Conservation unit and water quality: the influence of environmental integrity on benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages

Author:

Sobczak Jessé Renan Scapini1,Valduga Alice Teresa2,Restello Rozane Maria1,Cardoso Rafael Imlau2

Affiliation:

1. Universidade Regional Integrada do Alto Uruguai e das Missões - URI, Brazil; Universidade Regional Integrada do Alto Uruguai e das Missões - URI, Brazil

2. Universidade Regional Integrada do Alto Uruguai e das Missões - URI, Brazil

Abstract

AIM: This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of a Conservation Unit (CU) in maintaining the quality of freshwater habitats and to evaluate the influence of environmental integrity on benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages. METHODS: The research was conducted at sampling sites located within and outside of the CU in the Alto Uruguai region, southern Brazil, and included two stages: (i) the collection of benthic macroinvertebrates and (ii) the application of a Rapid Assessment Protocol (RAP) to characterise the habitat quality. RESULTS: A total of 1,362 benthic macroinvertebrates were collected during the study, totalling 30 taxa. The densities within and outside the CU were significantly different (F= 160.08; p= 0.05), and the Shannon diversity and taxa richness followed the same pattern (F= 118.72, p= 0.05; and F= 176.33, p= 0.04, respectively). In contrast, the Pielou equitability did not differ within and outside the CU (F= 0.19, p= 0.74). The biotic index (Biological Monitoring Working Party) indicated that water quality was good or very good in the majority of cases. Most of the sampling sites were classified as ‘natural’ according to the RAP. The taxa richness was significantly related to habitat diversity (F= 7.24; p = 0.05), but no significant relationship was found between the habitat diversity and the Shannon diversity (F= 2.13, p = 0.22). CONCLUSION: The CU was effective for the conservation of water quality and the freshwater biodiversity of benthic macroinvertebrates. The results show that the environmental integrity was related to the distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates, primarily to the taxa richness. More detailed investigations need to be developed to better understand these relationships and to take into account the temporal scale. An analysis of the most significant sources of stress on the aquatic life outside the area is recommended.

Publisher

FapUNIFESP (SciELO)

Subject

Water Science and Technology,Ecology,Aquatic Science,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

Reference74 articles.

1. Stream habitat types: their fish assemblages and relationship to flow;AADLAND LP;North American Journal of Fisheries Management,1993

2. Unlocking the potential of protected areas for freshwaters;ABELL R;Biological Conservation,2007

3. Threats for biodiversity in the floodplain of the Upper Paraná River; effects of hydrological regulation by dams;AGOSTINHO AA;Ecohydrology and Hydrobiology,2004

4. Biodiversity conservation in run- ning waters: identifying the major factors that threaten destruction of riverine species and ecosystems;ALLAN JD;BioScience,1993

5. Estimating number of species and relative abundances in stream-fish communities: effects of sampling effort and discontinuous spatial distributions;ANGERMEIER PL;Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences,1995

Cited by 4 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3