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Macroinvertebrate diversity loss in urban streams from tropical forests

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment volume 188, Article number: 237 (2016) Cite this article

Abstract

The increase of human activities in recent years has significantly interfered and affected aquatic ecosystems. In this present study, we investigate the effects of urbanization in the community structure of aquatic macroinvertebrates from Atlantic Forest streams. The sampling was conducted in the mountainous region of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 10 urban and 10 preserved streams during the dry season (August–September) of 2012. The streams were characterized for its environmental integrity conditions and physico-chemical properties of water. The macroinvertebrates were sampled on rocky substrates with a kicknet. A total of 5370 individuals were collected from all streams and were distributed among Ephemeroptera, Odonata, Plecoptera, Hemiptera, Megaloptera, Coleoptera, Trichoptera, Lepidoptera, and Diptera. In urban sites, all those orders were found, except Megaloptera, while only Mollusca was not found in preserved streams. We performed a non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analysis that separated two groups distributed among sites in urban communities and another group outside this area. The dominance was significantly higher at urban sites, while the α diversity and equitability were greater in preserved sites. A canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was also performed, indicating that most taxa associated with high values of the Habitat Integrity Index (HII) and a few genus of the order Diptera with the high values of ammonia, total nitrogen, associated to streams in urban sites. Urban and preserved streams differ by physical-chemical variables and aquatic macroinvertebrates. In urban streams, there is most dominance, while α diversity and equitability are higher in preserved streams.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Larissa Duarte Correa and André Luiz Ramos da Silva (Laboratório de Entomologia, IB, UFRJ) for their help in field work, Mario Ribeiro and Claudio Marinho (Laboratório de Limnologia, IB, UFRJ) for their help with water analyses. To Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (IBAMA), Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ICMBio) and INEA for issuing collecting permits. Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ) provided financial support by grants and fellowships.

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  1. Laboratório de Entomologia, Departamento de Zoologia, Inst. de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), CCS, Bloco A, sala A1-107, Av. Carlos Chagas Filho, 373, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Tatiana N. Docile, Clayton Portela & Jorge L. Nessimian

  2. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Tatiana N. Docile

  3. Laboratório de Biotecnologia Ambiental, Centro Universitário Estadual da Zona Oeste (UEZO), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Tatiana N. Docile & Ronaldo Figueiró

  4. Centro Universitário de Volta Redonda (UniFOA), Volta Redonda, Brazil

    Ronaldo Figueiró

  5. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência e Tecnologia Ambiental, do Centro Universitário Estadual da Zona Oeste (UEZO), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Ronaldo Figueiró

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  1. Tatiana N. Docile
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  2. Ronaldo Figueiró
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  3. Clayton Portela
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  4. Jorge L. Nessimian
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Docile, T.N., Figueiró, R., Portela, C. et al. Macroinvertebrate diversity loss in urban streams from tropical forests. Environ Monit Assess 188, 237 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-016-5237-z

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Keywords

  • Aquatic insects
  • Urbanization
  • Community structure
  • Anthropogenic impact