The role of spatial and environmental variables in shaping aquatic insect assemblages in two protected areas in the transition area between Cerrado and Amazônia

Derise De Assunção Barbosa,Lucas Ramos Costa Lima,Carlos Augusto Silva De Azevêdo,Leandro Schlemmer Brasil

doi:10.1590/1676-0611-bn-2019-0923

Derise De Assunção Barbosa, Lucas Ramos Costa Lima + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1590/1676-0611-bn-2019-0923

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Abstract

Abstract: The distribution of aquatic insects of the orders Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) can be influenced by factors such as water quality, habitat integrity and biogeography. The present study evaluated the structure of EPT assemblages in streams in the Cerrado, a global biodiversity hotspot. Samples were collected from 20 streams in two protected areas: Parque Estadual do Mirador (10 streams) and Parque Nacional da Chapada das Mesas (10 streams). A total of 1987 specimens were collected, representing 46 taxa of EPT. The two study areas did not differ significantly in taxonomic richness of EPT genera (t = -1.119, p = 0.279) and abundance of individuals (t = 0.268, p = 0.791) but did differ in genus composition (Pseudo-F = 2.088, R2 = 0.103, p = 0.015) and environmental variables (Pseudo-F = 2,282, R2 = 0.112, p = 0.014). None of the tested environmental variables were correlated with the community but a spatial filter captured an effect of the spatial distribution of streams. The region of the study is located in MATOPIBA, which is the last agricultural frontier of the Cerrado. Therefore, it is important that there is police and monitoring so that the “Parque Estadual do Mirador” and the “Parque Nacional da Chapada das Mesas” continue to play their role in conserving biodiversity in the future.

Highlights

The spatial distribution of species can be influenced by environmental, spatial and biogeographic characteristics (Leibold et al 2004, 2010; Crisp et al 2011), the combination of which is important for understanding how communities are distributed across a landscape and the patterns and mechanisms involved (Presley et al 2010)
The present study evaluated the structure of EPT communities in two protected areas in the state of Maranhão, Northeast Brazil, an transition area between Amazonian and Cerrado systems: Parque Estadual do Mirador (PEM) and Parque Nacional da Chapa das Mesas (PNCM), with the former being located further from Amazonia and the latter, which is located more centrally in the Cerrado
The present study focused on two protected areas in the Brazilian state of Maranhão: Parque Estadual do Mirador (PEM) and Parque Nacional da Chapada das Mesas (PNCM) (Fig. 1)

Summary

Introduction

The spatial distribution of species can be influenced by environmental, spatial and biogeographic characteristics (Leibold et al 2004, 2010; Crisp et al 2011), the combination of which is important for understanding how communities are distributed across a landscape and the patterns and mechanisms involved (Presley et al 2010) Areas of transition, such as between forest-dominated regions (Amazonia) and savannas (Cerrado), are known as ecological tension zones (Marimon et al 2014; Marques et al 2019). Species composition tends to vary in such tension zones because of the paradoxical influence of two biogeographically distinct ecosystems located in juxtaposition (Marimon et al 2014) In this transition areas it is expected that biogeographic characteristics play an important role in explaining the distribution of the species (Juen et al 2017). This is because species richness can serve as a proxy for alpha diversity (local scale) and species composition as a proxy for beta diversity (differences in species composition among sites) (Jost 2007), while abundance can reflect variation in conditions and resources that influence population size (Tokeshi 1993) and all aspects of the aforementioned diversity are more dynamic in the transition zones between biomes (Ferro & Morrone 2014)

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