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Menna-Barreto TR, Siegloch AE, Santos S, Santos TGD, Velloso MAP, Spies MR. Aquatic insects in subtropical streams: the role of different grassland ecosystems and local environmental descriptors. AN ACAD BRAS CIENC 2024; 96:e20230918. [PMID: 39258648 DOI: 10.1590/0001-3765202420230918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 04/05/2024] [Indexed: 09/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Organisms can respond to environmental gradients from local to landscape features. Aquatic insects are particularly affected by watershed peculiarities due to their dependence on microhabitat conditions. However, these relationships are poorly understood in lotic ecosystems of subtropical grasslands, limiting water resources management and bioassessment proposals. Here, we investigated how local stream environment and variations in landscape types affect the assemblage structure of a bioindicator insect group, face to the spatial proximity of the sampled locations. We sampled immatures of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera in streams along the Brazilian Pampa biome, recording environmental descriptors in different grassland ecosystem types. The structure of aquatic insect assemblages differed across grassland types, with specific dominant genera associated with each landscape. Spatially-structured water physicochemical descriptors explained a significant amount of variation in assemblage data. Our findings suggest that grassland ecosystem type delimitations capture ecological attributes, influencing watershed features important to EPT assemblage structuration. Moreover, we highlight the importance of niche-based process structuring EPT assemblages along grassland ecosystem types of Pampa biome. In addition, we encourage using aquatic insects in bioassessment of lotic waters to assess local and landscape environmental impacts. We strongly recommend considering the grassland ecosystem schedule for water resources management and bioassessment proposals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tainara R Menna-Barreto
- Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Animal, Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas, Prédio 17, Avenida Roraima, 1000, Bairro Cidade Universitária, Camobi, 97105-900 Santa Maria, RS, Brazil
| | - Ana Emília Siegloch
- Universidade do Planalto Catarinense, Programa de Pós-Graduação Ambiente e Saúde, Av. Castelo Branco, 170, Bairro Universitário, 88509-900 Lages, SC, Brazil
| | - Sandro Santos
- Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Animal, Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas, Prédio 17, Avenida Roraima, 1000, Bairro Cidade Universitária, Camobi, 97105-900 Santa Maria, RS, Brazil
- Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Departamento de Ecologia e Evolução, Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas, Prédio 17, Sala 1140-D, Avenida Roraima, 1000, Bairro Cidade Universitária Camobi, 97105-900 Santa Maria, RS, Brazil
| | - Tiago G Dos Santos
- Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Animal, Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas, Prédio 17, Avenida Roraima, 1000, Bairro Cidade Universitária, Camobi, 97105-900 Santa Maria, RS, Brazil
- Universidade Federal do Pampa, Campus São Gabriel, Rua Aluízio Barros Macedo, BR290 - Km 423, Bairro Universitário, 97307-020 São Gabriel, RS, Brazil
| | - Marcos André P Velloso
- Universidade Federal do Pampa, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas, Campus São Gabriel, Rua Aluízio Barros Macedo, BR290 - Km 423, Bairro Universitário, 97307-020 São Gabriel, RS, Brazil
| | - Marcia Regina Spies
- Universidade Federal do Pampa, Campus São Gabriel, Rua Aluízio Barros Macedo, BR290 - Km 423, Bairro Universitário, 97307-020 São Gabriel, RS, Brazil
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Petsch DK, Blowes SA, Melo AS, Chase JM. A synthesis of land use impacts on stream biodiversity across metrics and scales. Ecology 2021; 102:e03498. [PMID: 34314043 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2020] [Revised: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
While land use intensification is a major driver of biodiversity change in streams, the nature of such changes, and at which scales they occur, have not been synthesized. To synthesize how land use change has altered multiple components of stream biodiversity across scales, we compiled data from 37 studies where comparative data were available for species' total and relative abundances from multiple locations including reference (less impacted) streams to those surrounded by different land use types (urban, forestry, and agriculture). We found that each type of land use reduced multiple components of within-stream biodiversity across scales, but that urbanization consistently had the strongest effects. However, we found that β-diversity among streams in modified landscapes did not differ from β-diversity observed among reference streams, suggesting little evidence for biotic homogenization. Nevertheless, assemblage composition did experience considerable species turnover between reference and modified streams. Our results emphasize that to understand how anthropogenic factors such as land use alter biodiversity, multiple components of biodiversity within and among sites must be simultaneously considered at multiple scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle K Petsch
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Evolução, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, GO, Brazil.,Departamento de Biologia, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, PR, Brazil
| | - Shane A Blowes
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, Leipzig, 04103, Germany.,Department of Computer Science, Martin Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), 06099, Germany
| | - Adriano S Melo
- Departamento de Ecologia, ICB, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, GO, Brazil
| | - Jonathan M Chase
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, Leipzig, 04103, Germany.,Department of Computer Science, Martin Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), 06099, Germany
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Vilenica M, Kerovec M, Pozojević I, Mihaljević Z. Mayfly response to different stress types in small and mid-sized lowland rivers. Zookeys 2020; 980:57-77. [PMID: 33192138 PMCID: PMC7642158 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.980.54805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2020] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Freshwater ecosystems are endangered worldwide by various human pressures, resulting in dramatic habitat and species loss. Many aquatic invertebrates respond to disturbances in their habitat, and mayflies are among the most sensitive ones. Therefore, we investigated mayfly response to anthropogenic disturbances at 46 study sites encompassing slightly to heavily modified small and mid-sized lowland streams and rivers. Mayfly nymphs were sampled between April and September 2016 using a benthos hand net. A total of 21 species was recorded, with Cloeondipterum (Linnaeus, 1761) being the most frequently recorded one. Nevertheless, the taxa richness was rather low per site, i.e., between zero and nine. Assemblage structure had a high share of lower reaches and lentic (potamic and littoral) elements, and detritivores (gatherers/collectors and active filter feeders). This indicates that hydromorphological alterations lead to assemblage “potamisation” in small and mid-sized rivers. More mayfly species were related to higher oxygen concentration and lower water temperature, abundance of aquatic vegetation and total organic carbon. Additionally, the assemblage diversity and abundance were negatively associated with increasing intensive agriculture area at the catchment scale. This study confirms mayfly bio-indicative properties, i.e., their sensitivity to alterations of their habitat and pollution, but also provides new data related to mayfly response to the impacted environment. Those data can be used for management and protection activities of lowland rivers and their biota according to the requirements of the European Water Framework Directive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Vilenica
- University of Zagreb, Faculty of Teacher Education, Trg Matice Hrvatske 12, Petrinja, Croatia University of Zagreb Petrinja Croatia
| | - Mladen Kerovec
- University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Rooseveltov Trg 6, Zagreb, Croatia University of Zagreb Zagreb Croatia
| | - Ivana Pozojević
- University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Rooseveltov Trg 6, Zagreb, Croatia University of Zagreb Zagreb Croatia
| | - Zlatko Mihaljević
- University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Rooseveltov Trg 6, Zagreb, Croatia University of Zagreb Zagreb Croatia
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Ramulifho PA, Foord SH, Rivers‐Moore NA. The role of hydro-environmental factors in Mayfly (Ephemeroptera, Insecta) community structure: Identifying threshold responses. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:6919-6928. [PMID: 32760502 PMCID: PMC7391557 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2019] [Revised: 04/08/2020] [Accepted: 04/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Freshwater organisms are threatened by changes in stream flow and water temperature regimes due to global climate change and anthropogenic activities. Threats include the disappearance of narrow-tolerance species and loss of favorable thermal conditions for cold-adapted organisms. Mayflies are an abundant and diverse indicator of river health that performs important functional roles. The relative importance of key hydro-environmental factors such as water temperature and flow volumes in structuring these communities has rarely been explored in the tropical regions of Africa. Here, we investigate the response of mayfly species diversity to these factors in the Luvuvhu catchment, a strategic water source area in the arid northeastern region of South Africa. Mayfly larvae were sampled monthly in stones-in-current biotopes across 23 sites over a one-year period. The relationship between these environmental drivers and mayfly diversity was modeled using linear mixed effects models (LMMs) and a model-based multivariate approach. Threshold Indicator Taxa Analysis (TITAN) was used to model the response of mayfly species to important gradients and identify thresholds of change. Site-specific characteristic were the most important predictor of mayfly diversity, and there was considerable variation over time, with mayfly diversity peaking during winter. Along this, gradient temperature was the best predictor of assemblage structure, with five out of six reliable indicator species being cold-adapted, and a community threshold response at 19°C. Results support laboratory-based thresholds of temperature for mayfly species survival and development, extending empirical evidence to include field-based observations. Increased global (climate change) and local (riparian vegetation removal, impoundments) changes are predicted to have negative impacts on mayfly diversity and ultimately on ecosystem function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pfananani A. Ramulifho
- SARChI‐Chair in Biodiversity Value and ChangeUniversity of VendaThohoyandouSouth Africa
- Department of Zoology and Centre for Invasion BiologyUniversity of VendaThohoyandouSouth Africa
| | - Stefan H. Foord
- SARChI‐Chair in Biodiversity Value and ChangeUniversity of VendaThohoyandouSouth Africa
- Department of Zoology and Centre for Invasion BiologyUniversity of VendaThohoyandouSouth Africa
| | - Nick A. Rivers‐Moore
- Centre for Water Resources ResearchUniversity of KwaZulu‐NatalScottsvilleSouth Africa
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