Patterns of flow, leaf litter and shredder abundance in a tropical stream

Wootton, A. E.; Pearson, Richard G.; Boyero, Luz

doi:10.1007/s10750-018-3748-z

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…The trophic dynamics of the present study area do not appear to conform to the predictions of the River Continuum Concept (Vannote et al 1980), despite the fact that the distribution of the shredders was associated with the more forested streams, as recorded previously in temperate regions (Vannote et al 1980). However, the dynamics of the shredder populations of tropical streams do not appear to follow a well-defined pattern, given that the abundance of this group in the region is usually low (Wantzen & Wagner 2006, Castro et al 2018, Wootton et al 2018.…”

Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 63%

Effects of Local Environmental and Landscape Variables on the Taxonomic and Trophic Composition of Aquatic Insects in a Rare Forest Formation of the Brazilian Amazon

et al. 2020

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In the present study, we analyzed a unique phytophysiognomy in the Amazon region, which is formed by savanna-like vegetation on iron-rich soil (known locally as canga) located within an iron-ore mining region. We used the habitat template theory to test the hypothesis that changes in the physical-chemical properties of streams and the physical structure of their habitats at in-stream and micro-basin (landscape) levels affect the taxonomic and trophic composition of immature aquatic insects. For this, we used a local environmental matrix composed of nine physical-chemical and structural habitat variables, together with the Habitat Integrity Index. We also calculated landscape metrics based on the area of the microbasin, such as relief, slope, mean current flow, and vegetation cover. We divided the aquatic insects into five functional feeding groups based on their diet and food sources. Our results indicate that changes in the trophic level of the insects of the orders Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera are more easily observed than the taxonomic structure of communities. The loss of environmental integrity and vegetation cover were responsible for 84% of the variation observed in the composition of functional feeding groups (FFGs). Our study shows that aquatic insect communities in the canga and in the Amazon regions dominated by forest require specific in-stream and landscape conditions. These findings reinforce the need for the preservation of areas of canga vegetation, which not only have a unique levels of biological diversity, but are also targeted for the exploitation of their economically valuable natural resources.

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Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 63%

Effects of Local Environmental and Landscape Variables on the Taxonomic and Trophic Composition of Aquatic Insects in a Rare Forest Formation of the Brazilian Amazon

et al. 2020

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“…Invertebrate density was low, compared with other Brazilian savanna streams (2 to 780 individuals.g -1 in Ligeiro et al 2010, Gonçalves et al 2012, Rezende et al 2016). Higher invertebrate density was found during dry season by environmental stability and the pool formations due to the lower streamflow in this season (Taylor et al 2005;Wootton et al 2018). The family Chironomidae was predominant throughout the whole study, as in most tropical and temperate streams (Ferreira et al 2016, Moretti et al 2007, Wantzen and Wagner 2006.…”

Section: Invertebrate Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Higher precipitation increased the litter breakdown rates, that could be explained by: (1) an increase in litter fragmenta- tion due to physical abrasion (higher water washing force and stream discharge) (Graça et al 2015, Wantzen and Wagner 2006, Wootton et al 2018; or (2) an increase in the activity and exploration of the decomposer community due to higher litter quality input (Gessner et al 2010, Rezende et al 2017a. As example, Rueda-Delgado et al (2006) showed that abiotic factors such as physical abrasion drove the leaf litter breakdown in the Amazonian floodplain.…”

Section: Ecological Process and Decomposer Community Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The high complexity of riparian zones, due to transitional characteristics between aquatic and terrestrial systems, increases spatial and temporal variation in litter breakdown process (Boyero et al 2015). At larger scales, the major factors driving, spatially and temporally, the decomposition process are the geology and climate (Graça et al 2015), while at a smaller scale the decomposer community stands out, especially the hyphomycetes and shredders seasonal variability (Graça et al 2016, Wootton et al 2018). However, effects on different scales (large to small) influence each other in a complex hierarchical system (Peters et al 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Temporal dynamics of organic matter, hyphomycetes and invertebrate communities in a Brazilian savanna stream

et al. 2019

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Geology defines soil composition, which drives litter breakdown through two mechanisms: i) soil chemical content determines nutrient concentration in plants, and consequently, in leaf litter; ii) soil nutrient composition, alongside the hydrological regime, controls the dissolved nutrients in water stream (Boulton et al. 1998, Graça et al. 2015, Ordoñez et al. 2009. First, if plants grow in a poor nutrient soil, low quality

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“…Tank et al, 2010 and references therein), with only a few examples from the tropics (e.g. Bass, Bird, Liddell, & Nelson, 2011;Tonin et al, 2017, Wootton, Pearson, & Boyero, 2019. Given that tropical regions cover 40% of the Earth's land surface and differ climatically from most temperate regions (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High within‐stream replication is needed to predict litter fluxes in wet–dry tropical streams

et al. 2019

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Streams draining forested landscapes are fuelled by terrestrial plant litter, which can be transported downstream or retained and broken down locally. However, fluxes of plant litter in streams can vary at multiple spatio‐temporal scales, affecting the availability of this key resource in heterotrophic stream food webs. To explore this question we quantified several processes related to litter dynamics (i.e. litter inputs, storage, losses by transport and losses by breakdown) by sampling litter at multiple sites in three streams of the Brazilian Cerrado biome (which has a tropical wet–dry climate) for 2 years. We assessed the relative contribution of different spatial (among and within streams) and temporal scales (annual, seasonal and monthly) to total variability of these processes (hereafter fluxes). Spatial and temporal variability of fluxes were both high, but spatial variation was 1.67‐fold greater than temporal variation (61 versus 37%, respectively), especially at the within‐stream scale (50% overall); an exception was litterfall, which varied less spatially than temporally (24 versus 76%). Temporal variation of litter storage (and hence availability to consumers) was mostly seasonal and due to differences in net transport. Inputs and transport were higher in the wet than the dry season (wet versus dry season, 1.45 versus 0.92 and 1.43 versus 0.06 g litter m−2 day−1), while breakdown was similar between both seasons (0.88 versus 0.94 g litter m−2 day−1). Storage (i.e. accumulation) rate was positive and negative in the dry and wet season, respectively, indicating that litter was stored in the dry season and exported in the wet season. The transitional dry–wet season showed the highest inputs, breakdown and storage (3.21, 1.63 g litter m−2 day−1 and 145 g litter m−2), while the wet–dry season showed lower inputs (as in the dry season), higher transport (as in the wet season) and lower breakdown and storage than the other seasons (0.93, 0.65, 0.31 g litter m−2 day−1 and 24 g litter m−2). Our results underscore the role of variation in biophysical drivers of litter fluxes within streams (e.g. pool–riffle configuration, substrate features, biological communities), and suggest that high within‐stream replication is necessary to study litter fluxes at larger scales and over time. The seasonal patterns suggested potential changes in litter dynamics under future climate scenarios in the tropics, including increased storage due to reduced transport in a drier climate.

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Patterns of flow, leaf litter and shredder abundance in a tropical stream

Cited by 12 publications

References 47 publications

Effects of Local Environmental and Landscape Variables on the Taxonomic and Trophic Composition of Aquatic Insects in a Rare Forest Formation of the Brazilian Amazon

Effects of Local Environmental and Landscape Variables on the Taxonomic and Trophic Composition of Aquatic Insects in a Rare Forest Formation of the Brazilian Amazon

Temporal dynamics of organic matter, hyphomycetes and invertebrate communities in a Brazilian savanna stream

High within‐stream replication is needed to predict litter fluxes in wet–dry tropical streams

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