scholarly journals Contrasting beta diversity and functional composition of aquatic insect communities across local to regional scales in Amazonian streams

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilberto Nicacio ◽  
Erlane José Cunha ◽  
Neusa Hamada ◽  
Leandro Juen
Keyword(s):  
Beta Diversity ◽  
Geographic Distance ◽  
Aquatic Insect ◽  
Procrustes Analysis ◽  
Functional Composition ◽  
Species Replacement ◽  
Environmental Predictors ◽  
Insect Communities ◽  
Trait Convergence ◽  
Community Dissimilarity

AbstractWe investigated how components of beta diversity (i.e., the turnover and nestedness and functional compositional) aquatic insect assemblages change among sites and are influenced by environmental and spatial drivers. For this, we analyzed beta-diversity and functional composition of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera in 16 streams in two Amazonian basins with distinct environmental conditions (the Carajás and Tapajós regions). We performed Multiple regression on dissimilarity matrices (MRM) and Procrustes analysis to test spatial and environmental influences on the taxonomic and functional composition of communities. Community dissimilarity was most related to variations in geographic distance and topography, which highlighted the environmental distances shaping the communities. Variation in functional composition could be mostly attributed to the replacement of species by those with similar traits, indicating trait convergence among communities. Environmental predictors best-explained species replacement and trait congruence within and between the regions evaluated. In summary, among communities with different taxonomic compositions, the high species replacement observed appears to be leading them to have similar community structure, with species having the same functional composition, even in communities separated by both small and large geographic distances.

scholarly journals Factors that influence the beta-diversity of spider communities in northwestern Argentinean Grasslands

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e1946 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra M. Rodriguez-Artigas ◽  
Rodrigo Ballester ◽  
Jose A. Corronca
Keyword(s):  
Beta Diversity ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Geographic Distance ◽  
Species Replacement ◽  
Community Similarity ◽  
Dispersal Capacity ◽  
Assembly Structure ◽  
Dispersion Capacity ◽  
Spider Communities

Beta-diversity, defined as spatial replacement in species composition, is crucial to the understanding of how local communities assemble. These changes can be driven by environmental or geographic factors (such as geographic distance), or a combination of the two. Spiders have been shown to be good indicators of environmental quality. Accordingly, spiders are used in this work as model taxa to establish whether there is a decrease in community similarity that corresponds to geographic distance in the grasslands of the Campos & Malezales ecoregion (Corrientes). Furthermore, the influence of climactic factors and local vegetation heterogeneity (environmental factors) on assemblage composition was evaluated. Finally, this study evaluated whether the differential dispersal capacity of spider families is a factor that influences their community structure at a regional scale. Spiders were collected with a G-Vac from vegetation in six grassland sites in the Campos & Malezales ecoregion that were separated by a minimum of 13 km. With this data, the impact of alpha-diversity and different environmental variables on the beta-diversity of spider communities was analysed. Likewise, the importance of species replacement and nesting on beta-diversity and their contribution to the regional diversity of spider families with different dispersion capacities was evaluated. The regional and site-specific inventories obtained were complete. The similarity between spider communities declined as the geographic distance between sites increased. Environmental variables also influenced community composition; stochastic events and abiotic forces were the principal intervening factors in assembly structure. The differential dispersal capacity of spider groups also influenced community structure at a regional scale. The regional beta-diversity, as well as species replacement, was greater in high and intermediate vagility spiders; while nesting was greater in spiders with low dispersion capacity. Geographic distance, among other factors (climate, and active and passive dispersion capacity), explains assembly structure and the decrease spider community similarity between geographically distant sites. Spiders with the highest dispersal capacity showed greater species replacement. This may be due to the discontinuity (both natural and anthropic) of the grasslands in this ecoregion, which limits the dispersal capacity of these spiders, and their close dependence on microhabitats. The dispersal capacity of the least vagile spiders is limited by geographic distance and biotic factors, such as competition, which could explain the nesting observed between their communities.

How does the management of rice in natural ponds alter aquatic insect community functional structure?

2016 ◽  
Vol 67 (11) ◽  
pp. 1644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina S. Dalzochio ◽  
Renata Baldin ◽  
Cristina Stenert ◽  
Leonardo Maltchik
Keyword(s):  
Functional Divergence ◽  
Aquatic Insect ◽  
Functional Redundancy ◽  
Rice Fields ◽  
Functional Composition ◽  
Insect Community ◽  
Insect Communities ◽  
Conventional Agriculture ◽  
Organic Rice ◽  
Functional Richness

Changes to biodiversity have mainly been assessed using taxonomic diversity indices. Although these approaches contribute to our scientific understanding of species richness and composition patterns, trait-based metrics may be more useful for detecting responses to land-use change. We compared functional diversity of aquatic insect communities along a gradient of agricultural intensification. Our goal was to compare functional redundancy, functional richness, functional evenness and functional divergence among natural ponds, and organic and conventional rice fields. We recorded 15606 aquatic insects distributed across 61 genera. The highest functional redundancy and richness were observed in the natural ponds, followed by organic rice fields and conventional ones. The functional composition varied among natural ponds and rice fields, and differed between organic and conventional rice fields. Organic management favoured the establishment of some pond insect traits, such as predatory taxa, in rice agroecosystems. Our analysis suggests that the conversion of ponds to rice fields results in a shift to less specialised aquatic insect communities with altered functional composition groups. Nevertheless, this result should not be seen as a negative reflection on organic rice fields, because organic rice production affords a better compromise between agricultural production and ecosystem function than conventional agriculture.

scholarly journals Effects of experimental multi-season drought on abundance, richness, and beta diversity patterns in perennially flowing stream insect communities

Hydrobiologia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Saffarinia ◽  
K. E. Anderson ◽  
D. B. Herbst
Keyword(s):  
Beta Diversity ◽  
Aquatic Insect ◽  
Flow Regimes ◽  
Surface Flow ◽  
Insect Community ◽  
Stream Channels ◽  
Insect Communities ◽  
Threshold Response ◽  
Small Streams ◽  
Flow Loss

AbstractFreshwater systems are projected to experience increased hydrologic extremes under climate change. To determine how small streams may be impacted by shifts in flow regimes, we experimentally simulated flow loss over the span of three summers in nine 50 m naturally fed stream channels. The aquatic insect community of these streams was sampled before, during, and after experimental drought treatments as well as following one unforeseen flood event. Abundance, richness, and beta diversity were measured as indicators of biotic effects of altered flow regimes. Abundance declined in proportion to flow loss. In contrast, we observed a threshold response in richness where richness did not decrease except in channels where losses of surface flow occurred and disconnected pools remained. The flood reset this pattern, but communities continued their prior trajectories shortly thereafter. Beta diversity partitions suggested no strong compositional shifts, and that the effect of drought was largely experienced uniformly across taxa until flow cessation. Pools served as a refuge, maintaining stable abundance gradients and higher richness longer than riffles. Upon flow resumption, abundance and richness returned to pre-treatment levels within one year. Our results suggest that many taxa present were resistant to drought conditions until loss in surface flow occurred.

Functional and Taxonomic Beta Diversity of Saproxylic Beetles in Mediterranean Forests: On What Factors Do They Depend?

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 615-626
Author(s):  
D Pérez-Sánchez ◽  
E Galante ◽  
E Micó
Keyword(s):  
Functional Traits ◽  
Beta Diversity ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Saproxylic Beetles ◽  
Mediterranean Forests ◽  
Geographical Distance ◽  
Functional Composition ◽  
Species Replacement ◽  
Beetle Assemblages ◽  
Saproxylic Beetle

Abstract Understanding how biodiversity is distributed across geographical and environmental gradients is a main goal of diversity sciences. However, since ecosystem processes are linked to variation in functional traits of the biota, examining functional beta diversity is particularly important. Our objective was to analyze the taxonomic and functional beta diversity patterns of saproxylic beetle assemblages in evergreen Quercus forest of Spain. We tested whether environmental or geographical distance had a greater influence on taxonomic and functional beta diversity, and if both measures of beta diversity were affected by the same environmental variables. We used 45 flight interception traps distributed in three protected areas over a 12-mo period to sample saproxylic beetles. We measured 13 environmental variables around each trap and the geographical distance between traps. For functional composition, we used 12 functional traits from four functional groups (morphological, phenological, trophic, and a surrogate of physiological). Our results showed that environmental differences between areas influenced the taxonomic and functional beta diversity components (replacement and loss/gain) but in different ways. While replacement components (higher for taxonomic composition) increased with environmental distance, the loss or gain components (higher for functional composition) remained constant, indicating that species replacement mostly involved functionally redundant species. Besides, environmental variables influencing both taxonomic and functional composition were strongly dependent on each area. In conclusion, in well-preserved Mediterranean forests, environmental filtering determines the taxonomic and functional composition of saproxylic beetle assemblages, by favoring species replacement but filtering species traits.

Influence of oil palm monoculture on the taxonomic and functional composition of aquatic insect communities in eastern Brazilian Amazonia

2017 ◽  
Vol 82 ◽  
pp. 478-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Luiza-Andrade ◽  
Leandro Schlemmer Brasil ◽  
Naraiana Loureiro Benone ◽  
Yulie Shimano ◽  
Ana Paula Justino Farias ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil Palm ◽  
Aquatic Insect ◽  
Functional Composition ◽  
Insect Communities ◽  
Brazilian Amazonia

Spatial and seasonal variability of emergent aquatic insects and nearshore spiders in a subtropical estuary

2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha J. Zapata ◽  
S. Mažeika P. Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Insects ◽  
High Salinity ◽  
Aquatic Insect ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Dispersal Ability ◽  
Insect Community ◽  
Insect Communities ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Subtropical Estuary ◽  
Adult Aquatic Insects

Variability in the density and distribution of adult aquatic insects is an important factor mediating aquatic-to-terrestrial nutritional subsidies in freshwater ecosystems, yet less is understood about insect-facilitated subsidy dynamics in estuaries. We surveyed emergent (i.e. adult) aquatic insects and nearshore orb-weaving spiders of the families Tetragnathidae and Araneidae in a subtropical estuary of Florida (USA). Emergent insect community composition varied seasonally and spatially; densities were lower at high- than low-salinity sites. At high-salinity sites, emergent insects exhibited lower dispersal ability and a higher prevalence of univoltinism than low- and mid-salinity assemblages. Orb-weaving spider density most strongly tracked emergent insect density rates at low- and mid-salinity sites. Tetragnatha body condition was 96% higher at high-salinity sites than at low-salinity sites. Our findings contribute to our understanding of aquatic insect communities in estuarine ecosystems and indicate that aquatic insects may provide important nutritional subsidies to riparian consumers despite their depressed abundance and diversity compared with freshwater ecosystems.

scholarly journals Effects of bromeliad flowering event on the community structuring of aquatic insect larvae associated with phytotelmata of Aechmea distichantha Lem. (Bromeliaceae)

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Felipe Emiliano Amadeo ◽  
Juliana Déo Dias ◽  
Bianca Trevizan Segovia ◽  
Nadson Ressyé Simões ◽  
Fábio Amodêo Lansac-Tôha
Keyword(s):  
Growth Phase ◽  
Vegetative Growth ◽  
Beta Diversity ◽  
Aquatic Insect ◽  
Insect Larvae ◽  
Local Factors ◽  
Flowering Phase ◽  
Regional Factors ◽  
Aquatic Insect Larvae ◽  
Phenological Phases

Abstract Aim: We aimed to understand how aquatic insect larvae communities associated with bromeliad phytotelmata are affected by plant architecture, predators and resources (local factors), and by geographical distance (regional factors) in two different plant phenological phases. Bromeliad flowering results in plant structural changes, which favours insect dispersal. Considering that local and regional factors may affect the community of aquatic insect larvae, we expected that composition, beta diversity and the importance of those factors would differ in the vegetative growth and flowering phases. Methods We performed six samplings of the bromeliad associated fauna in 2010, three during the first semester - vegetative growth phase - and three during the second semester - flowering phase. In each sampling, we collected 12 plants along the rocky walls with similar location distribution, with a total of 72 bromeliads studied. Results Although beta diversity (PERMDISP) did not differ between vegetative growth and flowering, NMDS followed by ANOSIM showed that composition was significantly different in the distinct phenological phases. IndVal results showed that three Diptera morphospecies were discriminant of the vegetative growth phase. In addition, pRDA revealed differences in the relative contribution of local and regional factors to explain insect larvae community structure. During the flowering phase, local factors predominated, while during vegetative growth, regional factors were more important. Conclusion Differences in dispersal rates between the two phenological phases, likely due to adult insect pollination and further oviposition, influenced community structuring. Therefore, flowering events account for differences not only in the composition, but also in community structuring of aquatic insect larvae inhabiting the phytotelmata of Aechmea distichantha Lem. (Bromeliaceae).

scholarly journals Geographic distance and vegetation structure rather than river barrier drive ant beta diversity across Central Amazonia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Rodrigues Guilherme ◽  
Pedro Aurélio Costa Lima Pequeno ◽  
Fabrício Beggiato Baccaro ◽  
Elizabeth Franklin ◽  
Cláudio Rabelo dos Santos Neto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Vegetation Structure ◽  
Beta Diversity ◽  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Isolation By Distance ◽  
Geographic Distance ◽  
Effect Of Temperature ◽  
Detectable Effect ◽  
Direct And Indirect Effects ◽  
Central Amazonia

Abstract To understand better the effects of niche and neutral processes is important to disentangle the direct and indirect effects of each process, mainly if the environmental factors are geographically structured neglecting important indirect and synergic effects. We sampled ground-dwelling ant species on 126 plots distributed across eight sampling sites along a broad environmental gradient in Central Amazonia. Structural equation modelling was employed to quantify direct and indirect effects of geographic distance, the Amazon River’s opposite margins, and environmental differences in temperature, precipitation and vegetation structure (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) on ant beta diversity (Jaccard’s dissimilarity). We found that geographic distance and NDVI differences had major direct effects on ant beta diversity. The major effect of temperature was indirect through NDVI, whereas precipitation had no detectable effect on beta diversity. The Amazon River had a weak influence on the ant composition dissimilarity. Our results challenge the major role often ascribed to riverine barriers in the diversification and distribution of Amazonian biota. Rather, ant compositional dissimilarity seems to be mainly driven by a combination of dispersal limitation and selection imposed by vegetation features and, indirectly, by temperature. We suggest that as NDVI differences decrease with geographic distance in the region, isolation by distance may have favoured phenotypic convergence between ant communities in the northern and southern borders of the Amazon Basin.

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