Abstract
As a part of the Integrated Monitoring (IM) Programme of Air Pollution Effects on Ecosystems, the macroinvertebrate community of a pristine forest lake was monitored from 1990 up to the present. Lake Iso Hietajärvi is a small and shallow, weakly stratified oligotrophic headwater lake situated in Patvinsuo National Park, eastern Finland. Benthic macroinvertebrates were sampled annually, once in autumn at depths of 3 – 4 m (sublittoral zone) and at 7 m (profundal zone). The water quality of the lake and meteorological characteristics in the area were monitored during the same period. The inter-annual variation in macroinvertebrate abundance and taxonomic composition in the lake unaffected by human activities is described, compared across depth zones and related to environmental variation. The annual variation in density and taxa richness was relatively small, being proportionately greater in the profundal zone. There was a considerable year-to-year variation in the abundance of common and dominant taxa. Most taxa were always few in number and occurred only occasionally – in 1 or 2 years – in both depth zones. The inter-annual community persistence (constancy of taxa occurrences) and stability (consistency of relative abundance of taxa) as measured by the Sorensen distance, were however, relatively high and generally greater in the sublittoral zone. The patterns of variation in density, taxa richness, abundance of dominant taxa and community persistence and stability were generally different in the two zones compared, and few correlations with the measured environmental variables were found. Inter-annual stability and persistence, however, closely traced the course of wintertime North Atlantic Oscillation index, suggesting that the rate of local community change may be linked with large-scale climatic variation in a subtle way. The implications of the results are discussed in the context of biomonitoring.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bergström, I., K. Mäkelä & M. Starr (eds), 1995. Integrated monitoring programme in Finland. First National Report, Ministry of Environment, Helsinki: 138 pp.
Bradley, D. C. & S. J. Ormerod, 2001. Community persistence among stream invertebrates tracks the North Atlantic Oscillation. J. Anim. Ecol. 70: 987–996.
Boulton, A. J., C. G. Peterson, N. B. Grimm & S. G. Fisher, 1992. Stability of an aquatic macroinvertebrate community in a multiyear hydrologic disturbance regime. Ecology 73: 2192–2207.
Brundin, L., 1956. Die Bodenfaunistischen Seetypen und ihre Anwendbarkeit auf die Südhalbkugel. Zugleich eine Theorie der productionsbiologischen Bedeutung der glazialen erosion. Report of the Institute for Freshwater Research,Drottningholm 37: 186–235.
Cao, Y., D. D. Williams & N. E. Williams, 1998. How important are rare species in aquatic community ecology and bioassessment? Limnol. Oceanogr. 43: 1403–1409.
Cao, Y. & D. D. Williams, 1999. Rare species are important in bioassessment (reply to the comment by Marchant). Limnology and Oceanography 44: 1841–1842.
European Parliament, 2000. Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy. Official Journal of the European Communities 43: 1–72.
Holopainen, I. J. & P. M. Jonasson, 1983. Long-term population dynamics and production of Pisidium (Bivalvia) in the profundal of Lake Esrom, Denmark. Oikos 41: 99–117.
Holopainen, I. J., A.-L. Holopainen, H. Hämäläinen, M. Rahkola-Sorsa, V. Tkatcheva & M. Viljanen, 2003a. Effects of mining industry waste waters on a shallow lake ecosystem in Karelia, north-west Russia. Hydrobiologia 506–509: 111–119.
Holopainen, L. R. Niinoja & A. Ramö, 2003b. Seasonal succession, vertical distribution and long term variation of phytoplankton communities in two shallow forest lakes in Eastern Finland. Hydrobiologia 506–509: 111–119.
Hughes, R. M., 1995. Defining acceptable biological status by comparing with reference conditions. In Davis, W. S. & T. P. Simon (eds), Biological Assessment and Criteria: Tools for Water Resource Planning and Decision Making. Lewis Press, Boca Raton: 31–47.
Hurrell, J. W., 1995. Decadal trends in the North Atlantic Oscillation: regional temperatures and precipitation. Science 296: 676–679.
Jonasson, P. M., 1972. Ecology and production of the profundal benthos in relation to phytoplankton in Lake Esrom. Oikos Suppl. 14: 1–148.
Kangur, K., H. Timm, T. Timm & V. Timm, 1998. Long-term changes in the macrozoobenthos of Lake Vortsjärv. Limnologica 28: 75–83.
Koskenniemi, E. & P. Sevola, 1992. Integrated lake monitoring in Europe. The macrozoobenthos in the four target lakes in Finland. Neth. J. Aquat. Ecol. 26: 499–501.
Livingstone, D. M., 2000. Large-scale climatic forcing detected in historical observations of lake ice break-up. Verh. int. Ver. Limnol. 27: 2775–2783.
Marchant, R., 1999. How important are rare species in aquatic community ecology and bioassessment? A comment on the conclusions of Cao et al. Limnol. Oceanogr. 44: 1840–1841.
McCune, B. & M. J. Mefford, 1997. PC-ORD. Multivariate Analyses of Ecological Data. MjM Software, Gleneden Beach, OR.
Minshall, G. W., T. V. Royer & C. T. Robinson, 2001. Response of the Cache Creek macroinvertebrates during the first 10 years following disturbance by the Yellowstone wildfires. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 58: 1077–1088.
Niinioja, R, A.-L., Holopainen & A. Rämö, 2002. Seasonal water quality variations in two pristine headwater lakes, boreal coniferous forest area, Finland. Verh. int. Ver. Limnol. 28: 492–496.
Ottersen, G., B. Planque, A. Belgrano, E. Post, P. C. Reid & N. C. Stenseth, 2001. Ecological effects of the North Atlantic Oscillation. Oecologia 128: 1–14.
Paasivirta, L., 1976. Suomunjärven (Lieksa) pohjaeläimistön koostumus, biomassa ja tuotanto. University Joensuu, Publication of the Karelian Institute 18: 1–17.
Robinson, C. T., G. W. Minshall & T. V. Royer, 2000. Inter-annual patterns in macroinvertebrate communities of wilderness streams in Idaho, U.S.A. Hydrobiologia 421: 187–198.
Saether, O. A., 1979. Chironomid communities as water quality indicators. Holarctic Ecol. 2: 65–74.
Sandin, L. & R. K. Johnson, 2000. The statistical power of selected indicator metrics using macroinvertebrates for assessing acidification and eutrophication of running waters. Hydrobiologia 422/423: 233–243.
Scarsbrook, M. R., 2002. Persistence and stability of lotic invertebrate communities in New Zealand. Freshwat. Biol. 47: 417–431.
Specziár, A. & L. Vörös, 2001. Long-term dynamics of Lake Balaton's chironomid fauna and its dependence on the phytoplankton production. Arch. Hydrobiol. 152: 119–142.
Weatherley, N. S. & S. J. Ormerod, 1990. The constancy of invertebrate assemblages in soft-water streams: implications for the prediction and detection of environmental change. J. Appl. Ecol. 27: 952–964.
Wiederholm, T., 1988. Changes in the profundal Chironomidae of Lake Mälaren during 17 years. Spixiana Suppl. 14: 7–15.
Wiederholm, T., 1980. Use of benthos in lake monitoring. J. Wat. Pollut. Contr. Fed. 52: 537–547.
Wright, J. F., D. Moss, P. D. Armitage & M. T. Furse, 1984. A preliminary classification of running-water sites in Great Britain based on macro-invertebrate species and the prediction of community type using environmental data. Freshwat. Biol. 14: 221–256.
Wright, J. F., D. W. Sutcliffe & M. T. Furse (eds), 2000. Assessing the Biological Quality of Fresh Waters. RIVPACS and other techniques. Freshwater Biological Association, Ambleside: 373 pp.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hämäläinen, H., Luotonen, H., Koskenniemi, E. et al. Inter-annual variation in macroinvertebrate communities in a shallow forest lake in eastern Finland during 1990–2001. Hydrobiologia 506, 389–397 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:HYDR.0000008581.86095.0b
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:HYDR.0000008581.86095.0b