Macroinvertebrate community structure and water quality bioassessment of the Zhenfeng Caves,Guizhou,China
Understanding the community structure of macroinvertebrates in caves is important for studying cave ecosystems and supplementing the study of ecology.In October 2019 and August 2020,macroinvertebrates in five caves in Zhenfeng County,Guizhou Province were sampled.The distribution characteristics of macroinvertebrates,dominant species,diversity,and functional feeding groups were analyzed and the water quality of the caves was evaluated based on the macroinvertebrate biological index(BI).The community characteristics of macroinvertebrates in caves were analyzed using density,biomass,diversity index,and similarity coefficient.A total of 63 macroinvertebrate species were collected,belonging to four phyla,seven classes,19 orders,and 46 families,among which;41 species of aquatic insects accounted for 65.07％.The dominant species included Corbicula nitens,Baetis sp.,and Simulium sp.in two water periods.Temporally,the density,biomass,and diversity index values of cave macroinvertebrates(Shannon-Wiener,Pielou,and Margalef indices)were higher during the normal season than the wet season.Spatially,the density and Margalef index were ranked as follows:light zones＞weak light zones＞dark zones.The biomass,Shannon-Wiener index,and Pielou index were ranked as follows:weak light zones＞light zones＞dark zones.The Jaccard similarity coefficient and cluster analysis showed that the similarity of macrobenthic communities between adjacent light zones in the same cave was high,whereas the similarity between the same or different light zones in different caves was low.Cave macroinvertebrates comprised five functional feeding groups,of which predators accounted for the largest proportion(approximately 42.86％).Differences occur in the water quality evaluation using the Shannon-Wiener diversity index and the Bl and the results of BI are consistent with the actual water quality situation.In conclusion,this study shows that the macroinvertebrates of Zhenfeng Cave in Guizhou are mainly aquatic insects,the functional feeding groups are mainly predators,and anthropogenic disturbance may be one of the important reasons for the decline in water quality and species.
macroinvertebratecommunity structurebiological evaluation of water qualityfunctional feeding groupkarst cave
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NSTL
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