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Beta diversity in stream macroinvertebrate assemblages: among-site and among-microhabitat components

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Abstract

The benthic macroinvertebrate community is an important component of stream diversity, because its members are fundamental connectors among the different trophic levels of running waters. In this study, we assessed alpha and beta diversities of benthic macroinvertebrates in three stream sites and four microhabitats: (i) moss in the air-water interface; (ii) submerged roots of terrestrial plants; (iii) leaf litter deposited in pools; (iv) stones in riffles. We constructed rarefaction curves and compared species richness among microhabitats for each stream site. Additionally, we evaluated which factor, stream site, or microhabitat, was most important in determining variation in assemblage structure, i.e., beta diversity. There was no significant difference among microhabitats in terms of taxa richness evaluated by rarefaction curves. Using partial Constrained Correspondence Analysis (pCCA), we found that microhabitat was most important in determining community composition, accounting for 42.02% of the total variation. Stream sites accounted for 22.27%. In accordance with the pCCA, exploratory multivariate methods (ordination and classification) revealed four distinct groups, corresponding to the four microhabitats, independent of stream sites. Our results indicated that differences among environmental conditions are much more important in the determination of stream assemblage structure than are differences in spatial location. Accordingly, adjacent microhabitats in a single stream site harbor macroinvertebrate assemblages more dissimilar than those found in a single microhabitat at different stream sites.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Jorge Nessimian, Leandro G. Oliveira, Ana Paula M. Silva, and two referees for suggestions about previous versions of the manuscript. Luis M. Bini, Leandro G. Oliveira, and Sandra M. Hartz provided logistical support. Janet Reid revised the English. The Fundação Florestal permitted sampling of stream macroinvertebrates in Parque Estadual Intervales. SSC received a scholarship from the Coordenadoria de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES). ASM was supported by a grant and scholarship from the Fundação à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP, Procs no. 02/12538-0 and 03/10936-1) and a grant from the Conselho Nacional Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq, Proc. no. 476256/2004-6).

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  1. Shirley S. Costa

    Present address: Coordenação de Pesquisas em Entomologia, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Caixa Postal 478, Manaus, AM, CEP 69011-970, Brazil

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Evolução, Departamento de Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Caixa Postal 131, Goiania, GO, 74001-970, Brazil

    Shirley S. Costa

  2. Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Caixa Postal 15007, Porto Alegre, RS, CEP 91501-970, Brazil

    Adriano Sanches Melo

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  1. Shirley S. Costa
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  2. Adriano Sanches Melo
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Correspondence to Adriano Sanches Melo.

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Costa, S.S., Melo, A.S. Beta diversity in stream macroinvertebrate assemblages: among-site and among-microhabitat components. Hydrobiologia 598, 131–138 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-007-9145-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-007-9145-7

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