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Structural and functional composition of invertebrate communities associated with leaf patches in forest streams: a comparison between mesohabitats and catchments

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Abstract

We evaluated the influence of mesohabitats and catchments on the structural and functional composition of invertebrate communities associated with leaf patches in Atlantic Forest streams. We hypothesized that invertebrate communities would be more influenced by inter-habitat than inter-catchment variation, i.e., invertebrate taxonomic and trophic composition would differ more between pools and riffles than among catchments. Invertebrate richness differed among catchments only, while values of total abundance and biomass were higher in pools. The influence of mesohabitats on the structure of invertebrate communities was high, and most taxa had specificities with one mesohabitat. Among insect shredders, Grypopterigidae (Plecoptera) and Blattodea occurred more in riffles; Phylloicus, Nectopsyche, and Triplectides (Trichoptera) occurred more in pools. The biomass of omnivorous macroconsumers (Trichodactylus fluviatilis and Macrobrachium potiuna) was higher in pools and also differed among catchments. Except gathering-collectors, the taxonomic composition of functional feeding groups differed between pools and riffles. The obtained results corroborated the hypothesis that the structural and functional composition of invertebrate communities is more influenced by inter-habitat than by inter-catchment variation, and reinforced the importance of maintaining the biological and geomorphological characteristics of streams to allow the accumulation of leaves in different mesohabitats and preserve the aquatic biodiversity.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Mello Leitão Museum and the Municipal Office of Environment of Serra for research licenses in Santa Lúcia Biological Station and Mestre Álvaro Environmental Protection Area; the Research Foundation of the State of Espírito Santo (FAPES; Proc. No. 61861480/2013) and the Brazilian National Research Council (CNPq; Proc. No. 449957/2014-4) for financial support. FAPES provided Marcelo Moretti with a research fellowship (T.O. No. 0264/2016). Two anonymous reviewers provided insightful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript.

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  1. Laboratory of Aquatic Insect Ecology, University of Vila Velha, Av. Comissário José Dantas de Melo 21, 29.102-920, Vila Velha, Brazil

    Flávio Mendes, Walace P. Kiffer Jr. & Marcelo S. Moretti

  2. Graduate Program in Ecosystem Ecology, University of Vila Velha, Vila Velha, Brazil

    Flávio Mendes, Walace P. Kiffer Jr. & Marcelo S. Moretti

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  1. Flávio Mendes
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Mendes, F., Kiffer, W.P. & Moretti, M.S. Structural and functional composition of invertebrate communities associated with leaf patches in forest streams: a comparison between mesohabitats and catchments. Hydrobiologia 800, 115–127 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-017-3249-5

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