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In Light of Energy: Influences of Light Pollution on Linked Stream-Riparian Invertebrate Communities

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In Light of Energy: Influences of Light Pollution on Linked Stream-Riparian Invertebrate Communities In Light of Energy: Influences of Light Pollution on Linked Stream-Riparian Invertebrate Communities THESIS Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Lars Alan Meyer Graduate Program in Environment and Natural Resources The Ohio State University 2012 Committee: Professor Mažeika S.P. Sullivan, Advisor Professor Mary M. Gardiner Professor Paul G. Rodewald Copyrighted by Lars Alan Meyer 2012 Abstract The world’s human population is expected to expand to nine billion by the year 2050, with 70% projected to be living in cities. As urban populations grow, cities are producing an ever-increasing intensity of ecological light pollution (ELP). At the individual and population levels, artificial night lighting has been shown to influence predator-prey relationships, migration patterns, and reproductive success of many aquatic and terrestrial species. With few exceptions, the effects of ELP on communities and ecosystems remain unexplored. My research investigated the potential influences of ELP on stream-riparian invertebrate communities and trophic dynamics, as well as the reciprocal aquatic-terrestrial exchanges that are critical to ecosystem function. From June 2010 to June 2011, I conducted bimonthly surveys of aquatic emergent insects, terrestrial arthropods, and riparian spiders of the family Tetragnathidae at nine Columbus, OH stream reaches of differing ambient ELP levels (low: 0 - 0.5 lux; moderate: 0.5 - 2 lux; high 2 - 4 lux). In August 2011, I experimentally increased light levels at the low and moderate treatment reaches to ~12 lux. I quantified invertebrate biomass, family richness, density (individuals m-2) of aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, and measured reciprocal stream-terrestrial invertebrate fluxes. Using stable isotopes of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N), I estimated trophic position, variability in trophic position, food- ii chain length, and contribution of aquatic (i.e., epilithic algae) vs. terrestrial (i.e., leaf litter detritus) carbon. I found that light strongly influenced invertebrate family richness, biomass, and density for discrete time periods over the course of the year. The experimental addition of light resulted in a ~42% decrease in tetragnathid spider density, a ~54% decrease in aquatic emergent insect biomass, a ~ 16% decrease in aquatic emergent insect family richness, and a ~38% decrease in density of terrestrial arthropods entering stream. Trophic position and variability in trophic position for the stream-riparian invertebrate community, as well as, the families Tetragnathidae, Formicidae, and Chaoboridae showed a strong positive relationship with ELP. The experimental addition of light resulted in a ~2 trophic position increase in food-chain length and a two-fold increase in variability in trophic position. Artificial light was also related to the contribution of aquatic vs. terrestrial C at both the invertebrate community and family levels, such that the contribution of aquatic C was lowest at moderate ELP and greatest at high ELP. Collectively, these results are among the first to show the ecological consequences of ELP at both community and ecosystem levels of biological organization. iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank my faculty advisor, Professor Mazeika Sullivan, for his expert guidance and invaluable support. Thanks to my committee members Professor Mary Gardiner and Professor Paul Rodewald for valuable input during the initial and final stages of this project. I also thank the School of Environment and Natural Resources faculty and staff for the much needed top quality professional support generously provided. I convey my appreciation to the research personnel in the Stream and River Ecology Laboratory, SENR for their dedicated hard work in the field and laboratory especially Paradzayi Tagwireyi, Brittany Gunther, Jeremy Alberts, Leslie Rieck, Adam Kautza, and Xiaoxue Yang. I thank my two wonderful children Markus and Caroline for their support in the field, laboratory, and most importantly at home. iv Vita June 1983 .......................................................Hillsdale High School, Hillsdale, MI July 1983- July 2003………………………. United States Navy, Active Duty. July 2003…………………………………….United States Navy, Retired. 2008................................................................B.S. in Environment and Natural Resources The Ohio State University 2008 to present ..............................................Graduate Research and Teaching Associate, School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: Environment and Natural Resources (Fisheries and Wildlife) v Table of Contents Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………ii Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………….…iv Vita…………………………………………………………………………………..…….v List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………..vi List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………....vii Chapter 1: Background and Literature Review………………………………….……………………………………………..…1. Chapter 2: Bright lights, big city: influences of ecological light pollution on reciprocal stream-riparian fluxes………………………………………………………………..….17. Chapter 3: Consequences of artificial night lighting to stream-riparian invertebrate food webs…………………………………………………………………………………......42. References……………………………………………………………………….………85. Appendix A: Location of study reaches, Columbus Metropolitan Area, OH…………..94. Appendix B: Physical characteristics of urban stream reaches in the Columbus Metropolitan Area…………………………………………..………………………..….95. Appendix C: Insect families captured in emergence traps…………………………......96. Appendix D: Terrestrial arthropod families captured in pan traps……………………..97. vi Appendix E: Summary statistics of invertebrate descriptors for urban stream study reaches in the Columbus Metropolitan Area…………………………………………..98. Appendix F: Synthesis of ELP effects on stream-riparian invertebrates….……..…...99. Appendix G: Emergent and floating pan trap deployment (image)………………….100. Appendix H: Experimental light deployment design……………….……………101-102. Appendix I: Meteorological data for the Columbus Metropolitan Area, 2010 – 2011………………………………………………………………………………….…103. vii List of Tables Table 1.1. Common stream-riparian invertebrate families found in small urban stream systems in the Columbus Metropolitan Area………………………….……………….6. Table 1.2. Terrestrial and aquatic biotic response to artificial night lighting………….13. Table 2.1. Repeated measures analysis of variance for bimonthly aquatic-terrestrial invertebrate responses to ecological light pollution for study reaches in Columbus Metropolitan Area…………………………………………………………………...34-35. Table 2.2. General linear models of bimonthly aquatic-terrestrial responses to ecological light pollution for study reaches in the Columbus Metropolitan Area………………….36. Table 3.1. Physical characteristics for urban stream reaches in the Columbus Metropolitan Area. ……………………………………………………..…………….....69. Table 3.2. Summary statistics for trophic descriptors of numerically-dominant invertebrates at stream reaches in the Columbus Metropolitan Area. ………………….70. Table 3.3. General linear models of aquatic-terrestrial responses to ecological light pollution (ELP). ……………………………………………………………………..….71. Table 3.4. Trophic responses of aquatic-terrestrial invertebrate community to experimental light addition…………………………………………………...…………72. viii List of Figures Figure 1.1. Representation of reciprocal food-web linkages in a stream ecosystem….…7. Figure 2.1. Bimonthly aquatic-terrestrial invertebrate responses to ecological light pollution..………………………………………………………………………..…...37-40. Figure 2.2. Responses of aquatic-terrestrial invertebrates to experimental light addition........................................................................................................................37-41. Figure 3.1. Dual isotope plots (δ13C and δ15N) for aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates………………………………………………………………………….75-76. Figure 3.2. Trophic position of aquatic-terrestrial invertebrate communities by ecological light pollution (ELP) level …………..………………………………………………77-78. Figure 3.3. Contribution of aquatic carbon to aquatic-terrestrial invertebrate communities by ecological light pollution (ELP) level....................................................................79-80. Figure 3.4. Variability in trophic position of aquatic-terrestrial invertebrate communities by ecological light pollution (ELP) level…………………………………………….….81. Figure 3.5. Food-chain length of aquatic-terrestrial invertebrate community by ecological light pollution (ELP) level……………………………………………………...……….82. Figure 3.6. Trophic response of aquatic-terrestrial community for experimental addition of lights…………………….………………………………………………..…….…83-84. ix Figure 4.1. Synthesis of the effects of artificial lights on stream-riparian invertebrate community...............................................................................................................99. x Chapter 1: Background and Literature Review On a global basis, freshwater systems are deteriorating at an alarming rate (Allan & Flecker 1993; Postel 2000), largely because of human-induced habitat degradation (Petts 1996; Ward & Wiens 2001). Riparian zones - the three-dimensional assemblages of vegetation and organisms adjacent to flowing water - have also been identified as ecological priorities (Ammon 2000; Gregory et al. 1991; Iwata et al. 2003a). The critical ecological services provided to society by linked stream-riparian
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