Macroinvertebrate distribution in relation to water  and habitat quality changes in lake kuriftu,ethiopia

Abstract

<title>Abstract</title> This study aimed at determining whether habitat or other environmental factors were critical to gauge the ecological condition and macroinvertebrate structure of a shallow lake exposed to human pressures. The fieldwork was conducted in 2023 during the dry season. The lakeshore was divided into six equal-distance sample sites. The habplot quality assessment (HabQA), which is based on Lake Habitat Quality Assessment (LHQA) method, was used to study the hydromorphological characteristics. In the littoral zone, physicochemical data were gathered using measuring probes and standard sampling procedures. Thus, a total of fifteen taxa were identified and categorized as follows: Odonata (Calopterygidae,Coenagrionidae ,Aeshnidae ,Cordulidae) ,Hemiptera (Corixidae ,Belostomatidae ,Gerridae ,Naucoridae ,Notonoctidae) ,Ephemeroptera (Baetidae ,Caenidae) and Diptera (Chironomidae ,Ceratopogenidae).Using Bray Curtis UPGMA analysis, the sample sites were grouped according to the distributions of benthic macroinvertebrates. The sites that were most similar to one another were 5 and 6, according to the UPGMA analysis. Sites 3 and 4 were found to be the sites that were the second most similar to one another. The intricacy of these sites' habitats and their littoral substrate provide an explanation for this phenomenon. TP, water temperature, and HabQA score were shown to be important contributors to the variance observed in the macroinvertebrate data. In contrast to other physicochemical factors; this study elucidated the larger significance of habitat quality parameters on the abundance of macroinvertebrate communities. For a better understanding of the different attributes crucial to macroinvertebrate abundance, we highly advise use of the HabQA scoring technique for examining the structure of macroinvertebrate communities. Management efforts should also assess different shoreline changes and give priority to preserving the littoral zone's morphological variety.