Autochthonous primary production in southern Amazon headwater streams: Novel indicators of altered environmental integrity

Bleich, Monica Elisa; Piedade, Maria Teresa Fernandez; André, Thiago

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.01.040

Cited by 27 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Lower GPP is frequently associated with increasing water turbidity (Hall et al, 2015) and population density in the catchments (Izagirre et al, 2008). Canopy deforestation can increase autochthonous primary production (Bleich et al, 2015). Autotrophic conditions can also be found under nutrient-enrichment conditions that stimulate benthic algae during day, and normally associated with high respiration rates during the night.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation of stream metabolism along a tropical environmental gradient

et al. 2018

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Stream metabolism is affected by both natural and human-induced processes. While metabolism has multiple implications for ecological processes, relatively little is known about how metabolic rates are influenced by land use in tropical streams. In this study, we assessed the metabolic characteristics and related environmental factors of six streams located in a transition area from Cerrado to Atlantic Forest (São Carlos/Brazil). Three streams were relatively preserved, while three were flowing through more agriculturally and/or urban impacted watersheds. Surface water samples were analyzed for biological and physico-chemical parameters as well as discharge and percentage of canopy cover. Metabolism was determined through the single-station method to estimate gross primary production (GPP), ecosystem respiration (ER) and net ecosystem production (NEP) with BAyesian Single-station Estimation (BASE). Nutrient concentrations tended to be higher in impacted versus preserved streams (e.g., average total phosphorus between 0.028-0.042 mg L-1 and 0.009-0.038 mg L-1, respectively). Average canopy cover varied between 58 and 77%, with no significant spatial or seasonal variation. All streams were net heterotrophic (ER exceeded GPP) in all sampling periods. GPP rates were always lower than 0.7 gO2 m-2 d-1 in all streams and ER varied from 0.6 to 42.1 gO2 m-2 d-1. Linear Mixed-Effect models showed that depth, discharge, velocity and total phosphorus are the most important predictors for GPP. For ER, depth, velocity and canopy cover are significant potential predictors. Canopy cover was the main light limiting factor and influenced stream metabolism. Our findings reinforced the concepts that shifts in the shading effect provided by vegetation (e.g., through deforestation) or changes in discharge (e.g., through land use conversion or water abstractions) can impact freshwater metabolism. Our study suggests that human activities in low latitude areas can alter tropical streams’ water quality, ecosystem function, and the degree of riparian influence. Our data showed that tropical streams can be especially responsive to increases of organic matter inputs leading to high respiration rates and net heterotrophy, and this should be considered to support management and restoration efforts.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation of stream metabolism along a tropical environmental gradient

et al. 2018

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“…Channel variables individually were also very important for species' occurrence, which highlights the importance of channel morphology for macrophyte establishment and growth. Channel morphology is related to changes in light incidence in the water column and influences water current velocity; a higher water flow increases nutrient processing and oxygen concentration in rivers, favoring plant growth (Bleich et al 2014;Bleich et al 2015). Channel morphology, therefore, seems to be important for the occurrence of five of these species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Different scales determine the occurrence of aquatic macrophyte species in a tropical stream

et al. 2021

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Distributions of aquatic macrophyte species are commonly associated with water chemistry characteristics. However, other environmental factors that can lead to the occurrence of aquatic plants in lotic ecosystems, such as dynamic habitats linked to the surrounding landscape, have been underestimated. This study aims to evaluate landscape features that may influence the occurrence of species of euhydrophyte aquatic macrophytes in a tropical river basin. We assessed the occurrence of the following seven species: Egeria densa, Cabomba furcata, Potamogeton pusillus, Potamogeton polygonus, Utricularia foliosa, Pistia stratiotes and Salvinia molesta. We also measured environmental variables related to three spatial scales, local (limnological), channel and riparian landscape, along 25.5 Km of the Itanhaém River basin (São Paulo, Brazil). We found that local (limnological) and channel characteristics were important variables in determining the occurrence of aquatic macrophyte species while the landscape scale had little influence on species composition. Channel depth and margin slope were especially relevant abiotic variables in explaining the occurrence of four of the species but not P. pusillus, P. polygonus and U. foliosa. Our results highlight the importance of channel morphology for understanding aquatic plant occurrence and community composition in tropical rivers.

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“…Stream discharge showed a positive correlation with water velocity most likely due to the small size of sampled streams and the steep topography typical of headwater areas. In relation to orthophosphate, it is known that high concentrations support and stimulate both periphyton and microbial growth (Bae et al 2011;Bleich et al 2015). This provided a better detritus quality and food source for invertebrates, including shredder-detritivores, scrapers and collectors (Yoshimura et al 2006),…”

Section: The α and β Diversities At Different Spatial Scalesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efectos de las características de la hojarasca sobre la diversidad alfa y beta de ensambles de invertebrados en una cuenca hidrográfica tropical

et al. 2019

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The aims of this study were to: a) investigate the importance of environmental and/or spatial factors on the composition of the invertebrate community, and b) examine the alpha (α) and beta (β) diversities of the invertebrate community associated to the leaf breakdown process at three different spatial scales (stream reach, stream order and sub-basin). The abiotic variables and colonization of invertebrate community in two detritus (Eucalyptus cloeziana and Inga laurina) were evaluated in 14 sampling sites. For both detritus types, the communities were influenced by environmental matrix. High invertebrate α diversity was related to an increase in water flow velocity (outflow) and orthophosphate levels. High canopy openness and, consequently, high temperatures, showed negative effects on invertebrate α diversity. The α diversity in high-quality li�er (E. cloeziana) was mainly influenced by stream order, while β diversity was mainly influenced by sub-basins. However, in low-quality li�er (I. laurina), α diversity was mainly influenced by sub-basins, and the β diversity by sampling sites. These findings indicated that changes in detritus quality of the riparian vegetation resulted in significant changes of invertebrate α and β diversity in these communities.

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Autochthonous primary production in southern Amazon headwater streams: Novel indicators of altered environmental integrity

Cited by 27 publications

References 51 publications

Variation of stream metabolism along a tropical environmental gradient

Variation of stream metabolism along a tropical environmental gradient

Different scales determine the occurrence of aquatic macrophyte species in a tropical stream

Efectos de las características de la hojarasca sobre la diversidad alfa y beta de ensambles de invertebrados en una cuenca hidrográfica tropical

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