Longitudinal Distribution of the Functional Feeding Groups of Aquatic Insects in Streams of the Brazilian Cerrado Savanna.
Neotrop Entomol
; 43(5): 421-8, 2014 Oct.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-27193952
We demonstrate that the distribution of the functional feeding groups of aquatic insects is related to hierarchical patch dynamics. Patches are sites with unique environmental and functional characteristics that are discontinuously distributed in time and space within a lotic system. This distribution predicts that the occurrence of species will be based predominantly on their environmental requirements. We sampled three streams within the same drainage basin in the Brazilian Cerrado savanna, focusing on waterfalls and associated habitats (upstream, downstream), representing different functional zones. We collected 2,636 specimens representing six functional feeding groups (FFGs): brushers, collector-gatherers, collector-filterers, shredders, predators, and scrapers. The frequency of occurrence of these groups varied significantly among environments. This variation appeared to be related to the distinct characteristics of the different habitat patches, which led us to infer that the hierarchical patch dynamics model can best explain the distribution of functional feeding groups in minor lotic environments, such as waterfalls.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Biodiversity
/
Aquatic Organisms
/
Animal Distribution
/
Insecta
Type of study:
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Animals
Country/Region as subject:
America do sul
/
Brasil
Language:
En
Journal:
Neotrop Entomol
Journal subject:
BIOLOGIA
Year:
2014
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Brazil
Country of publication:
Netherlands