Benthic macroinvertebrates of tropical streams: functional and trophic diversity of the Lacantún River, Mexico

Cortés‐Guzmán, Daniela; Alcocer, Javier; Cummins, Kenneth W.

doi:10.1007/s10201-021-00658-y

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…p < 0.001), while the other physical and chemical variables are similar between streams. The streams have similar nutrient concentrations (i.e., ammonium, nitrates, dissolved inorganic nitrogen, phosphates, and total phosphorous(Cortés-Guzmán, et al, 2021). A higher water discharge (F = 9.771, p = 0.014) and turbidity (F = 5.360, p = 0.040) during the rainy season confirms the tropical seasonality of the streams.…”

mentioning

confidence: 64%

“…Omnivory in predators may reduce the competition for prey with the predators feeding on a suboptimal resource (i.e., algal resources; Eubanks & Denno, 1999). The study streams show a strong top‐down control through the high abundance of predators compared with their potential prey (Cortés‐Guzmán et al., 2021). Omnivory may be a strategy to reduce competition at the highest TP in the José and Mario streams.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The study streams show a strong top-down control through the high abundance of predators compared with their potential prey (Cortés-Guzmán et al, 2021). Omnivory may be a strategy to reduce competition at the highest TP in the José and Mario streams.…”

Section: Resources Assimilation: Does the Energy Pathway Differ Seaso...mentioning

confidence: 91%

“…José and Mario first‐order streams (black dots), Lacantún River, Chiapas, Mexico (modified from Cortés‐Guzmán et al., 2021)…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The seasonal differences in the environmental variables were assessed using a two-way ANOVA. More details on the environmental measurements are given in Cortés-Guzmán, et al (2021).…”

Section: Environmental Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Autotrophs are important contributors to benthic macroinvertebrate food webs in two tropical first‐order forest streams

2022

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In tropical first‐order streams, the availability of basal resources changes according to tropical seasonality, i.e., dry and rainy seasons, with consequences for the food web structure. However, the seasonal variation in autotrophic and detrital pathways remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to establish whether the dominant pathway of the benthic macroinvertebrate food web in two tropical first‐order streams in the Lacandona rainforest, Mexico, relies on autotrophic or detrital food resources. We evaluated the assimilation of autotrophic and detrital food resources through carbon and nitrogen stable isotope (δ13C and δ15N) analysis. We included the biomass of the macroinvertebrates sustained by the autotrophic and detrital pathways and the food web structure—trophic position, size structure, and degree of omnivory. The biomass sustained by the detrital pathway remained similar throughout the year in both streams. In contrast, the biomass sustained by the autotrophic pathway was higher in the dry season than in the rainy season. The benthic macroinvertebrate food web had four levels, a poorly developed size structure, and an important degree of omnivory in both streams and in both seasons. It is likely that omnivory was a response to high resource variability and a strategy to reduce intraguild competition. Autotrophs had a relatively higher importance than detritus since a much lower algae biomass sustained an equal or higher macroinvertebrate biomass, particularly in the dry season when the biomass of autotrophs increased. Seasonality influenced the macroinvertebrate food web by modifying the food resource availability and transference to higher trophic levels. However, the high frequency of omnivory reduced the seasonal changes in the food web structure. Our results suggest that the autotrophic pathway plays an important role in maintaining the benthic macroinvertebrate food web in tropical streams. The relative importance of autotrophs in the macroinvertebrate food web is associated with seasonality, the rainfall pattern, and its effect on the stream hydrology.

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mentioning

confidence: 64%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resources Assimilation: Does the Energy Pathway Differ Seaso...mentioning

confidence: 91%

“…José and Mario first‐order streams (black dots), Lacantún River, Chiapas, Mexico (modified from Cortés‐Guzmán et al., 2021)…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The seasonal differences in the environmental variables were assessed using a two-way ANOVA. More details on the environmental measurements are given in Cortés-Guzmán, et al (2021).…”

Section: Environmental Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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