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Small is better: comparing the efficiency of two Surber samplers’ sizes for biomonitoring programs in tropical headwater streams in the Amazon region

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Abstract

This study aimed to compare the efficiency of two different sizes of the Surber sampler to assess benthic macroinvertebrates in headwater streams in two Amazonian regions. Two Surber samplers of different sizes were used, one measuring 20 × 20 cm and the other 30 × 30 cm, both with a 0.25-mm net. The number of replicates taken was 6 for the smaller sampler and 3 for the bigger one, maintaining approximately the same total sampled area. The study was carried out in 12 headwater streams with different environmental conditions. Biological metrics were calculated for each size at each site and compared within each stream health category. A two-way analysis of similarities test was performed to compare the community structure assessed by each method at each stream. A normalized sampling effort was used to quantify the number of samples required to correctly sample each site. The data did not show a significant difference between the two sizes regarding the taxonomic recruitment and the community structure sampled at each stream, but differences were found between the two sizes in dominance values and in Shannon index scores for the natural sites. Furthermore, the smaller Surber was able to assess 70% of the estimated richness in all sites, which suggests that it is better to assess benthic macroinvertebrates than the larger Surber. Moreover, the smaller Surber is easier to transport in the field, reducing the effort of the technician, and takes less time to sort the material collected with it, which can reduce the sample processing effort, therefore reducing the cost of the project.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Coordination of Superior Level Staff Improvement (CAPES) for the scientific doctorate fellowship to Maria Silvina Bevilacqua. Furthermore, the authors are grateful to Mineração Rio do Norte and Vale for logistical support. The authors also want to thank to the NUPEM/UFRJ (Biodiversity and Sustainability Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Macaé, RJ) for the laboratory support and to the Postgraduate Environmental Science and Conservation Program for the institutional support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Ecologia Aquática, Instituto de Biodiversidade e Sustentabilidade, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (NUPEM/UFRJ), Macae, Brazil

    Maria Silvina Bevilacqua, Amanda Vitório, Rodrigo Weber Felix, Enoque Gonçalves Ribeiro, Marcos Paulo Figueiredo-Barros & Francisco de Assis Esteves

  2. Laboratório de Limnologia, Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Reinaldo Luiz Bozelli

Authors
  1. Maria Silvina Bevilacqua
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  2. Amanda Vitório
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  3. Rodrigo Weber Felix
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  4. Enoque Gonçalves Ribeiro
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  5. Reinaldo Luiz Bozelli
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  6. Marcos Paulo Figueiredo-Barros
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  7. Francisco de Assis Esteves
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Contributions

Maria Silvina Bevilacqua—contribution to data analysis and interpretation, contribution to manuscript preparation, contribution to critical revision, adding intellectual content; Amanda Vitório—contribution to data collection, contribution to manuscript preparation, adding intellectual content; Rodrigo Weber Felix—contribution to data collection, contribution to data analysis and interpretation, contribution to manuscript preparation, contribution to critical revision, adding intellectual content; Enoque Gonçalves Ribeiro—contribution to data analysis and interpretation, contribution to manuscript preparation, contribution to critical revision; Marcos Paulo Figueiredo de Barros—contribution to manuscript preparation; Reinaldo Luiz Bozelli—contribution to critical revision, adding intellectual content; Francisco de Assis Esteves—contribution to critical revision, adding intellectual content.

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Correspondence to Maria Silvina Bevilacqua.

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Bevilacqua, M.S., Vitório, A., Felix, R.W. et al. Small is better: comparing the efficiency of two Surber samplers’ sizes for biomonitoring programs in tropical headwater streams in the Amazon region. Environ Monit Assess 192, 708 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-08676-6

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