Journal
FRESHWATER BIOLOGY
Volume 64, Issue 5, Pages 856-869Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/fwb.13268
Keywords
crustaceans; defecation; macrophytes; trampling; water quality
Categories
Funding
- VLIRUOS (VLADOC)
- VLIR-UOS SI [ZEIN2011Z092/2011-101]
- Fulbright Scholar Program
- United States-Israel Educational Foundation
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The number and quality of temporary wetlands are declining worldwide and many of the remaining habitats are used as pastures and drinking sites for livestock. Livestock can impact wetlands through a combination of herbivory (defoliation), trampling (physical disturbance), and defecation (nutrient input), but how these influence community structure is still poorly understood. It is nonetheless generally accepted that wetland management can include some grazing, and that properly managed livestock can play a major role in wetland conservation. In Mediterranean temporary ponds, however, it is suggested that grazing might negatively affect macrophyte biodiversity within the pond basin. The impact of livestock on the characteristic freshwater fauna also remains understudied. Using an outdoor mesocosm experiment, we focused on two effects of sheep livestock (trampling and defecation) and their combination, on water quality and on faunal and floral communities from Moroccan temporary ponds. Communities from forested and agricultural sites (pond type) were also compared in a factorial design with treatments. We found that sheep-simulated trampling and nutrient input decreased hatching invertebrate and plant richness, while lasting effects on water quality and actively colonising communities were limited. Temporary pond communities from forested and agricultural sites differed in species composition and interacted with treatments in their effects on hatching crustaceans and macrophyte species composition. Treatments had a larger effect on the species composition of forest ponds compared to agricultural ponds. These results highlight the complex effects livestock may have on aquatic communities. Water quality, taxonomic groups, and trophic levels responded negatively to trampling and waste treatments and these responses changed with pond type. With worldwide declines of seasonal wetland habitat, the effects of land use (i.e. livestock grazing) on these ecosystems and their biota are important to consider for integrated and sustainable management.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available