Habitat diversity and benthic functional trophic groups at Serra do Cipó, Southeast Brazil

Abstract

The assessment of the diversity of habitats and the characterisation of the functional trophic groups of benthic macroinvertebrate communities of some rivers of Serra do Cipó (MG) were the main objectives of this study. The available trophic resources and the types of substrata were characterised along with the structure and composition of their using functional trophic groups. Serra do Cipó is a watershed divisor of the São Francisco and Doce River basins, including a series of streams and rivers, of good water quality and well preserved ecological characteristics. Samples were collected in Cipó, Peixe and Preto do Itambé rivers, besides the Indaiá and Capão da Mata streams at 26 sampling stations, during the rainy (February) and dry (October) seasons of 1998, using "Kicking nets" of 0.125 mm mesh size. The group of collectors (Baetidae, Leptophlebiidae and Leptohyphidae) was the most abundant, followed by collector-predators (Hydrophilidae, Ceratopogonidae, Chironomidae-Tanypodinae), and detritivorous-herbivores (Oligochaeta). The riparian vegetation, together with the aquatic macrophytes, are the substrata containing the highest richness of functional trophic groups and the higher habitat diversity. The results suggest that the use of functional trophic groups, together with habitat evaluation, are efficient tools in the evaluation of the diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates, particularly in altitudinal lotic ecosystems.Key words: benthic macroinvertebrates, functional trophic groups, bioindicators, river ecology, habitat diversity. RESUMO Diversidade de habitats e grupos tróficos funcionais na Serra do Cipó, sudeste do BrasilEste trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar a diversidade de habitats e caracterizar os grupos tróficos funcionais das comunidades de macroinvertebrados bentônicos em alguns rios na Serra do Cipó, MG. Foram caracterizados os recursos tróficos disponíveis e os tipos de substrato nos habitats amostrados, a composição de grupos tróficos funcionais que os utilizam e a estrutura da comunidade de macroinvertebrados bentônicos. A Serra do Cipó constitui-se em um divisor de águas das bacias do Rio São Francisco e do Rio Doce e engloba uma série de córregos e rios, com características ecológicas ainda bem preservadas e águas de boa qualidade. Foram amostrados os rios Cipó, Peixe e Preto do Itambé, além dos córregos Indaiá e Capão da Mata ao longo de 26 estações amostrais. As amostras foram coletadas nos períodos de chuva (fevereiro) e seca (outubro) de 1998, utilizando-se "Kicking nets" com malha de 0,125 mm. Os resultados evidenciaram que o grupo dos coletores (Baetidae, Leptophlebiidae e Leptohyphidae) foi o mais abundante, seguido pelos coletores-predadores (Hydrophilidae, Ceratopogonidae, Chironomidae-Tanypodinae) e detritívoros-herbívoros (Oligochaeta). A avaliação da diversidade de habitats permitiu caracterizar a vegetação ripária, juntamente com as Rev. Brasil. Biol., 61(2)

Diet of invertebrates sampled in leaf-bags incubated in a tropical headwater stream

“…It is important to recognize that leaves can protect and influence the availability of trophic resources for benthic macroinvertebrates (CALLISTO et al 2001, CRISCI-BISPO et al 2007. A benthic community similar to that of the present work was also found by CARVALHO & UIEDA (2004, CARVALHO et al (2008) and RIBEIRO & UIEDA (2005) that analyzed the benthic macroinvertebrates associated to the rocky substratum of the Ribeirão da Quinta stream.…”

Effects of anthropogenic impacts on benthic macroinvertebrates assemblages in subtropical mountain streams

“…Predators were highly dominant in taxa number, representing about 60% of total taxa richness. This finding coincides with other studies in tropical streams (Callisto et al, 2001;Cheshire et al, 2005), showing the importance of this FFG for the biodiversity of these lotic systems. On the other hand, shredders were scarce in the studied streams, comprising about less than 0.5% of total density of taxa.…”

“…The dominance of collector-gatherers could represent an adaptation to highly disturbed enviroments, as suggested by other tropical and subtropical studies (Callisto et al, 2001;Buss et al, 2002;Boyero et al, 2006;Tomanova et al, 2006;Uieda & Motta, 2007). In disturbed streams in terms of discharge, the supply and persistence of a particular food item is very variable.…”

Estrutura da comunidade de invertebrados bentônicos em dois cursos d'água do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

“…Os coletores que foram os organismos mais freqüentes em ambos locais, também foram mais numerosos em rios de correnteza e de altitude e em lagoas da região serrana de Minas Gerais, Brasil (JACOBSEN & ENCALADA 1998, MARQUES et al 1999, REMPEL et al 2000, CALLISTO et al 2001a, GALDEAN et al 2001.…”