Mediated spatio-temporal patterns of macroinvertebrate assemblage associated with key environmental factors in the Qinghai Lake area, China

The Qinghai Lake area is one of key regions in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau for supporting a highly specific array of biodiversity. However, little is known about the composition and spatio-temporal patterns of benthic assemblages across this region. Herein, we examined how the community structure and community–environment relationships of macroinvertebrates varied over three consecutive years (2012–2014) across its three distinct water types of the saline main-body (MB) and sub-lakes (SSLs) and the freshwater bodies (FWBs). These waters harbored a poor benthic fauna, with identification of 30 taxa (6 in MB, 6 in SSLs and 23 in FWBs). There were distinct differences of assemblage composition among three water bodies, whereas weak (inter-year) or insignificant (seasons) differences at temporal scales. The CCA models indicated that there were highly naturally-driven environmental-assemblage relationships through time, with constant environmental factors of salinity, water depth and nutrients being the key environmental factors affecting macroinvertebrate variations. The currently overall benthic community composition and structure remains quite stable through years, indicating their suffering less from human activities. These results provide implications for projecting comprehensive benthic biomonitoring and conservation planning for those fragile and under-investigated lakes in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau.