaderno 3. Progetto pilota per la redazione di un piano stralcio territoriale: il bacino dell'Avisio, Quaderni del Piano di Bacino a cura di Marcello Vittorini, 118 p.
Baumann, P. and Meile, T., 2004. Makrozoobenthos und Hydraulik in ausgewählten Querprofilen der Rhone. Wasser Energie Luft , 96, 320325.
Blaschke, A.P., Steiner, K.-H., Schmalfuss, R., Gutknecht, D. and Sengschmitt, D., 2003. Clogging processes in hyporheic interstices of an impounded river, the Danube at Vienna, Austria. Internat. Rev. Hydrobiol. , 88, 397413. CrossRef
Bo, T., Fenoglio, S., Malacarne, G., Pessino, M. and Sgariboldi, F., 2007. Effects of clogging on stream macroinvertebrates: An experimental approach. Limnologica , 37, 186192. CrossRef
Boon P.J., 1993. Distribution, abundance and development of Trichoptera larvae in the River North Tyne following the commencement of hydroelectric power generation. Reg. Rivers Res. Manage., 8, 211–224.
Boulton A.J., 2000. The subsurface macrofauna. In: Jones J. and Mulholland P. (eds.), Streams and Ground Waters, Academic Press, New York, 337–361.
Boulton A.J., 2001. Twixt two worlds: Taxonomic and functional biodiversity at the surface water/groundwater interface. Rec. West. Aust. Mus., 64 (Suppl.), 1–13.
Boulton A.J., 2007. Hyporheic rehabilitation in rivers: restoring vertical connectivity. Freshwater Biol., 52, 632–650.
Boulton A.J. and Stanley E.H., 1995. Hyporheic processes during flooding and drying in a Sonoran Desert stream. II. Faunal dynamics. Arch. Hydrobiol., 134, 27–52.
Boulton A.J., Findlay S., Marmonier P., Stanley E. and Valett H.M., 1998. The functional significance of the hyporheic zone in streams and rivers. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst., 29, 59–81.
Brittain, J.E. and Eikeland, T.J., 1988. Invertebrate drift. A review. Hydrobiologia , 166, 7793. CrossRef
Brunke, M., 1999. Colmation and depth filtration within streambeds: retention of particles in hyporheic interstices. Int. Rev. Hydrobiol. , 84, 99117.
Brunke M. and Gonser T., 1997. The ecological significance of exchange processes between rivers and groundwater. Freshwater Biol., 37, 1–33.
Bruno M.C., Maiolini B., Silveri L., Carolli M. and Kerschbaumer G., 2008. Alterations of natural flow in field and flume conditions, Proceedings of the 4th ECRR (European Center for River Restoration) International Conference for River Restoration, Venice, 16–21 June 2008, Book of abstracts, p. 36.
Bunn S.E. and Arthington A.H., 2002. Basic principles and ecological consequences of altered flow regimes for aquatic biodiversity. Environ. Manage., 30, 492–507.
Caissie, D., 2006. The thermal regime of rivers: a review. Freshwater Biol. , 51, 13891406. CrossRef
Campaioli S., Ghetti P.F., Minelli A. and Ruffo S., 1994. Manuale per il riconoscimento dei macroinvertebrati delle acque dolci italiane, Vol. I, Provincia Autonoma di Trento, 357 p.
Campaioli S., Ghetti P.F., Minelli A. and Ruffo S., 1999. Manuale per il riconoscimento dei macroinvertebrati delle acque dolci italiane, Vol. II, Provincia Autonoma di Trento, 127 p.
Carolli M., Maiolini B., Bruno M.C., Silveri L. and Siviglia A., 2009. Thermopeaking in an hydropower impacted Alpine catchment, Proceedings of the 4th ECRR (European Center for River Restoration) International Conference for River Restoration, Venice, 16–21 June 2008, 789–796.
Céréghino, R. and Lavandier, P., 1998a. Influence of hypolimnetic hydropeaking on the distribution and population dynamics of Ephemeroptera in a mountain stream. Freshwat. Biol. , 40, 385399. CrossRef
Céréghino R. and Lavandier P., 1998b. Influence of hydropeaking on the distribution and larval development of the Plecoptera from a mountain stream. Reg. Rivers Res. Manage., 14, 297–309.
Céréghino, R., Cugny, P. and Lavandier, P., 2002. Influence of intermittent hydropeaking on the longitudinal zonation patterns of benthic invertebrates in a mountain stream. Int. Rev. Hydrobiol. , 87, 4760. 3.0.CO;2-9>CrossRef
Céréghino, R., Legalle, M. and Lavandier, P., 2004. Drift and benthic population structure of the mayfly Rhithrogena semicolorata (Heptageniidae) under natural and hydropeaking conditions. Hydrobiologia , 519, 127133. CrossRef
Claret C., Marmonier P., Dole-Olivier M.-J., Creuzé Des Châtelliers M., Boulton A.J. and Castella E., 1999. A functional classification of interstitial invertebrates: supplementing measures of biodiversity using species traits and habitat affinities. Arch. Hydrobiol., 145, 385–403.
Clarke, K.R., 1993. Non-parametric multivariate analysis of changes in community structure. Aust. J. Ecol. , 18, 117143. CrossRef
Cobb D.G., Galloway T.D. and Flannagan J.F., 1992. Effects of discharge and substrate stability on density and species composition of stream insects. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 49, 1788–1795.
Crisp D.T. and Robson S., 1979. Some effects of discharge upon the transport of animals and peat in a north Pennine headstream. J. Appl. Ecol., 16, 721–736.
Cummins K.W., 1962. An evaluation of some techniques for the collection and analysis of benthic samples with special emphasis on lotic waters. Am. Midl. Nat., 67, 477–504.
Cunningham, A.B., Anderson, C.J. and Bouwer, H., 1987. Effects of sediment-laden flow on channel bed clogging. J. Irrig. Drain. E.-ASCE , 113, 106118. CrossRef
Di Lorenzo, T., De Laurentiis, P. and Galassi, D.M.P., 2003. L'inferenza biologica nella valutazione del grado di protezione naturale di sorgenti carsiche captate. Thal. Sal. , 26, 241248.
Diplas P. and Parker G., 1992. Deposition and removal of fines in gravel-bed streams. In: Billi P., Hey R.D., Thorne C.R. and Tacconi P. (eds.), Dynamics of Gravel-Bed Rivers, John Wiley and Sons Ltd, New York, 313–329.
Dole-Olivier, M.J., 1998. Surface water-groundwater exchanges in three dimensions on a backwater of the Rhône River. Freshwat. Biol. , 40, 93109. CrossRef
Dole-Olivier, M.J. and Marmonier, P., 1992. Patch distribution of interstitial communities: prevailing factors. Freshwat. Biol. , 27, 177191. CrossRef
Dole-Olivier M.J., Marmonier P. and Beffy J.L., 1997. Response of invertebrates to lotic disturbance: is the hyporheic zone a patchy refugium? Freshwat. Biol., 37, 257–276.
Dufrêne M. and Legendre P., 1997. Species assemblages and indicator species: the need for a flexible asymmetrical approach. Ecol. Monogr., 67, 345–366.
Dussart B.H., 1967. Les Copépodes des eaux souterraines littorales et continentales d'Europe occidentale. Tome I: Calanoïdes et Harpacticoïdes, N. Boubee et Cie., Paris, 500 p.
Dussart B.H., 1969. Les Copépodes des eaux continentales d'Europe occidentale. Tome II : Cyclopoïdes et Biologie, N. Boubée et Cie, Paris, 292 p.
Fette, M., Weber, C., Peter, A. and Wehrli, B., 2007. Hydropower production and river rehabilitation: A case study on an alpine river. Environ. Model. Assess. , 12, 257267. CrossRef
Fochetti R., Ravizza C.A. and Tierno De Figueroa J.M., 2009. Plecoptera, Vol. 43: Fauna d'Italia, Calderini, Bologna, 536 p.
Fowler, R.T. and Death, R.G., 2001. The effect of environmental stability on hyporheic community structure. Hydrobiologia , 445, 8595. CrossRef
Fowler, R.T. and Scarsbrook, M.E., 2002. Influence of hydrologic exchange patterns on water chemistry and hyporheic invertebrate communities in three gravel-bed rivers. New Zeal. J. Mar. Fresh. , 36, 471482. CrossRef
Friedl G., Teodoru C. and Wehrli B., 2004. Is the Iron Gate I reservoir on the Danube River a sink for dissolved silica? Biogeochemistry, 68, 21–32.
Gayraud S. and Philippe M., 2001. Does subsurface interstitial space influence general characteristics and features and morphological traits of benthic macroinvertebrate communities in streams? Arch. Hydrobiol., 151, 667–686.
Gayraud S., Philippe M. and Maridet L., 2000. The response of benthic macroinvertebrates to artificial disturbance: drift or vertical movement in the gravel bed of two Sub-Alpine streams? Arch. Hydrobiol., 147, 431–446.
Gibbins C.N., Vericat D., Batalla R.J. and Gomez C.M., 2007a. Shaking and moving: low rates of sediment transport trigger mass drift of stream invertebrates. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 64, 1–5.
Gibbins C.N., Vericat D. and Batalla R.J., 2007b. When is stream invertebrate drift catastrophic? The role of hydraulics and sediment transport in initiating drift during flood events. Freshwat. Biol., 52, 2369–2384.
Gibert J., 1991. Groundwater systems and their boundaries: Conceptual framework and prospects in groundwater ecology. Verh. Internat. Verein. Limnol., 24, 1605–1608.
Gibert J., Dole-Olivier M.-J., Marmonier P. and Vervier P., 1990. Surface water-groundwater ecotones. In: Naiman R.J.H. and Décamps H. (eds.), The ecology and management of aquatic-terrestrial ecotones, UNESCO and The Parthenon Publishing Group, London, England, 199–225.
Gibert J., Stanford J., Dole-Olivier M.-J. and Ward J.V., 1994. Basic attributes of ground water ecosystems and prospects for research. In: Gibert J., Danielopol D.L. and Stanford J. (eds.), Ground Water Ecology, Academic Press, San Diego, 7–40.
Gore J.A., Nestler J.M. and Layzer J.B., 1989. Instream flow predictions and management options for biota affected by peakingpower hydroelectric operations. Reg. Rivers Res. Manage., 3, 35–48.
Gore J.A., Niemada S., Resh V.H. and Statzner B., 1994. Near substrate hydraulic conditions under artificial floods from peaking hydropower operations: a preliminary analysis of disturbance intensity and duration. Reg. Rivers Res. Manage., 9, 15–34.
Grimm, N.B., Valett, H.M., Stanley, E.H. and Fisher, S.G., 1991. Contribution of the hyporheic zone to stability of an arid-land stream. Verh. Int. Ver. Theoret. Angew. Limnol. , 24, 15951599.
Hakenkamp C.C. and Palmer M.A., 2000. The ecology of hyporheic meiofauna. In: Jones J.B. and Mulholland P.J. (eds.), Streams and Ground Waters, Academic Press, San Diego, 307–336.
Hancock P., 2002. Human impacts on the stream-groundwater exchange zone. Environ. Manage., 29, 761–781.
Hill, M.O. and Gauch, H.G., 1980. Detrended correspondence analysis: an improved ordination technique. Vegetatio , 42, 4758. CrossRef
Humborg, C., Conley, D.J., Rahm, L., Wulff, F., Cociasu, A. and Ittekkot, V., 2000. Silicon retention in river basins: Far-reaching effects on biogeochemistry and aquatic food webs in coastal marine environments. Ambio , 29, 4550. CrossRef
Imbert, J.B. and Perry, J.A., 2000. Drift and benthic invertebrate responses to stepwise and abrupt increases in non-scouring flow. Hydrobiologia , 436, 191208. CrossRef
Irvine J.R., 1985. Effects of successive flow perturbations on stream invertebrates. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 42, 1922–1927.
Jakob, C., Robinson, C.T. and Uehlinger, U., 2003. Longitudinal effects of experimental floods on stream benthos downstream from a large dam. Aquat. Sci. , 65, 223231. CrossRef
Jaun L., Finger D., Zeh M., Schurter M. and West A., 2007. Effects of upstream hydropower operation and oligotrophication on the light regime of a turbid peri-alpine lake. Aquat. Sci., 69, 212–226.
Karaytug S., 1999. Copepoda: Cyclopoida. Genera Paracyclops, Ochridacyclops and Key to the Eucyclopinae – Guides to the Identification of the Microinvertebrates of the Continental Waters of the World, Dumont H.J.F. (ed.), SPB Academic Publishing, The Netherlands, The Hague, 14, 1–224.
Lancaster, J. and Belyea, L.R., 1997. Nested hierarchies and scale-dependence of flow refugium use. J. N. Am. Benthol. Soc. , 16, 221238. CrossRef
Liebig H., Céréghino R., Lim P., Belaud A. and Lek S., 1999. Impact of hydropeaking on the abundance of juvenile brown trout in a Pyrenean stream. Arch. Hydrobiol., 144, 439–454.
Lock K. and Goethals P.L.M., 2008. Distribution and ecology of the stoneflies (Plecoptera) of Flanders (Belgium). Ann. Limnol. - Int. J. Lim., 44, 203–213.
Loizeau J.L. and Dominik J., 2000. Evolution of the upper Rhone River discharge and suspended sediment load during the last 80 years and some implications for Lake Geneva. Aquat. Sci., 62, 54–67.
Marchant R., 1988. Vertical distribution of benthic invertebrates in the bed of the Thomson River, Victoria. Aust. J. Mar. Fresh. Res., 39, 775–784.
Maridet L., Philippe M., Wasson J.G. and Mathieu J., 1996. Spatial and temporal distribution of macroinvertebrates and trophic variables within the bed sediment of three streams differing by their morphology and riparian vegetation. Arch. Hydrobiol., 136, 41–64.
Marmonier, P., 1986. Spatial distribution and temporal evolution of Gammarus fossarum, Niphargus sp. (Amphipoda) and Proasellus slavus (Isopoda) in the Seebach sediments (Lunz, Austria). Jahresber. Biol. Stn. Lunz , 8, 4054.
Marmonier, P., Vervier, P., Gibert, J. and Dole-Olivier, M.-J., 1993. Biodiversity in ground waters. TREE , 8, 392395.
McCune B. and Mefford M.J., 1999. Multivariate Analysis of Ecological Data Version 4.20, MjM Software, Gleneden Beach, Oregon, USA.
Moog O., 1993. Quantification of daily peak hydropower effects on aquatic fauna and management to minimize environmental impacts. Regul. River., 8, 5–14.
Palmer, M.A., Bely, A.E. and Berg, K.E., 1992. Response of invertebrates to lotic disturbance: a test of the hyporheic refuge hypothesis. Oecologia , 89, 182194. CrossRef
Palmer, M.A., Arensburger, P., Martin, A.P. and Denman, D.W., 1996. Disturbance and patch-specific responses: the interactive effects of woody debris and floods on lotic invertebrates. Oecologia , 105, 247257. CrossRef
PASCALIS, 2001. Protocols for the ASsessment and Conservation of Aquatic Life In the Subsurface, Sampling Manual for the Assessment of Regional Groundwater Biodiversity, Malard F. (ed.). Available at http://serv-umr5023.univ-lyon1.fr/~pascalis/results/samplingmanual.html.
Pesce, G.L. and Galassi, D.M.P., 1987. New or rare species of Diacyclops Kiefer, 1927 (Copepoda, Cyclopoida) from different groundwater habitats in Italy. Hydrobiologia , 148, 103144. CrossRef
Picazo, J. and Ocana, A., 1991. Distribution of nematode orders in a river subjected to pollution: the Monachil River (Granada, Spain). Limnetica , 7, 1124.
Pielou E.C., 1969. An Introduction to Mathematical Ecology, Wiley, New York, 286 p.
Preece, R.M. and Jones, H.A., 2002. The effect of Keepit Dam on the temperature regime of the Namoi River, Australia. River Res. Appl. , 18, 397414. CrossRef
PRIMER-E Ltd., 2006. PRIMER 6: Plymouth Routines In Multivariate Ecological Research.
Provincia Autonoma di Trento, 2006. Piano Generale di Utilizzazione delle Acque Pubbliche. http://www.pguap.provincia.tn.it/PGUAP/.
Robertson A.L., Lancaster J. and Hildrew A.G., 1995. Stream hydraulics and the distribution of microcrustacea – a role for refugia. Freshwat. Biol., 33, 469–484.
Robertson, A.L., Lancaster, J., Belyea, L.R. and Hildrew, A.G., 1997. Hydraulic habitat and the assemblage structure of stream benthic microcrustacea. J. N. Am. Benthol. Soc. , 16, 562575. CrossRef
Sanders, H., 1968. Marine benthic diversity: a comparative study. Am. Nat. , 102, 243282. CrossRef
Schälchli U., 1992. The clogging of coarse gravel river beds by fine sediment. Hydrobiologia, 235/236, 189–197.
Schmid P.E. and Schmid-Araya J.M., 1997. Predation on meiobenthic assemblages: resource use of a tanypod guild (Chironomidae, Diptera) in a gravel stream. Freshwat. Biol., 38, 67–91.
Schmid-Araya J.M. and Schmid P.E., 2000. Trophic relationships: integrating meiofauna into a realistic benthic food web. Freshwat. Biol., 44, 149–163.
Schwoerbel, J., 1962. Hyporheische Besiedlung geröllführender Hochgebirsbäche mit gewebter Stromsohle. Die Naturwissenschaften , 49, 67. CrossRef
Silver P., Palmer M.A., Swan C.M. and Wooster D., 2002. The small scale ecology of freshwater meiofauna. In: Rundle S.D., Robertson A.L. and Schmid-Araya J.M. (eds.), Freshwater Meiofauna: Biology and Ecology, Backhuys, Leiden, The Netherlands, 217–239.
Siviglia A., Salvaro M., Zolezzi G., Carolli M., Bruno M.C. and Maiolini B., 2009. Field observations of thermopeaking in Alpine streams, Proceedings of the 7th International Symposium on Ecohydraulics, Concepcion, Chile, ISE-1A4-FRB3.
Stanford, J.A. and Gaufin, A.R., 1974. Hyporheic communities of two Montana rivers. Science , 185, 700702. CrossRef
StatSoft Inc., 2008. STATISTICA (data analysis software system), version 8.1. www.stasoft.com.
Stoch, F., 1998. Moraria alpina n. sp. and redescription of Moraria radovnae Brancelj 1988, new rank, from Italian and Slovenian Alps (Crustacea, Copepoda, Harpacticoida). St. Trent. Sc. Nat. - Acta Biologica , 73, 135145.
Stoch F., 2000–2006. CKmap for Windows, Version 5.3, Ministry for Environment, Territory and Sea, Nature Protection Directorate. http://ckmap.faunaitalia.it.
Strayer D.L., 1994. Limits to biological sitribution. In: Gibert J., Danielopol D.L. and Stanford J. (eds.), Ground Water Ecology, Academic Press, San Diego, 287–310.
Strayer, D.L., May, S.E., Nielsen, P., Wolheim, W. and Hausam, S., 1997. Oxygen, organic matter, and sediment granulometry as controls on hyporheic animal communities. Arch. Hydrobiol. , 140, 131144. CrossRef
Townsend, C.R. and Hildrew, A.G., 1994. Species traits in relation to a habitat templet for river systems. Freshwat. Biol. , 31, 265276. CrossRef
Townsend C.R., Scarsbrook M.R. and Doledec S., 1997. The intermediate disturbance hypothesis, refugia and biodiversity in streams. Limnol. Oceanogr., 42, 938–949.
Troelstrup, N.H. and Hergenrader, G.L., 1990. Effect of hydropower peaking flow fluctuations on community structure and feeding guilds of invertebrates colonizing artificial substrates in a large impounded river. Hydrobiologia , 199, 217228. CrossRef
Ward J.V., 1992. Aquatic Insect Ecology. Vol. 1: Biology and Habitat, Wiley, New York, 438 p.
Ward J.V., 1994. The structure and dynamics of lotic ecosystems. In: Margalef R. (ed.), Limnology Now: A Paradigm of Planetary Problems, Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, 195–218.
Williams D.D., 1984. The hyporheic zone as a habitat for aquatic insects and associated arthropods. In: Resh V.H. and Rosenberg D.M. (eds.), The ecology of aquatic insects, Praeger, New York, 430–455; Chapman & Hall, London, 195–223.
Williams D.D. and Hynes H.B.N., 1974. The occurrence of benthos deep in the substratum of a stream. Freshwat. Biol., 4, 233–256.
Wong, M. and Parker, G., 2006. One-dimensional modeling of bed evolution in a gravel bed river subject to a cycled flood hydrograph. J. Geophys. Res. , 111, F03018.
Wüest, A., Moosmann, L. and Friedl, G., 2002. Alpine hydroelectric power plants and their “long-range effects” on downstream waters. EAWAG news , 55e, 1820.
Zolezzi G., Bellin A., Bruno M.C., Maiolini B. and Siviglia A., to appear. Assessing hydrological alterations at multiple temporal scales: Adige River, Italy. Water Resour. Res.
Zullini A., 1976. Nematodes as indicators of river pollution. Nematol. Medit., 4, 13–22.
Supplementary material: PDF

OLM - limn 45(3) 2009 p.157 - Impact of hydropeaking on hyporheic ...

Table 2

Download OLM - limn 45(3) 2009 p.157 - Impact of hydropeaking on hyporheic ...(PDF)
PDF 46.6 KB