Abstract

GOMES PIO, Jéssica F; DA SILVA PEREIRA, Tiago; CALOR, Adolfo R  and  COPATTI, Carlos E. Organisation of the benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage in tropical streams of different orders in North-Eastern Brazil. Ecol. austral [online]. 2018, vol.28, n.1, pp.113-122. ISSN 1667-782X.

We selected streams located in north-eastern Brazil with the objective of assessing the effect of streams of different orders (1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd) on the distribution and composition of benthic macroinvertebrates in the rainy and dry seasons. A total of 12822 individuals and 62 taxa of benthic macroinvertebrates were obtained, of which Chironomidae was the taxon with the most individuals (60.08% of the total). The benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage ordination demonstrated that streams of the 3^rd order had a different assemblage structure compared to streams of the 1^st and 2^nd order. This distinction may be the result of taxa substitution. The benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage structure was correlated with environmental variables. In conclusion, the variation of the environmental characteristics according to stream order was the most important factor in benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage organisation and replacement of taxa in the streams investigated.

Keywords : Composition; Distribution; Dry and rainy seasons; Chironomidae; Replacement of taxa.

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