Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the colonization and succession of benthic macroinvertebrates in shallow areas (<7 m) of Lake Anna, a new mainstream impoundment in the southeastern U.S.A. Benthic macroinvertebrates were sampled for the first three years after filling by means of artificial substrates placed on the bottom and retrieved with SCUBA. Lake Anna was well colonized by benthic macroinvertebrates during the summer season immediately after impoundment. The total density of organisms increased in each of the first three years. Major changes in the fauna occurred between the first and second years, but the changes between the second and third years were more subtle. The fauna could be divided into two distinct groups based upon the time when the organisms were most consistently abundant. The first colonizers appeared to be dependent upon the components of the former terrestrial ecosystem for food and habitat. As autochthonous factors began to regulate succession, diversity increased and the dominant species shifted to an assemblage of second colonizers. These factors included: (1) decomposition of terrestrial vegetation and detritus leaving bare substrate, (2) sedimentation, (3) improved food quality of the organic matter in the sediment because of ingestion and egestion by the organisms themselves, (4) increased plankton populations, and (5) appearance of macrophytes. As the second colonizers became firmly established in the third year, distinct patterns of spatial distribution began to appear among species with similar niches.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1955. North Anna River, Virginia. Biol. surv. Rep. New Jersey Zinc Co., 80 pp.
Aggus, L. R., 1971. Summer benthos in newly flooded areas of Beaver Reservoir during the second and third years of filling 1965–1966. In: G. E. Hall (ed.), Reservoir Fisheries and Limnology. Am. Fish. Soc. spec. Publ. 8.
Armitage, B. J., 1974. An investigation of phytoplankton periodicity and primary productivity in a new reservoir, Lake Anna, Virginia. Ph.D. Diss. Va. Polytech. Inst. St. Univ., Blacksburg, 195 pp.
Barlocher, F., R. J. Mackay & G. B. Wiggins, 1978. Detritus processing in a temporary vernal pool in southern Ontario. Arch. Hydrobiol. 81: 269–295.
Baxter, R. M., 1977. Environmental effects of dams and impoundments. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 8: 255–283.
Berg, C. O., 1950. Biology of certain Chironomidae reared fromPotamogeton. Ecol. Monogr. 20: 83–101.
Brinkhurst, R. O., 1974. The benthos of lakes. The MacMillan Press, Ltd., Lond., 190 pp.
Burris, W. E., 1954. The bottom fauna development of a newly constructed pond in central Oklahoma. Proc. Okla. Acad. Sci. 33: 129–136.
Burtt, E. T., 1940. A filter-feeding mechanism in a larva of the Chironomidae (Diptera: Nematocera). Proc. r. Ent. Soc. Lond. 15: 113–121.
Cummins, K. W., 1974. Structure and function of stream ecosystems. BioScience 24: 631–641.
Edmunds, G. F., Jr., S. L. Jensen & L. Berner, 1976. The mayflies of North and Central America. Univ. of Minn. Press, Minneapolis, 330 pp.
Gurvich, V. V., K. S. Vladimirova, G. A. Olivary & U. V. Scorik, 1972. Experience in the study of bottom associations in the Dnieper River reservoirs and their productivity. Verh. int. Ver. Limnol. 18: 859–862.
Hall, G. B., 1976. Comparative study of the phytoplankton community and primary productivity in a new reservoir, Lake Anna, Virginia. M.S. Thesis. Va. Polytech. Inst. St. Univ., Blacksburg, 234 pp.
Hulsey, A. H., 1956. Limnological studies in Arkansas VI. Physical, chemical, and biological features of Lake Fayetteville in its first year of impoundment. M.S. Thesis. Univ. Arkansas, 80 pp.
Hutchinson, G. E., 1967. A Treatise on Limnology, Volume II, introduction to lake biology and the limnoplankton. John Wiley & Sons, N. Y., 1115 pp.
Iyengar, V. K. S., D. M. Davies & H. Kleerekoper, 1963. Some relationships between Chironomidae and their substrate in nine freshwater lakes in Southern Ontario, Canada. Arch. Hydrobiol. 59: 289–310.
Krzyzanek, E., 1971. Bottom fauna in the Tresna Dam Reservoir in 1966. Acta hydrobiol. 13: 335–342.
Krzyzanek, E. 1973. Bottom macrofauna in the Goczalkowice Dam Reservoir in the years 1965–1969. Acta hydrobiol. 15: 189–196.
Leathers, A. L., 1922. An ecological study of aquatic midges and some related insects with special reference to their feeding habits. Bull. Bur. Fish. 38: 1–61.
Lellak, J., 1965. The food supply as a factor regulating the population dynamics of bottom animals. Mitt. int. Ver. Limnol. 13: 128–138.
McLachlan, A. J., 1974. Development of some lake ecosystems in tropical Africa with special reference to invertebrates. Biol. Rev. Camb. phil. Soc. 49: 365–397.
Nursall, J. R., 1952. The early development of bottom fauna in a new power reservoir in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta. Can. J. Zool. 30: 387–409.
Nygaard, G., 1949. Hydrobiological studies on some Danish ponds and lakes. Part II. The quotient hypothesis and some new or little known phytoplankton organisms. K. danske Vidensk. Selsk. biol. Skr. 7: 1–293.
O'Connell, T. R. & R. S. Campbell, 1953. The benthos of Black River and Clearwater Lake, Missouri. The Black River Studies. Univ. Missouri Stud. 26: 25–41.
Paterson, C. G. & C. H. Fernando, 1969a. Macroinvertebrate colonization of the marginal zone of a small impoundment in Eastern Canada. Can. J. Zool. 47: 1229–1238.
Paterson, C. G. & C. H. Fernando, 1969b. The macroinvertebrate colonization of a small reservoir in Eastern Canada. Verh. int. Ver. Limnol. 17: 126–136.
Paterson, C. G. & C. H. Fernando, 1970. Benthic fauna colonization of a new reservoir with particular reference to the Chironomidae. J. Fish. Res. Bd Can. 27: 213–222.
Pennak, R. W., 1953. Fresh-water invertebrates of the United States. The Ronald Press Company, New York, 769 pp.
Petr, T., 1972. Benthic fauna of a tropical man-made lake (Volta Lake, Ghana 1965–1968). Arch. Hydrobiol. 70: 484–533.
Reed, J. R., Jr. & G. M. Simmons, Jr., 1976. Preoperational environmental study of Lake Anna, Virginia. Final report March 1972 December 1975. Va. Electric & Power Company, Richmond, Va., 2550 pp.
Rinne, J. N., 1978. Standing crops of Chironomidae and Tubificidae in two desert reservoirs, Central Arizona. Hydrobiologia 57: 217–224.
Saunders, J. F., 1975. A study of the zooplankton communities of Lake Anna, 1973–1974. M.S. Thesis. Va. Polytech. Inst. St. Univ., Blacksburg, 131 pp.
Simmons, G. M., Jr., 1972a. A pre-impoundment study of the North Anna River, Virginia. Va. Polytech. Inst. St. Univ. Wat. Resour. cent. Bull. 55, 76 pp.
Simmons, G. M., Jr., 1972b. A preliminary report on the use of the sequential comparison index to evaluate acid mine drainage on the macrobenthos in a pre-impoundment basin. Trans. am. Fish. Soc. 101: 701–713.
Simmons, G. M., Jr. & J. R. Reed, 1973. Mussels as indicators of biological recovery zone. J. Wat. Pollut. Cont. Fed. 45: 2480–2492.
Simmons, G. M., Jr. & J. R. Voshell, Jr., 1978. Pre- and post-impoundment benthic macro invertebrate communities of the North Anna River. In: J. Cairns, Jr., E. F. Benfield & J. R. Webster (eds), Current Perspectives on River-Reservoir Ecosystems. North American Benthological Society: 45–61.
Simmons, G. M., Jr. & A. Winfield, 1971. A feasibility study using conservation webbing as an artificial substrate in macrobenthic studies. Va. J. Sci. 22: 52–59.
Soszka, G. J., 1975. The invertebrates on submerged macrophytes in three Masurian lakes. Ekol. pol. 23: 371–391.
Thomas, M. H. & G. M. Simmons, Jr., 1970. Community structure of the macrobenthos in four tributaries in the pre-impoundment basin of the North Anna River, Virginia. Ass. S.E. Biol. Bull. 17: 67.
Voshell, J. R., Jr. & G. M. Simmons, Jr. An evaluation of artificial substrates for sampling macrobenthos inreservoirs. Hydrobiologia 53: 257–269.
Voshell, J. R., Jr. & G. M. Simmons, Jr. An evaluation of artificial substrates for sampling macrobenthos in reservoirs. Hydrobiologia 53: 257–269.
Walshe, B. M., 1951. The feeding habits of certain chironomid larvae (subfamily Tendipedinae). Proc. zool. Soc. Lond. 121: 63–79.
Wetzel, R. G., 1975. Limnology. W. B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, Pa., 743 pp.
Zacwilichowska, K., 1965a. Benthos in the littoral of the Goczalkowice Reservoir in 1958–1959. Acta hydrobiol. 7: 83–97.
Zacwilichowska, K., 1965b. Benthos in the littoral of the Goczalkowice Reservoir in 1960. Acta hydrobiol. 7: 155–165.
Zhadin, V. I. & S. V. Gerd, 1961. Fauna and flora of the rivers, lakes and reservoirs of the U.S.S.R. Israel Program for Scientific Translations, Ltd., IPST Cat. No. 1000, Jerusalem, 626 pp. (trans. Russ.)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Voshell, J.R., Simmons, G.M. Colonization and succession of benthic macroinvertebrates in a new reservoir. Hydrobiologia 112, 27–39 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00007663
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00007663