Spatiotemporal patterns of macroinvertebrate functional feeding groups in relation to seasonal variations and anthropogenic pressures in the Oued Martil River basin (NW Morocco)
摘要
Understanding the ecological responses of macroinvertebrates to multiple environmental drivers might be useful for assessing the health of freshwater ecosystems and providing managers with complementary bioindicators. In this study, the functional responses of macroinvertebrates in relation to spatiotemporal variability of the environmental features were surveyed along Oued Martil River basin (northwestern Morocco) during an annual cycle (spring, summer, autumn 2017 and winter 2018) at 20 sampling sites. Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) were used to determine spatio-temporal biotypology of macroinvertebrates functional feeding groups (FFGs) and to cluster the sampling sites under the combined effects of land use, physico-chemical and eco-hydrological variables analysed. The composition of FFGs differed significantly among sites and seasons. Our findings highlight that the abundance and taxa richness were higher in spring compared to the other seasons. Seven different clusters corresponded into natural, agricultural and urban land use were divided by the SOM based on their similarities to seasonal fluctuations of environmental variables. Then, Collectors-Gatherers were the most abundant and widespread group, while shredders were the most sensitive group across seasons along the longitudinal gradient of Oued Martil River basin. Overall, the results suggest that the ecological condition of the Oued Martil River basin exhibits a clear spatial pattern, ranging from relatively preserved upstream areas to anthropogenically impacted downstream sections.