Family-Level Bio-Indication Does not Detect the Impacts of Dams on Macroinvertebrate Communities in a Low-Diversity Tropical River

Abstract

The Ruzizi River, the outlet of Lake Kivu in the Albertine Rift, flows into Lake Tanganyika and is important for hydropower generation and irrigation. The impacts of 2 dams in the Ruzizi River on macroinvertebrate community composition and diversity were surveyed every 3 months from December 2015 to October 2017. Macroinvertebrate samples were collected at sites upstream and downstream and additionally at two sites further downstream of the dams, in both comparatively pristine and highly disturbed areas. Several indices (Shannon-Wiener index, Simpson index, Pielou’s evenness, Rare Family Prevalence, and Average Score Per Taxa) were used to determine the alpha diversity and evenness of macroinvertebrates at the family level. Our results showed little to no immediate effect of the dams on macroinvertebrate diversity. Macroinvertebrate composition differed slightly below the dams compared to upstream. Communities near Dam II had slightly higher diversity compared to Dam I, probably because the vicinity to Lake Kivu has an immediate effect on diversity upstream of the first dam and likely because Dam II is 30 years younger than Dam I. This study suggests the importance of using species-level indices to better understand the ecological impacts of dams on macroinvertebrate diversity of tropical rivers with low species diversity.