Study of the feeding habits and the ontogenetic shifts in the diet of nymphs of Isoperla nevada Aubert, 1952 (Plecoptera: Perlodidae), in the River Válor (Sierra Nevada, Spain)

• Grant number: 24/06462-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: October 01, 2024
• End date: March 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology
• Principal Investigator: Pitágoras da Conceição Bispo
• Grantee: Paulo Naoto Taniguti
• Supervisor: Jose Manuel Tierno de Figueroa
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Letras (FCL-ASSIS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Assis. Assis , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidad de Granada (UGR), Spain
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/15689-3 - Perlidae (Plecoptera) from the Boracéia Biological Station, Salesópolis, São Paulo: integrating morphological and molecular data and associating adults and nymphs, BP.MS

Abstract

Plecoptera is an important order of insects in streams, containing more than 3,700 species allocated to 17 families. This order is present on almost all continents, with the exception of Antarctica. Stoneflies (Plecoptera) live in both aquatic (eggs and nymphs) and terrestrial (adults or imago) environments. Nymphs are found mainly on substrates such as stones and leaves in lotic environments. Some groups are predators and feed mainly on other aquatic insects, while others are gatherer-collectors, shredders or scrapers, feeding mainly on fine particulate organic matter (detritus), coarse particulate organic matter and periphytic algae, respectively. Although many species may maintain a single feeding habit during their development, in certain cases, the types of food consumed may vary over time, either ontogenetically or seasonally. Many species in their initial stages consume small particles of organic matter, due to the size restrictions of their mouthparts, acting, as collectors while in the last stages become predators; in some cases, herbivores-detritivores species can switch to a more predatory diet, which contributes to the development in adulthood. Therefore, ontogenetic changes in Plecoptera feeding need to be further investigated. Isoperla nevada is a species of Plecoptera that belongs to the Perlodidae family, included in Systellognatha. This species is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula and occurs in an altitudinal range of 800 to 2900 m a.s.l. A study in a high mountain population of this species showed that its life cycle is univoltine with eggs hatching in August and adults emerging in the following summer, and that the main trophic resource ingested by nymphs were other aquatic insects, not having been evaluated the possible existence of ontogenetic shift on the diet due to the low number of analyzed individuals The objective of this study is to expand knowledge about the biology of Isoperla nevada by studying the feeding habits and ontogenetic changes in the diet of nymphs from the Válor River (Sierra Nevada, Spain).