Response of littoral macroinvertebrate communities on rocks and sediments to lake residential development

Abstract

Previously pristine lakes of the Laurentian region of Quebec, Canada, have faced increasing residential development of their watershed since the 1970s. We tested whether littoral invertebrates respond to this perturbation, even though open-water nutrients and chlorophyll are not yet altered. We examined changes in biomass, size structure, and taxonomic composition of macroinvertebrates living on rocks and sediments in 13 lakes representing a gradient of lakeshore residential development and watershed clearing. Littoral invertebrates provided early indication of lake perturbation, but their response varied according to the substratum. On rocks, total invertebrate biomass increased along the perturbation gradient and size structure shifted towards large organisms. These changes were likely mediated by a concomitant increase in epilithon biomass, suggesting a bottom-up control. No significant change in total biomass and size structure was observed for invertebrates in sediments. In contrast, taxonomic composition changed with lake development in sediments, but not on rocks. Taxonomic shifts were likely related to changes in sediment heterogeneity due to a decline of woody litter and increased fine particle deposition. Oligochaetes were positively associated to perturbation, whereas mayflies were negatively associated; these taxa could be used as indicators. Sediments were a better sentinel substratum than rocks for biomonitoring the impact of lake residential development.