Organisation of the benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage in tropical streams of different orders in North-Eastern Brazil

We selected streams located in north-eastern Brazil with the objective of assessing the effect of streams of different orders (1st, 2nd, 3rd) on the distribution and composition of benthic macroinvertebrates in the rainy and dry seasons. A total of 12822 individuals and 62 taxa of benthic macroinve...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jessica F. Gomes Pio, Tiago da Silva Pereira, Adolfo R. Calor, Carlos E. Copatti
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Asociación Argentina de Ecología 2018-03-01
Series:Ecología Austral
Online Access:https://ojs.ecologiaaustral.com.ar/index.php/Ecologia_Austral/article/view/511
Description
Summary:We selected streams located in north-eastern Brazil with the objective of assessing the effect of streams of different orders (1st, 2nd, 3rd) on the distribution and composition of benthic macroinvertebrates in the rainy and dry seasons. A total of 12822 individuals and 62 taxa of benthic macroinvertebrates were obtained, of which Chironomidae was the taxon with the most individuals (60.08% of the total). The benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage ordination demonstrated that streams of the 3rd order had a different assemblage structure compared to streams of the 1st and 2nd order. This distinction may be the result of taxa substitution. The benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage structure was correlated with environmental variables. In conclusion, the variation of the environmental characteristics according to stream order was the most important factor in benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage organisation and replacement of taxa in the streams investigated. https://doi.org/10.25260/EA.18.28.1.0.511
ISSN:0327-5477
1667-782X