2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference

March 13 - 15, 2022

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5/26/2021  |   8:30 AM - 10:30 AM   |  FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION OF MACROINVERTEBRATE ASSEMBLAGES AS SURROGATES OF ECOSYSTEM ATTRIBUTES IN TROPICAL STREAMS   |  Virtual Platform

FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION OF MACROINVERTEBRATE ASSEMBLAGES AS SURROGATES OF ECOSYSTEM ATTRIBUTES IN TROPICAL STREAMS

This study investigated the suitability of abundance- vs. biomass- based metrics of macroinvertebrate functional feeding groups (FFGs) as surrogates of ecosystems attributes of the Sosiani-Kipkaren River in western Kenya. A total of 21 sites were sampled during the wet and dry seasons along stream size and land use gradients. Macroinvertebrates were classified into five FFGs and used to derive the five metrics used as surrogates of ecosystem attributes.Taxon richness, abundance and biomass of shredders were higher in forested sites, whereas collectors dominated agricultural and urban sites. As expected, scrapers were numerically dominant in mid-order streams. Abundance-based metrics were better predictors of ecosystem attributes, and displayed greater response to changes in stream size than biomass-based metrics. Moreover, there was incongruence between abundance- and biomass-based indicators for P/R and CPOM/ FPOM. Catchment land use did not influence metric performance, suggesting that reach scale influences played a predominant role in structuring communities and determining ecosystem functioning. Although the use of FFGs as indicators of ecosystem integrity and functioning in this river show promise, lack of agreement between abundance- and biomass-based measures suggest that more studies are needed to refine the metrics used.

  • Tropical streams and lakes
  • Ecosystem functioning
  • Monitoring

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Presenters/Authors

AUGUSTINE SITATI (), UNIVERSITY OF ELDORET, sitatiaugustine@yahoo.com;


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ALFRED ACHIENG (), UNIVERSITY OF ELDORET, alfredachieng@yahoo.com;


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FRANK MASESE (), UNIVERSITY OF ELDORET, f.masese@gmail.com;


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