CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Furey, P.C.; Mazumder, A.; and Nordin, R.N.
Date : 2002.
Title : Sediment characteristics and benthic communities under reservoir drawdown.
Publication : North American Benthological Society Annual meeting, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2002.
Issue :
Page(s) :
Abstract
Traditionally benthic communities of freshwater ecosystems receive much less attention than pelagic communities. Reservoir benthic communities receive even less attention than those in lakes. Seasonal drawdown of water level is a major physical process distinguishing reservoirs from lakes and is thought to more strongly influence biological, chemical, and physical processes and their interactions compared to natural water level fluctuations. Drawdown induced changes in thermal structure, light quality and intensity, water column mixing, and sediment exposure may affect the structure or function of benthic communities, potentially degrading water quality. To determine the influence of reservoir drawdown on benthic communities, we examined the temporal and spatial changes in periphyton and macroinvertebrates in a drinking water reservoir which experiences large drawdown (>6m). Samples were collected from littoral-pelagic transects in two adjacent, morphometrically similar coastal water-bodies (Sooke Reservoir and Shawnigan Lake, Victoria, BC, Canada) at regular drawdown intervals from May through October 2000. Seasonal drawdown influenced sediment chemical and physical characteristics. We discuss this data in relation to periphyton biomass estimates and benthic invertebrate composition and biomass results. Understanding the resulting biological, chemical, and physical changes associated with drawdown and how benthic communities respond to these changes may provide information for making decisions regarding optimal management strategies for drinking water reservoirs.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology