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Aquatic Insect Herbivore Functional Community Traits Respond to a Different Niche Between a Riparian and Sugar Cane Leaf Litter Processing

  • Ecology, Behavior and Bionomics
  • Published:
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Abstract

The niche of aquatic insect herbivores can be determined by the resource quality of leaf litter species. We compared the niche functional trait of aquatic insect herbivores between Magnolia ovata (riparian tree) and Saccharum officinarum (sugar cane) leaf litter processing. We hypothesized M. ovata and sugar cane leaf litter species would influence different functional traits niche of aquatic insect herbivores due to different quality resource leaves. We performed colonization experiments using dry leaves in five streams during 30–34 days. We utilized five replicates per leaf litter (n = 25) containing 12 g of dry leaves. We compared the niche specialization of herbivore functional traits using the Community Weight Mean (CWM) index and throughout herbivore abundance and the similarity composition of taxa. Additionally, we analysed the influence of organic matter in the CMW index of herbivore functional trait niche. We observed a higher abundance of shredders than scrapers in both leaf litter species. The M. ovata leaf litter selected a more specialized niche of respiration trait composed mainly chironomid shredder larvae, with the osmotic mechanism. The community structure differs weakly with a stronger and positive relationship between organic matter and respiration CWM index in riparian than sugar cane leaf litter. Concerning different composition communities between leaf plants, we consider that aquatic insect herbivore demonstrates a preference to leaf litter species with a specific resource. Additionally, most taxa adapt their feeding habit dependent on the availability of resource food.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) for the financial support and the scholarship awarded to the first author (Process 2018/14709-5).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-graduação em Engenharia Hidráulica e Saneamento (PPG – SHS), Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Av. Trabalhador São Carlense, 400, São Carlos – Centro, Brasil

    H H L Saulino

  2. Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS), University Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos - São Paulo, Brasil

    G C Vieira

  3. Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia e Recursos Naturais, University Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos - São Paulo, Brasil

    S Trivinho-Strixino

Authors
  1. H H L Saulino
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  2. G C Vieira
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  3. S Trivinho-Strixino
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Contributions

GC Vieira and S. Trivinho-Strixino—planned the designed and executed the work. HHL Saulino—analysed the dates and wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to H H L Saulino.

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Edited by Eugenio E de Oliveira – UFV

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Saulino, H.H.L., Vieira, G.C. & Trivinho-Strixino, S. Aquatic Insect Herbivore Functional Community Traits Respond to a Different Niche Between a Riparian and Sugar Cane Leaf Litter Processing. Neotrop Entomol 49, 33–39 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-019-00726-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-019-00726-0

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