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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 55(7)

Ecological impacts on aquatic macroinvertebrates following upland stream invasion by a ponded pasture grass (Glyceria maxima) in southern Australia

Amber Clarke A , P. S. Lake A B and Dennis J. O’Dowd A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Australian Centre for Biodiversity, School of Biological Sciences, PO Box 18, Monash University, Vic. 3800, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: sam.lake@sci.monash.edu.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 55(7) 709-713 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF04043
Submitted: 17 March 2004  Accepted: 9 August 2004   Published: 1 October 2004

Abstract

Glyceria maxima (Reed sweet-grass), an emergent aquatic grass native to Eurasia, has naturalised in North America, New Zealand and southern Australia. Introduced as a ponded pasture species, it threatens native biodiversity and ecosystem processes in freshwater wetlands and waterways. We compared paired sections, either invaded or not invaded by G. maxima, of three upland streams in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia to infer its impacts on macroinvertebrate abundance, morphospecies density, and morphospecies and functional feeding group (FFG) composition. Its potential effects in altering sedimentation were explored by comparing stream channel morphology in paired stream sections at one site. Invasion by G. maxima appears to drive changes in macroinvertebrate morphospecies composition and FFG composition, reducing a diverse array of macroinvertebrates to a more uniform fauna. The estimated volume of plant/sediment matrix in a 50 m invaded stream section was around 1100 m3, nearly 15-fold greater than in an adjacent uninvaded stream section. Glyceria maxima is an autogenic ecosystem engineer, with the ability to convert sections of fast-flowing aerobic streams into partially anaerobic swamps. By generating a root-mat swamp with a high capacity to process nutrients, G. maxima may facilitate its own growth and spread, as well as that of secondary invaders.

Extra keywords: aquatic macrophyte, biodiversity, biological invasions, ecosystem engineering, sediment load.


Acknowledgments

We thank W. Brown and A. Hamilton for advice and assistance in the field, and N. Bond, G. Quinn and M. Logan for statistical advice. A. Glaister helped with identification of invertebrates. This is contribution number 60 from the Australian Centre for Biodiversity: Analysis, Policy and Management.


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