Variations in Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities and Biological Quality in the Aguarico and Coca River Basins in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Adequate environmental management in tropical aquatic ecosystems is imperative. Given the lack of knowledge about functional diversity and bioassessment programs, management is missing the needed evidence on pollution and its effect on biodiversity and functional ecology. Therefore, we investigated the composition and distribution of the macroinvertebrate community along two rivers. Specifically, 15 locations were sampled in the Coca and Aguarico Rivers (Ecuadorian Amazon) and the macroinvertebrates were used to indicate water quality (WQ), expressed as the Biological Monitoring Working Party Colombia (BMWP-Col) classes. Results indicate that elevation, pH, temperature, width, and water depth played an important role in the taxa and functional feeding groups (FFG) composition. The results show that diversity of taxa and FFG were generally scarce but were more abundant in good quality sites. Collector-gathers (CG) were, in general, dominant and were particularly abundant at low WQ and downstream sites. Scrapers (SC) were the second most abundant group, dominating mostly at good WQ and upstream sites. Predators (PR) were homogeneously distributed among the sites, without clear dominance, and their abundance was slightly higher in sites with medium-low WQ and downstream sites. Lastly, both shredders (SH) and collector-filterers (CF) were almost absent and were more abundant in good quality sites. The findings of this research can be used as baseline information in the studied region since a dam was constructed two years after the sampling campaign, which has been operating since. Furthermore, the results can be used to fill the knowledge gaps related to the bioassessments of other similar systems, particularly for a tropical rainforest.

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Monitoring of Neotropical Streams Using Macroinvertebrate Communities: Evidence from Honduras

Environments ◽

10.3390/environments8040027 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 27

Author(s):

Stefano Fenoglio ◽

Alberto Doretto

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Working Party ◽

Biological Indicators ◽

Environmental Conservation ◽

Taxon Richness ◽

Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽

Class A ◽

Neotropical Streams ◽

Local Contribution ◽

Level Identification

Assessing the water quality by using biological indicators is a reliable and economically feasible way to promote environmental conservation in developing tropical countries. Here, we report one of the few examples of river biomonitoring in Honduras. In June 2005, benthic macroinvertebrates were collected from six sites in the Río Cangrejal basin. An adapted version of the Biological Monitoring Working Party index (BMWP) was used to assess the water quality because it is simple, consolidated, relatively easy to use, and needs a family-level identification. Moreover, two other community metrics were calculated, namely the total taxon richness and local contribution to beta diversity (LCBD). Differences in the biomonitoring and diversity metrics among sites and their correlations were statistically tested. Thirty-nine macroinvertebrate taxa were collected and, despite significant differences in the BMWP score, all sampling sites were classified in the high environmental quality class. A very strong and positive correlation between the BMPW and taxon richness was found, while LCBD did not vary significantly and did not correlate with the other metrics. Our results suggest that taxon richness could be used as a surrogate indicator to assess the water quality when consolidate biomonitoring methods are not available.

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The impact of accelerating land-use change on the N-Cycle of tropical aquatic ecosystems: Current conditions and projected changes

New Perspectives on Nitrogen Cycling in the Temperate and Tropical Americas ◽

10.1007/978-94-011-4645-6_6 ◽

1999 ◽

pp. 109-148 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

J. A. Downing ◽

M. McClain ◽

R. Twilley ◽

J. M. Melack ◽

J. Elser ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Use Change ◽

Aquatic Ecosystems ◽

N Cycle ◽

Tropical Aquatic Ecosystems ◽

Projected Changes ◽

The Impact

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Macroinvertebrate Communities and Environment in a Southern African Mountain Stream

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f88-252 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 45 (12) ◽

pp. 2168-2181 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

J. M. King ◽

J. A. Day ◽

P. R. Hurly ◽

M-P. Henshall-Howard ◽

B. R. Davies

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Environmental Variables ◽

Mediterranean Ecosystems ◽

Mountain Stream ◽

Functional Feeding Groups ◽

Stepwise Discriminant Analysis ◽

Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽

Strong Correlations ◽

Stream Community ◽

Community Changes

In a study of a second-order southern African stream, complementary classification and multidimensional scaling (MDS) techniques revealed longitudinal changes in macroinvertebrate community structure, but no temporal changes. Stepwise discriminant analysis and multiple linear regression were used to identify environmental variables correlated with the community changes but produced conflicting results depending on the information used, possibly because of strong correlations between some of the variables. The MDS plot of biotic samples illustrated that potassium levels correlated most strongly with community distribution. Because of the large number of variables now shown worldwide to correlate with faunal distributions, we suggest ways to choose the variables to suit the kind of study to be undertaken. Attempts to assign the invertebrates to functional feeding groups (FFGs) were unsatisfactory as the relevant categories are poorly defined and often inadequate for classifying the fauna. We suggest that until these categories are more clearly defined, and more uniformly applied, concepts relating to FFGs cannot be tested satisfactorily. The stream community in Langrivier is more similar to communities found in two other mediterranean ecosystems than to those in other southern African rivers, probably because of the greater predictability of flow in the former.

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The impact of accelerating land-use change on the N-Cycle of tropical aquatic ecosystems: Current conditions and projected changes

Biogeochemistry ◽

10.1007/bf01007576 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 46 (1-3) ◽

pp. 109-148 ◽

Cited By ~ 89

Author(s):

J. A. Downing ◽

M. Mcclain ◽

R. Twilley ◽

J. M. Melack ◽

J. Elser ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Use Change ◽

Aquatic Ecosystems ◽

N Cycle ◽

Tropical Aquatic Ecosystems ◽

Projected Changes ◽

The Impact

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A short review of fecal indicator bacteria in tropical aquatic ecosystems: knowledge gaps and future directions

Frontiers in Microbiology ◽

10.3389/fmicb.2015.00308 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

Cited By ~ 77

Author(s):

Emma Rochelle-Newall ◽

Thi Mai Huong Nguyen ◽

Thi Phuong Quynh Le ◽

Oloth Sengtaheuanghoung ◽

Olivier Ribolzi

Keyword(s):

Aquatic Ecosystems ◽

Fecal Indicator Bacteria ◽

Short Review ◽

Indicator Bacteria ◽

Knowledge Gaps ◽

Fecal Indicator ◽

Future Directions ◽

Tropical Aquatic Ecosystems

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Benthic macroinvertebrates as bioindicators of water quality in an Atlantic forest fragment

Iheringia Série Zoologia ◽

10.1590/s0073-47212010000400003 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 100 (4) ◽

pp. 291-300 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Augusto Oliveira ◽

Marcos Callisto

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Organic Pollution ◽

Southeastern Brazil ◽

Functional Feeding Groups ◽

Average Score ◽

Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽

Forest Fragment ◽

Freshwater Habitats ◽

Disturbed Systems ◽

Belo Horizonte

The objective of this study was to evaluate benthic macroinvertebrate communities as bioindicators of water quality in five streams located in the "Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural" (RPPN) Mata Samuel de Paula and its surroundings, in the municipality of Nova Lima near the city of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State, southeastern Brazil. This region has been strongly modified by human activities including mining and urbanization. Samples were collected in the field every three months between August 2004 and November 2005, totaling six samplings in the rainy and dry seasons. This assessment identified one area ecologically altered while the other sampling sites were found to be minimally disturbed systems, with well-preserved ecological conditions. However, according to the Biological Monitoring Work Party (BMWP) and the Average Score Per Taxon (ASPT) indices, all sampling sites had excellent water quality. A total of 14,952 organisms was collected, belonging to 155 taxa (148 Insecta, two Annelida, one Bivalvia, one Decapoda, one Planariidae, one Hydracarina, and one Entognatha). The most abundant benthic groups were Chironomidae (47.9%), Simuliidae (12.3%), Bivalvia (7.5%), Decapoda (6.1%), Oligochaeta (5.2%), Polycentropodidae (3.7%), Hydropsychidae (2.5%), Calamoceratidae (1.8%), Ceratopogonidae (1.7%), and Libellulidae (1.2%). The assessment of the benthic functional feeding groups showed that 34% of the macroinvertebrates were collector-gatherers, 29% predators, 24% collector-filterers, 8% shredders, and 5% scrapers. The RPPN Mata Samuel de Paula comprises diversified freshwater habitats that are of great importance for the conservation of many benthic taxa that are intolerant to organic pollution.

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Analysis of Longitudinal Zonation and the River Continuum Concept in the Oldman–South Saskatchewan River System

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f82-167 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 39 (9) ◽

pp. 1258-1266 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

Joseph M. Culp ◽

Ronald W. Davies

Keyword(s):

River System ◽

Subalpine Forest ◽

Functional Feeding Groups ◽

River Continuum Concept ◽

Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽

Terrestrial Vegetation ◽

River Continuum ◽

Longitudinal Zonation ◽

South Saskatchewan River ◽

Continuum Concept

During the summer–fall periods, the benthic macroinvertebrate communities of the Oldman–South Saskatchewan River system demonstrated a longitudinal zonation related to the subalpine forest, fescue prairie, and mixed prairie terrestrial ecosystems through which it flows. This zonation was primarily attributable to significant downstream increases in periphyton biomass, plant nutrients, and water temperature. Zonation was reduced in the Sate winter–spring periods and absent in May, during spring runoff. Longitudinal trends in macroinvertebrate functional feeding groups generally followed the predictions of the river continuum concept, with trophic composition apparently more strongly affected by autotrophic processes in the summer, and heterotrophic processes in the winter. By combining the river continuum concept with a watershed classification system based on geology, climate, soil type, and terrestrial vegetation, we suggest that biological comparisons of longitudinal zonation are enhanced.Key words: longitudinal zonation, reciprocal average ordination, river continuum concept, functional groups

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Are the streams of the Sinos River basin of good water quality? Aquatic macroinvertebrates may answer the question

Brazilian Journal of Biology ◽

10.1590/s1519-69842010000600010 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 70 (4 suppl) ◽

pp. 1207-1215 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

L. Bieger ◽

ABP Carvalho ◽

MN Strieder ◽

L. Maltchik ◽

C Stenert

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

River Basin ◽

Working Party ◽

Aquatic Macroinvertebrates ◽

Biotic Index ◽

Biotic Indices ◽

Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽

Score System ◽

One Year

Macroinvertebrate communities are one of the most used groups in assessments of water quality, since they respond directly to the level of contamination of aquatic ecosystems. The main objective of this study was the assessment of the water quality of the Sinos River basin (Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil) through biotic indices based on the macroinvertebrate community ("Family Biotic Index - FBI", and "Biological Monitoring Working Party Score System - BMWP"). Three lower order streams (2nd order) were selected in each one of three main regions of the basin. In each stream, the samplings were performed in three reaches (upper, middle, and lower), totalling 27 reaches. Two samplings were carried in each reach over one year (winter and summer). A total of 6,847 macroinvertebrates distributed among 54 families were sampled. The streams from the upper region were of better water quality than the lower region. The water quality did not change between the upper, middle and lower reaches of the streams. However, the upper reaches of the streams were of better water quality in all the regions of the basin. The water quality of the streams did not vary between the summer and the winter. This result demonstrated that water quality may be analysed in both studied seasons (summer and winter) using biotic indices. The analysis of the results allows us to conclude that the biotic indices used reflected the changes related to the water quality along the longitudinal gradient of the basin. Thus, aquatic macroinvertebrates were important bioindicators of the water and environmental quality of the streams of the Sinos River basin.

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SUCESIÓN DE MICROALGAS PERIFÍTICAS EN TRIBUTARIOS DEL RÍO GAIRA SIERRA NEVADA DE SANTA MARTA-COLOMBIA

Acta Biológica Colombiana ◽

10.15446/abc.v20n2.41932 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Farid Jesús Osorio Ávila ◽

Javier Rodríguez Barrios ◽

Yimmy Montoya Moreno

Keyword(s):

Sierra Nevada ◽

Aquatic Ecosystems ◽

Good Condition ◽

Artificial Substrates ◽

Tropical River ◽

Successional Process ◽

Succession Process ◽

Ecological Importance ◽

Tropical Aquatic Ecosystems ◽

Del Rio

En ecosistemas acuáticos tropicales con altos niveles de intervención antrópica como algunos ríos de la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (SNSM) es de vital importancia la determinación del tipo de variables que permiten ponderar el buen estado o por el contrario, el nivel de impacto sufrido en estos ambientes con importancia ecológica y con vocación para ofrecer servicios de abastecimiento. Para este estudio se seleccionaron tributarios de la cuenca media del río Gaira (SNSM), se evaluó el proceso sucesional de microalgas perifíticas, desde enero hasta abril de 2012, mediante el análisis de la comunidad asociada a sustratos artificiales. El propósito del estudio fue analizar la variación en la estructura de la comunidad de microalgas perifíticas durante el proceso de sucesión y evaluar los factores ambientales que determinan esta variación en un rio tropical. Los resultados destacan el caudal, la luz y el oxígeno disuelto los cuales presentaron los valores más altos para el tributario C (Jabalí); el pH fue ligeramente básico para todos los sitios, la temperatura y conductividad presentaron valores más altos en el tributario A (Honduras). El análisis biológico mostró que durante las primeras semanas de exposición del sustrato Melosira varians y Lyngbya sp. fueron dominantes para los tributarios A y B (La Picúa), mientras que para el tributario C se registró una dominancia de Fragilaria sp, Nitzschia sp y Melosira varians. Semanalmente se evaluó la diversidad y riqueza de especies, los mayores valores se registraron después de la cuarta semana de colecta. En el estudio fueron más notorios los cambios en la densidad que en la composición de especies, a pesar de esto el proceso de sucesión fue completo y se evidenció la presencia de especies pioneras (Lyngbya sp, Nitzschia sp), intermedias (Melosira varians, Cocconeis placentula) y tardías (Surirella sp); al igual que la desaparición de especies como Lyngbya sp., proceso mediado por la consecuente aparición de algas tardías de mayor tamaño (Surirella sp).ABSTRACTIn tropical aquatic ecosystems with high levels of human intervention as some rivers in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (SNSM) is vital to determine the type of variables that weigh the good condition or otherwise, the level of impact suffered these environments ecological importance and vocation to offer catering services. For this study were selected tributaries of the middle basin of Gaira (SNSM) River, the successional process periphytic microalgae was evaluated, from January to April 2012, by analyzing the community associated with artificial substrates. The purpose of the study was to analyze the variation in community structure of periphytic microalgae during the succession process and assess environmental factors that determine this variation in a tropical river. The results showed that the discharge, light and dissolved oxygen showed the highest values for the tax C (Jabalí Stream) the pH was slightly basic for all sites, temperature and conductivity showed the highest values for tax A (Honduras Stream). Biological analysis showed during the first weeks of substrate exposure that Lyngbya sp., and Melosira varians were dominant from A and B streams (Honduras and La Picúa), while for the tax C be a dominance of Fragilaria sp. was recorded, Nitzschia sp and Melosira varians. The highest values of diversity and richness were registered after the fourth week of collection. Changes in density were most noticeable than species composition. The successional process was complete and showed the presence of pioneer species (Lyngbya sp., Nitzschia sp), intermediate (Melosira varians, Cocconeis placentula) and late (Surirella sp.), as well as the disappearance of species Lyngbya sp. a process mediated by the consequent occurrence of late larger mycroalgae (Surirella sp.).

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Methods for selection of Daphnia resting eggs: the influence of manual decapsulation and sodium hypoclorite solution on hatching rates

Brazilian Journal of Biology ◽

10.1590/1519-6984.09415 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 76 (4) ◽

pp. 1058-1063 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

T. A. S. V. Paes ◽

A. C. Rietzler ◽

P. M. Maia-Barbosa

Keyword(s):

Sodium Hypochlorite ◽

Aquatic Ecosystems ◽

Resting Eggs ◽

Hatching Rate ◽

Visual Evaluation ◽

Hypochlorite Solution ◽

Dark Pigmentation ◽

Tropical Aquatic Ecosystems ◽

Selection Of ◽

Hatching Rates

Abstract Cladocerans are able to produce resting eggs inside a protective resistant capsule, the ephippium, that difficults the visualization of the resting eggs, because of the dark pigmentation. Therefore, before hatching experiments, methods to verify viable resting eggs in ephippia must be considered. This study aimed to evaluate the number of eggs per ephippium of Daphnia from two tropical aquatic ecosystems and the efficiency of some methods for decapsulating resting eggs. To evaluate the influence of methods on hatching rates, three different conditions were tested: immersion in sodium hypochlorite, manually decapsulated resting eggs and intact ephippia. The immersion in hypochlorite solution could evaluate differences in numbers of resting eggs per ephippium between the ecosystems studied. The exposure to sodium hypochlorite at a concentration of 2% for 20 minutes was the most efficient method for visual evaluation and isolation of the resting eggs. Hatching rate experiments with resting eggs not isolated from ephippia were underestimated (11.1 ± 5.0%), showing the need of methods to quantify and isolate viable eggs. There were no differences between the hatching rate of resting eggs submitted to hypochlorite solution (47.2 ± 7.34%) and manually decapsulated (53.7 ± 13.24%). However, the immersion in hypochlorite was a more efficient technique, faster and not requiring manual ability.

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