Data and R code used in the article: "Predicting reach-scale macroinvertebrate community changes due to declining flows in an aridland river"

Description

Data and R code used in the article: "Predicting reach-scale macroinvertebrate community changes due to declining flows in an aridland river" Abstract River flow regimes shape the distribution of habitats that structure aquatic macroinvertebrate communities, yet the consequences of declining baseflows for habitat availability and ecosystem function remain poorly understood. We quantified macroinvertebrate community composition, diversity, and abundance across riffle, run, and pool mesohabitats in the Verde River (Arizona, USA) and coupled these data with two-dimensional hydraulic models to predict changes in habitat area under reduced baseflow scenarios. Mesohabitat type explained more variation in community composition than other spatial or temporal factors, with riffles and runs supporting higher macroinvertebrate densities and greater proportions of terrestrially available aquatic insects than pools. Hydraulic modeling predicted nonlinear reductions in fast-flowing habitat as baseflows declined, resulting in disproportionate decreases in aquatic insect production at the reach scale. These findings suggest that gradual reductions in baseflow can substantially alter macroinvertebrate community structure and diminish aquatic-to-terrestrial energy subsidies before flow intermittency occurs. Integrating biological sampling with hydraulic modeling provides a practical framework for identifying ecologically important baseflows and informing environmental flow management in rivers facing increasing hydrologic alteration. In the data folder: Aquatic macroinvertebrate community data, corresponding habitat data, and habitat areas of study sites on the Verde River, AZ USA from 2017 to 2019. Data were collected fall 2017, spring 2018, fall 2018, spring 2019, and fall 2019. Three macroinvertebrate sample replicates were collected from riffles, runs, and pools at our study reaches in Beasley Flats, Childs dispersed camping area, and Sheep Bridge. This is the cleaned version of the data used for analyses. Habitat area data were created using data from Holmquist-Johnson, C. 2020 (Available from https://doi.org/10.5066/P9JZYT2J[L). In the R code folder: R code used for generating tables and figures in the manuscript that depend on the data in the data folder. Verde River Macroinvertebrate sample locations: Coordinates for the sample locations that were used in the study.

Institutions

• Oregon State University

  Oregon, Corvallis

Categories

Licence