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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 60(9)

Macroinvertebrates on coarse woody debris in the littoral zone of a boreal lake

Patricia N. Glaz A B , Christian Nozais A and Dominique Arseneault A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Département de Biologie et Centre d′études nordiques, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 300 allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC, G5 L 3A1, Canada.

B Corresponding author. Email: patricia.glaz@uqar.qc.ca

Marine and Freshwater Research 60(9) 960-970 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF08260
Submitted: 11 September 2008  Accepted: 17 March 2009   Published: 22 September 2009

Abstract

Logging activity was a regular practice in the boreal forest of Quebec during the 19th century and may have had an impact on the temporal dynamics of aquatic coarse woody debris (CWD) and associated organisms. The dynamics of white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) CWD inputs from the riparian environment in a boreal lake in Eastern Quebec, Canada, over the past 350 years were reconstructed and differences in the macroinvertebate communities according to CWD age, season of sampling (spring, summer and autumn), depth and site were investigated. It was hypothesised that CWD macroinvertebrate community structure would change with CWD age, season and depth, but not among sites. No significant correlation was found between CWD age and macroinvertebrate densities and taxa number. The macroinvertebrate community was highly variable in space and time. Season was the main factor influencing taxa composition and the relative densities of individuals. The mean density was more than twofold greater in autumn than in spring and summer (1046, 1049 and 2335 individuals m–2 in spring, summer and autumn respectively). Density and taxa number decreased with depth, but site did not appear to influence the community. As CWD inputs increased during the log-driving period, impacts on macroinvertebrate communities were likely to be important and should be documented across the boreal zone.

Additional keywords: dendrochronology, forest–lake coupling, lake ecosystems, riparian forest, spatio-temporal dynamics.


Acknowledgements

This research project was supported by grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada to C. Nozais and D. Arseneault. P. N. Glaz was supported by a Masters fellowship from NSERC. We are grateful to Vincent Couture for his invaluable assistance in the field and to Claude Normand for providing maps. We thank Alain Caron and Philippe Archambault for assistance with data analysis. We also thank Andrew Boulton, Hervé Piegay and one anonymous referee for insightful comments and suggestions. This is a contribution to the BioNord and Centre d’études nordiques research programs.


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