Effects of daily changes in environmental factors on the abundance and richness of Odonata

Abstract

AIM: The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of daily changes in surface water abiotic factors on the abundance of Odonata larvae and the genus richness in a lateral lake isolated from a tropical river during the nycthemeral cycle in dry and wet seasons; METHODS: Macrophytes were sampled on a single day at 6-hours intervals for 24 hours (at 12:00 AM, 6:00 AM, 12:00 PM and 6:00 PM) in dry and wet periods. At each site, abiotic factors were measured as follows: air temperature, surface water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and electric conductivity. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) of abiotic and biological data and sampling periods was made using CANOCO program; RESULTS: A total of 249 and 265 Odonata larvae from six genera (Acanthagrion, Cyanallagma, Telebasis, Erythemis, Erythrodiplax and Tauriphila) were sampled in association with macrophytes in wet and dry seasons, respectively. Telebasis presented the highest frequency of occurrence and was collected in all nycthemeral cycle sampling periods in both seasons. The highest abundance of dragonflies was recorded at 6:00 AM and 12:00 AM in wet and dry seasons, respectively. Anoxia was detected in wet season during the entire nycthemeral cycle, while in the dry season, the highest variability in oxygen content was observed during sunlight. Canonical correspondence analysis showed that the abundances of Telebasis and Erythemis were positively related to water electrical conductivity, temperature, and depth, while for Acanthagrion and Tauriphila, abundance showed a positive relationship to water oxygen and pH. The variability of the abundance of Odonata due to surface water temperature, dissolved oxygen, electrical conductivity, pH, and depth during the daily cycle was therefore evidenced; CONCLUSIONS: We suggested that the better sampling period Odonata larvae must to be carried in the morning , since that we recorded the highest densities of both wet and dry stations at that hour. We point out that our data must to be examined with caution because the low sampling effort and the reduced taxonomic resolution.