Abstract
ABSTRACT The benthic fauna in northern Patagonian streams is characterized by presence of water quality indicator species. The aim of the present study was characterized the benthic communities in streams associated to sites with presence of Nothofagus forests and with human intervention without Nothofagus forests using null models in ecology, unified neutral theory of biodiversity (UNTB) and unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA). The results of species co-occurrence null model revealed that species associations are random, whereas the results of niche overlap null models revealed the presence of niche overlap. The UNTB results revealed low species number. The results of UPGMA revealed that species composition is specific for each site existing marked differences. The exposed results agree with results observed for central and northern Patagonian Chilean rivers, where the species composition is variable in according to surrounding basin properties and seasonal conditions.
Highlights
The aim of the present study was characterized the benthic communities in streams associated to sites with presence of Nothofagus forests and with human intervention without Nothofagus forests using null models in ecology, unified neutral theory of biodiversity (UNTB) and unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA)
The exposed results agree with results observed for central and northern Patagonian Chilean rivers, where the species composition is variable in according to surrounding basin properties and seasonal conditions
On the view point of continuum river, there is a marked gradient between macroinvertebrate fauna in the origin of the riverbed, that was changes gradually in the medium and low zones of the riverbed, that was described with details for central Chilean rivers (Figueroa et al, 2003, 2007) and Patagonian Argentinean rivers (Miserendino et al, 2011, 2018)
Summary
Perennial native forest or with agricultural, urban and industrial zones (Vega et al, 2017), many of these rivers and streams have introduced salmonids populations that generate marked alterations in benthic communities (Encina et al, 2017; Vega et al, 2017) In this context, the rivers and lakes of Araucania region in Iheringia, Série Zoologia, 110: e2020014. There are not studies on variations on benthic fauna in Araucania region among riverbeds and in this context, the aim of the present study is to analyse the benthic communities in sites of a mountain stream with two kinds of surrounding basins, N. dombeyi native perennial forest and mixture of native forest with agricultural zones in Araucania region (39°S, North Patagonia). It suggest that benthic community would change in function of kind of surrounding basin in a gradient of native perennial forest, transition between perennial forest and agricultural zones
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