Oligochaete Assemblages in the Hyporheic Zone and Coarse Surface Sediments: Their Importance for Understanding of Ecological Functioning of Watercourses.

The hyporheic zone and its interactions with coarse surface sediments is increasingly reported by aquatic ecologists because the water exchanges between surface and subsurface are important factors for the understanding of the ecosystem functioning. However, the hyproheic oligochaete assemblages have received less attention than other assemblages such as crustaceans. In addition, studies investigating the incidence of pollution in watercourses have mostly focused on the benthic zone and have neglected the hyporheic zone. Some examples are given from an unpolluted glacial river (Roseg), polluted plains rivers (Moselle, Rhône) and a protected wetland in an urbanized environment. The hyporheic zone kept the memory of past and present incidences of pollution, in particular when downwellings of polluted surface waters to the hyporheic zone predominated. The Active hydrologic Exchange Describers between surface and subsurface (AED oligochaete species) were the same in the glacial river Roseg, the rivers Rhône and Moselle and the urbanized wetland. The predominance of pollution-tolerant species like Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri was observed in polluted groundwater as well as in polluted surface coarse sediments. Moreover, the urbanized wetland exhibited a high species richness, suggesting that the hyporheic zone is a reservoir of species. The oligochaete communities enable biologists to simultaneously assess the pollution incidence, the permeability of coarse habitats, the water exchanges between surface and subsurface, and give an approximate measure of the metabolic activities in the sediments. Consequently, the simultaneous study of surface and hyporheic oligochaete assemblages is of great interest when considering the ecological functioning of watercourses and the incidence of pollution inputs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]