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Impacts of terrestrial habitat transformation on temporary wetland invertebrates in a sclerophyllous Sand fynbos landscape

  • MEDITERRANEAN TEMPORARY PONDS
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Abstract

There has been recent debate about the extent to which human disturbance of the landscape affects wetland invertebrates given that the organisms are already adapted to high levels of natural disturbance. Using repeated sampling of a set of 12 temporary wetlands occurring in a differentially transformed Sand fynbos landscape in Cape Town (South Africa), we investigated patterns of macroinvertebrate and microcrustacean assemblage composition, richness and diversity in relation to a physico-chemical gradient resulting from variable habitat loss in the adjacent landscape. Both macroinvertebrates and microcrustaceans showed clear gradational changes in assemblage composition in relation to the surrounding cover of indigenous vegetation (as a proxy for habitat loss). Although the composition of assemblages appeared to be affected by this gradient of habitat transformation, no relationships were detected using various measures of taxon richness and diversity. At the small spatial scale for which patterns are analysed, the influence of natural variation on invertebrate assemblages appears to have been overridden by that resulting from habitat transformation in the adjacent landscape. Depression wetlands embedded in Sand fynbos habitat appear to be unique in terms of their physico-chemistry (acidic and rich in humic substances) and the invertebrate assemblages they support.

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Acknowledgments

For fieldwork assistance, we wish to thank Dr Jeremy Shelton and for help with processing invertebrate samples in the laboratory we thank Alanna Rebelo. M. Bird would like to thank the Water Research Commission and the National Research Foundation for PhD bursaries which funded this work. Permits for sampling the wetlands inside KRCA and at Youngsfield Military Base were provided by the Reserve Manager at KRCA, Ms Maya Beukes. For specialist expertise in identifying certain invertebrate taxa, we wish to thank Prof. M. Hamer, UKZN, (Anostraca); Prof. C.C. Appleton, UKZN, (Mollusca); Mr P. Reavell, Stellenbosch University, (Hemiptera and Coleoptera); Prof. M. Coetzee, Wits University, (Culicidae); Dr D. Perkins, Harvard University, USA, (Hydraenidae); Mr P. Simaka and Prof. M. Samways, Stellenbosch University, (Odonata); Prof. C. Griffiths, UCT, (Amphipoda); Dr E. Ueckerman, ARC, Pretoria, and Dr R. Gerecke, Tubingen, Germany, (Hydracarina), Mrs B Day, UCT (Chironomidae) and Dr Z Gidό, University of Debrecen, Hungary (Ostracoda). Any opinion, finding and conclusion or recommendation expressed in this material is that of the authors and the National Research Foundation does not accept any liability in this regard.

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  1. DST/NRF Research Chair in Shallow Water Ecosystems, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, C/o Department of Zoology, P.O. Box 77000, Port Elizabeth, 6031, South Africa

    Matthew S. Bird

  2. Freshwater Research, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Private Bag, Rondebosch, South Africa

    Jenny A. Day

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Guest editors: Simonetta Bagella, Dani Boix, Rossella Filigheddu, Stéphanie Gascón, Annalena Cogoni / Mediterranean Temporary Ponds

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Bird, M.S., Day, J.A. Impacts of terrestrial habitat transformation on temporary wetland invertebrates in a sclerophyllous Sand fynbos landscape. Hydrobiologia 782, 169–185 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-016-2804-9

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