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Urbanized Tributary Causes Loss of Biodiversity in a Neotropical River Segment

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Abstract

We used the community of benthic macroinvertebrates, alongside physical and chemical characteristics of the water, to verify the influence of an urbanized tributary on a Neotropical river. Specifically, our hypothesis is that urbanized tributaries are potentially able to simplify the biological diversity of the rivers where they flow. The collections were sampled in six sites every 2 weeks from April 2013 to March 2014, using artificial substrates. In conjunction with the benthic macroinvertebrate collections, the temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen were measured using portable devices, as well as ammonia, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in the laboratory. Rainfall values were also obtained. We observed a marked fall in the number of taxa and the values of richness, diversity equitability at the point located below the tributary mouth, with predominance of Chironomidae and Annelida. The high capture rates of a few groups considered tolerant and the high concentrations of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and BOD confirm the alteration of the quality of the water at the sampling point located below the tributary mouth, leading to a local process of ecological simplification.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Research Group on Fishing Resources and Limnology (GERPEL) for their support in the analysis and to the Coordination of Improvement of Higher Level Personnel (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—CAPES) for granting a scholarship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Program in Agricultural Engineering, State University of Western Paraná, Cascavel Campus, Rua Universitária, 2069, Cascavel, PR, 85819-110, Brazil

    Adriana da Silva Tronco Johann & Benedito Martins Gomes

  2. Research Group on Fishery Resources and Limnology (GERPEL), Neotropical Institute for Environmental Research (INEO), Rua Guaíra, 2006, Jardim La Salle, Toledo, PR, 85902-160, Brazil

    Adriana da Silva Tronco Johann, Paulo Vanderlei Sanches, Nyamien Yahaut Sebastién & Pitágoras Augusto Piana

  3. Graduate Program in Environmental Sciences, State University of Western Paraná, Toledo Campus, Rua da Faculdade, 645 – Jardim La Salle, Toledo, PR, 85903-000, Brazil

    Loana Priscila Mangolin, Paulo Vanderlei Sanches & Nyamien Yahaut Sebastién

  4. Graduate Program in Fishery Resources and Fishery and Fishing Engineering, State University of Western Paraná, Toledo Campus, Toledo, PR, 85903-000, Brazil

    Paulo Vanderlei Sanches, Nyamien Yahaut Sebastién, Dhyego Amilton Topan & Pitágoras Augusto Piana

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  1. Adriana da Silva Tronco Johann
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  2. Loana Priscila Mangolin
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da Silva Tronco Johann, A., Mangolin, L.P., Sanches, P.V. et al. Urbanized Tributary Causes Loss of Biodiversity in a Neotropical River Segment. Water Air Soil Pollut 230, 118 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-019-4164-3

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