Abstract
Examination of benthic macroinvertebrates in semi-natural, urban and agricultural land use along the highland Ken River in central India reveals a significantly higher density in semi-natural compared with other two landuse. Insects dominate the fauna at semi-natural (90%) and urban locations (93%) compared to agriculture sites (48%) where where annelid share increases to 32%. The semi-natural location characterized by rocky substrate support high relative abundance of Caenidae and Neoephemeridae. Their abundance decreases at urban locations. Brachycentridae, Chironomidae, Glossocolecidae, Nephthydae, Thiaridae and Corbiculidae increased at urban and agriculture locations characterized by small-sized sediments, suggesting important role for substrate also. Ordination shows that the Caenidae and Heptageniidae are characteristic at semi-natural location, Leptophlebiidae, Hydropsychidae, Glossosomatidae at urban while Thiaridae and Chironomidae at agricultural locations. Functionally, the collectors dominate the fauna, as all three landuse, especially large tracts of agriculture, are a continuous source of particulate organic matter (POM) in the river.
Highlights
Land use affects the distribution of benthic macroinvertebrate fauna along the river continuum and are useful indicators of this stress (Richards et al 1993; Roth et al 1996; Hershey & Lamberti 1998; Allan 2004)
This study examines the distribution of riverine macroinvertebrate fauna with respect to differential land use in Bundelkhand region where the ambitious Ken-Betwa River link is proposed for efficient water use
Semi-natural conditions prevail from the source to Panna (S1, Fig. 1), where forested landscape exists along a large part of the river including the Panna National Park, and only a small segment is under agriculture land use
Summary
Land use affects the distribution of benthic macroinvertebrate fauna along the river continuum and are useful indicators of this stress (Richards et al 1993; Roth et al 1996; Hershey & Lamberti 1998; Allan 2004). This study examines the distribution of riverine macroinvertebrate fauna with respect to differential land use in Bundelkhand region (central India) where the ambitious Ken-Betwa River link is proposed for efficient water use. The present study examines: (a) density, richness and composition of benthic macroinvertebrate fauna in different land use and (b) how the current land use practices in the river Ken affect longitudinal variations in the richness and composition of this community
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
