Effect of eucalyptus plantations on the taxonomic and functional structure of aquatic insect assemblages in Neotropical springs

Abstract

ABSTRACT Springs are important ecosystems in terms of environmental services and their quality has been degraded by various land uses. Aquatic insects are strongly affected by anthropogenic impacts. For this reason, researchers, use the taxonomic and functional structure of the Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) assemblages for the evaluation of environmental quality of Neotropical springs in areas cultivated with eucalyptus. In this respect, we tested the hypothesis that taxa richness is lower in eucalyptus areas, and the taxonomic composition and functional diversity are different from those of forest areas. In order to verify this hypothesis, we used a pond net sampler to collect the substrate of 20 springs in Southeastern Brazil. Our results showed that in areas planted with eucalyptus, springs showed less richness of genera and a different EPT taxonomical composition compared to springs in forest areas. We also found that respiration and body size were the functional traits most influenced by abiotic variables in springs both in eucalyptus and forest areas. The reduced marginal vegetation and homogenization of the canopy in eucalyptus areas reduced the quality of the plant matter, altering the substrate composition and water quality of springs in those areas.