Determination of benthic macroinvertebrates trophic guilds of the orders Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera in streams of three watersheds of the Brazilian Cerrado

• Grant number: 12/06747-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2012
• End date: July 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Applied Zoology
• Principal Investigator: Lilian Casatti
• Grantee: Dayane Boracini Prates
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas (IBILCE). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de São José do Rio Preto. São José do Rio Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The benthic macroinvertebrates form a group of great importance for the aquatic environment through their participation in several processes of material transformation, providings energy for the entire food web. However, changes in aquatic environments can influence the structure of biological communities, interfering in the patterns of structure of these networks. The aquatic insect orders Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) have wide distribution, high abundance and species richness and generally inhabit clear waters with high oxygen, and is therefore considered good indicators of water quality. Since most studies on these organisms is based on ecological rather than taxonomic studies, it is important that these groups can be functionally categorized. Although there are few studies on this issue, these are based on functional groups of the temperate regions and that literature is often used as a reference for tropical taxa, which can lead to erroneous analysis, since these two large regions are quite distinct. Thus, this project aims to determine and compare the composition of trophic guilds of EPT in 18 streams from three watersheds of the Brazilian Cerrado (Paraguay, Paraná, and São Francisco). To achieve the objectives, the macroinvertebrates´ diet will be obtained by the examination of slides with the gut contents, followed by the determination of the relative area occupied by each food item; afterwards, all taxa will be grouped into trophic guilds that will be later compared between river basins. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

CENEYIYA-BASTOS, MONICA; PRATES, DAYANE BORACINI; ROMERO, RENATO DE MEI; BISPO, PITAGORAS CONCEICAO; CASATTI, LILIAN. Trophic guilds of EPT (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera) in three basins of the Brazilian Savanna. LIMNOLOGICA, v. 63, p. 11-17, MAR 2017. (11/11641-1, 07/05400-6, 12/06747-8)