Heterogeneity generated by irregularities on the surface of streambed substrates is an important determinant of local species diversity of algae. However, few investigators have examined the effects of substrate roughness on the composition of algal growth forms and on patterns of species distribution. We examined the influence of substrate roughness on stream benthic algal assemblages through a field experiment with 2 treatments (smooth and rough artificial substrates for algal colonization). We assessed whether species richness, density, and assemblage composition of benthic algae (all taxa and those in 5 growth-form groups) differed between treatments and whether differences in species composition between substrates were the result of species turnover or nestedness. We also used a data subsampling procedure to investigate the effect of differences in species richness between treatments. Total species richness was higher on rough than on smooth substrates, but density did not differ between treatments. Species richness, density, and composition of the adnate/prostrate growth form did not differ between treatments. The erect/stalked growth form had higher species richness on rough substrates, but did not differ in density between treatments. All other growth forms (filamentous, motile, and metaphyton) had higher species richness and density on rough substrates and differed in species composition between substrates. The results of the subsampling analysis indicated that assemblage composition was affected by differences in species richness and by changes in species composition (i.e., turnover). Species distribution had a nested pattern, in which the assemblages on smooth substrates were a subgroup of the species occurring on rough substrates. We suggest that the differences in assemblage composition between smooth and rough substrates resulted from variability in species' capabilities to colonize substrates with or without crevices. This variability resulted in both nestedness and turnover.

Summary 1. Habitat heterogeneity in lotic systems is usually associated with the availability of refuges. Heterogeneous habitats (here, rough substrata) should mediate the effect of high‐flow disturbances by protecting benthic algae, thus increasing the resistance and resilience of the system. Additionally, the ability of algae to resist a disturbance and recover after it should be dependent on biological traits that confer resistance and resilience. 2. We designed a field experiment, simulating a high‐flow event with bed movement, to test the effect of substratum roughness on the resistance (assessed as the similarity between samples collected before and immediately after disturbance) and resilience (the similarity between samples collected before and 7 and 15 days after disturbance) of five algal life forms. We evaluated whether algal resistance and resilience were higher on rough than on smooth substrata, and whether the life forms differed in their ability to resist and recover from a disturbance. 3. Rough substrata had higher species richness than smooth substrata at all sampling periods, even immediately after the disturbance. There was no significant effect of substratum roughness on algal resistance and resilience, for both species richness and density of the total assemblage. Neither did roughness affect the resistance and resilience of the total algal assemblage or of the algal life forms separately, when evaluated using multivariate data sets (presence‐absence and quantitative). 4. Algal life forms differed in resistance and resilience; adnate/prostrate and erect/stalked species were more resistant and resilient than the other life forms (filamentous, motile and metaphytic). Additionally, motile species resisted and recovered better than did species that are only loosely associated with the substratum (metaphytic species). 5. Substratum roughness had no pronounced effect on benthic algal resistance and resilience. The results of this and some other studies suggest that the intensity of disturbance determines the importance of habitat heterogeneity and flow refuges for benthic algae in streams.

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We conducted a scientometric analysis to determine the main trends and gaps of studies on the use of ecological niche models (ENMs) to predict the distribution of invasive species. We used the database of the Thomson Institute for Scientific Information (ISI). We found 190 papers published between 1991 and 2010 in 82 journals. The number of papers was low in the 1990s, but began to increase after 2003. One-third of the papers were published by researchers from the United States of America, and consequently, the USA was also the most studied region. The majority of studies were carried out in terrestrial environments, while only a few investigated aquatic systems, probably because important aquatic predictor variables are scarce or unavailable for most regions in the world. Species-occurrence records were mainly composed of presence-only records, and almost 70% of the studies were carried out with plants and insects. Twenty-three different distribution modelling methods were used. The Genetic Algorithm for Rule-set Production (GARP) was used most often. Our scientometric analysis showed a growing interest in the use of ENMs to predict the distribution of invasive species, especially in the last decade, which is probably related to the increase in species introductions worldwide. Among some important gaps that need to be filled, the relatively small number of studies conducted in developing countries and in aquatic environments deserves careful attention.Keywords: biodiversity, biological invasions, scientific production, trends. Palavras-chave: biodiversidade, invasões biológicas, produção científica, tendências. Uso

Temporal changes of assemblages may result from environmental variability and reflect seasonal dynamics of their ecosystem. In the subtropics, the hydrological regime is usually characterized by well-defined wet and dry seasons, regulating discharge and influencing a series of environmental variables that affect phytoplankton persistence. Therefore, we may expect that dry seasons are environmentally more stable than wet seasons. We analysed interannual phytoplankton assemblage variability (or, inversely, persistence) in a subtropical reservoir sampled every austral summer and winter during 5 years. We tested (i) if phytoplankton assemblage structure differed between the dry (summer) and wet (winter) seasons; (ii) if assemblage persistence differed between the seasons; (iii) if assemblage persistence was related to environmental stability; and (iv) if assemblage dissimilarity increased over time. Phytoplankton assemblages differed between the summer and winter seasons.Winter indicator species were mostly Bacillariophyceae or Cryptophyceae, whereas Cyanophyceae and Chlorophyceae taxa were more frequent and abundant in summer. Assemblages in the dry season were more persistent among years than those occurring during rainy periods. Similarly, environmental variability tended to be lower among dry than among rainy seasons. The relation between the phytoplankton temporal cycle and the temporal patterns of environmental variability supports our prediction that high environmental stability results in more persistent assemblages. Assemblage dissimilarity increased as sampling years were farther apart, for both seasons. Additionally, assemblages in the rainy periods showed a more pronounced increase in dissimilarity, as their changes among years were less predictable. We found a clear temporal pattern and an increased dissimilarity over time in the phytoplankton assemblage structure. Unravelling these temporal patterns may improve our understanding of phytoplankton temporal dynamics, and may have implications for management and monitoring programs. High dissimilarity of assemblages among years, particularly among rainy periods, can obscure human impacts, and monitoring programs should take this into account.

No abstract

Ecologists usually estimate means, but devote much less attention to variation. The study of variation is a key aspect to understand natural systems and to make predictions regarding them. In community ecology, most studies focus on local species diversity (alpha diversity), but only in recent decades have ecologists devoted proper attention to variation in community composition among sites (beta diversity). This is in spite of the fact that the first attempts to estimate beta diversity date back to the pioneering work by Koch and Whittaker in the 1950s. Progress in the last decade has been made in the development both of methods and of hypotheses about the origin and maintenance of variation in community composition. For instance, methods are available to partition total diversity in a region (gamma diversity), in a local component (alpha), and several beta diversities, each corresponding to one scale in a hierarchy. The popularization of the so-called raw-data approach (based on partial constrained ordination techniques) and the distance-based approach (based on correlation of dissimilarity/distance matrices) have allowed many ecologists to address current hypotheses about beta diversity patterns. Overall, these hypotheses are based on niche and neutral theory, accounting for the relative roles of environmental and spatial processes (or a combination of them) in shaping metacommunities. Recent studies have addressed these issues on a variety of spatial and temporal scales, habitats and taxonomic groups. Moreover, life history and functional traits of species such as dispersal abilities and rarity have begun to be considered in studies of beta diversity. In this article we briefly review some of these new tools and approaches developed in recent years, and illustrate them by using case studies in aquatic ecosystems.

Understanding spatial and temporal changes in species composition has long demanded the attention of ecologists. However, only recently questions related to changes in species functional traits have been investigated. We explored patterns of species and functional dissimilarity of periphytic algae at six lakes sampled over a year across a subtropical floodplain. We evaluated the importance of turnover and nestedness components across space and time; the influence of environmental dissimilarity, spatial distance, and time on species and functional dissimilarity; and whether functional dissimilarity results from nonstochastic assembly processes. We used six functional traits to describe 155 species. Functional dissimilarity was estimated by functional dendrograms, and stochasticity was evaluated using null models. The turnover component was greater than nestedness for species and functional dissimilarity. Environmental dissimilarity, spatial distance, or time did not significantly explain species or functional dissimilarity. However, functional dissimilarity was significantly greater than expected given the observed species dissimilarity. The main finding of this study is that community assembly was deterministic with respect to traits. Further, each lake contributed similarly to the overall species and traits pool. These results highlight the importance of comparing species and functional dissimilarities to reach a better understanding of the organization of periphytic algal communities.