Abstract
We set out to understand how urbanization affects streams in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego. Paired t- tests and linear regressions were used to compare physico-chemical stream habitat variables (i.e., temperature, turbidity, conductivity, dissolved oxygen and pH) and benthic macroinvertebrate community structure (i.e., density, taxonomic richness, Shannon-Weiner diversity) and function (functional feeding groups [FFG]) in four watersheds with urban and reference sites. We then calculated indices of biotic integrity for habitat (rapid visual assessment protocol [RVAP]) and benthos (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera richness [EPT], family biotic index [FBI], rapid bioassessment protocol [RBP] and biotic monitoring Patagonian streams [BMPS]). Results indicated that urbanization negatively impacted these streams’ underlying ecological condition, decreasing benthic biodiversity and dissolved oxygen, while increasing conductivity and turbidity. FFG assemblage was similar between both sites, but urbanization increased the existing dominance of collector-gatherers. Additionally, urban sites presented lower values in three of the benthic macroinvertebrate indices (EPT, RBP, BMPS, but not FBI) and also for habitat (RVAP). These data fill an existing gap in stream ecology for southern Patagonia and are useful to create monitoring tools. By incorporating urbanization as a driver of ecosystem change, managers and planners will be better able to confront the issue of sustainable development in this region, which is considered one of the most pristine wilderness areas remaining on the planet but whose human population is concentrated in a few densely populated urban areas.
Highlights
The scientific community and authorities increasingly recognize that environmental research and management must seek to include both human and natural dimensions and support both ecological and social well-being (Díaz et al 2015)
Regarding the broader implementation of these results, we first recognize that our urban sites were downstream of reference reaches, but we argue that the patterns observed here are not likely to be merely the result of natural gradients caused by changing habitat conditions, such as substrate or temperature
Landscape planning in Tierra del Fuego should take into account urban drivers like impervious surface area, riparian deforestation and the presence of harmful effluent from residential and commercial sectors, which negatively impact local aquatic ecosystems and their biological communities, affecting the well-being of the human communities that depend on them
Summary
The scientific community and authorities increasingly recognize that environmental research and management must seek to include both human and natural dimensions and support both ecological and social well-being (e.g., the Inter-Governmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services-IPBES) (Díaz et al 2015). Ecological research has improved our understanding of human-nature relationship, overcoming previous biases towards studies of “natural” systems (Anderson et al 2015). Studies on urban stream ecosystem structure and function provide background knowledge to empirically link watershed ecosystem processes with the ES they provide (Alberti et al 2007). Impervious land cover increases associated with urbanization can have a multitude of effects on stream macroinvertebrate communities via modifications of watershed hydrological and geomorphological processes (Wenger et al 2009)
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