Abstract
Abstract Aim: Information on the influence of mussel macrofouling in invertebrate communities usually have the initial assumption of negative interference. Methods We analyzed this relationship in a community of aquatic invertebrates associated to roots of Eichhornia crassipes in 15 shallow marginal lakes in the Pantanal National Park and surroundings. We sampled quadrants of floating vegetation, identified the aggregate fauna and evaluated the density effect of Limnoperna fortunei, as well as abiotic factors of the Trichoptera community using ordinances and multivariate regressions. Results We found no significant relationship between the abundance of mussels on the macrophytes and the Trichoptera larvae. However, we observed an interference of oxygen on the structure and density of genera. The composition and abundance of the phytophylous caddisfly community is influenced by the depth and the concentration of oxygen dissolved in the marginal regions of the lakes. Conclusions We suggest that the absence of the effects of the assessed L. fortunei in the community is related to the 'biotic resistance', in which the phytophylous caddisfly demonstrated adaptation to an environment characterized by hypoxic conditions in the dry season. L. fortunei was limited by the depth and reduction of oxygen, presenting lower density in lakes with such characteristics.
Highlights
The Caddisfly is a diverse group of insects with immature aquatic stages
The exotic bivalve Limnoperna fortunei (Dunker 1857) (Bivalvia, Mytilidae) lives in association with macrophytes in the aquatic system of Pantanal. Their larvae are fixed and develop in floating mats of water hyacinths (E. crassipes, Eichhornia azurea (Swartz) Kunth) (Marçal & Callil, 2008), which act as dispersal agents floating downriver or driven by wind (Pott et al, 2011).The high reproduction rate and clustering behavior gives this bivalve a high capacity for installation and accelerated population growth (Boltovskoy et al, 2006).The presence of factors limiting the invasion and establishment of populations, which are related to limnological and hydrological characteristics of rivers (Oliveira et al, 2011; Boltovskoy, 2015), as well as chemical, physical, and biological control mechanisms (Soares et al, 2009; Boltovskoy, 2015) have been investigated
A total of 4,761 Trichoptera larvae associated with E. crassipes roots were sampled, distributed within 13 taxa belonging to the families Hydroptilidae, Leptoceridae, Hydropsychidae and Polycentropodidae (Table 2)
Summary
The Caddisfly is a diverse group of insects with immature aquatic stages. They normally occur in streams with cooler oxygenated water (Wiggins, 2000; Bispo et al, 2006), but can thrive in floodplains (Pescador et al, 1995) mainly in association with other aquatic plants. The exotic bivalve Limnoperna fortunei (Dunker 1857) (Bivalvia, Mytilidae) lives in association with macrophytes in the aquatic system of Pantanal Their larvae are fixed and develop in floating mats of water hyacinths (E. crassipes, Eichhornia azurea (Swartz) Kunth) (Marçal & Callil, 2008), which act as dispersal agents floating downriver or driven by wind (Pott et al, 2011).The high reproduction rate and clustering behavior gives this bivalve a high capacity for installation and accelerated population growth (Boltovskoy et al, 2006).The presence of factors limiting the invasion and establishment of populations, which are related to limnological and hydrological characteristics of rivers (Oliveira et al, 2011; Boltovskoy, 2015), as well as chemical, physical, and biological control mechanisms (Soares et al, 2009; Boltovskoy, 2015) have been investigated. After more than 20 years of study, effective solutions to limit the spread of L. fortunei larvae have not been found and the species is still likely to invade new Brazilian watersheds
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