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Land use, habitat integrity, and aquatic insect assemblages in Central Amazonian streams

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Abstract

The distribution and composition of aquatic insect communities in streams at a local scale are considered to be primarily determined by environmental factors and interactive relationships within the system. Here, we evaluated the effects of forest fragmentation and forest cover changes on habitat characteristics of streamlets (igarapés) in Amazonian forests and on the aquatic insect communities found there. We also developed a habitat integrity index (HII) based on Petersen’s protocol (1992) to evaluate physical integrity of these streamlets and to determine its efficiency to interpret the environmental impacts on this system. We studied 20 small streams at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP INPA/SI) study areas, Central Amazonia, 80 km north of Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil. The vegetation cover was estimated by using LANDSAT images and classified in the following categories: exposed soil, pastures, secondary forests (capoeiras), and primary forests. Stream habitat features were evaluated by using a HII based on visual assessment of local characteristics. Aquatic insects were sampled in four major stream substrates: litter deposited in pools or backwaters, litter retained in riffles, sand, and marginal banks. Stream habitat characteristics were significantly correlated to land use and riparian forest condition. Overall aquatic insect richness and Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) richness were significantly lower in pasture streams, and their taxonomic composition differed significantly from streams in forested areas. However, these metrics were not significantly correlated to the stream HII. Taxonomic composition of bank insect assemblages changed significantly between streams with low and high values of HII. There was no significant relationship between the proportion of primary forest cover and the faunal metrics. Only drastic changes in the vegetal cover seem to induce significant changes in the aquatic insect community. Matrix habitat heterogeneity, distance to forest fragments, the presence of areas of secondary forest, and the intrinsic capacity to disperse in many of the insect groups may have contributed to attenuate the effects of habitat disturbance on aquatic insect assemblages in streamlets.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the BDFFP, FAPEAM PIPT 2004–2006, Fundação O Boticário de Proteção à Natureza (0630_20041), and CNPq (Edital Universal 2005–2007). We thank Ocírio Pereira and José Ribamar Marques de Oliveira for invaluable field assistance. Ana Maria Oliveira Pes (DCEN, INPA), Alcimar do Lago Carvalho (Museu Nacional, UFRJ), Elidiomar Ribeiro da Silva (UNI-RIO), and Maria Inês da Silva dos Passos (IB, UFRJ) helped with the identification of the insects. Darcílio Fernandes Baptista (FIOCRUZ) provided valuable comments and suggestions on this manuscript. Daniela Maeda Takiya (UFPR) revised the final English text. The manuscript was greatly improved by comments and critical reviews from Dr. Joel Trexler and two anonymous referees. This is contribution number 09 of Igarapés Project and contribution number 515 of the BDFFP Technical Series.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Zoologia, IB, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), C.P. 68044, 21944-970, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Jorge L. Nessimian

  2. Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Rua dos Jatobás 274, CEP 69085-380, Manaus, AM, Brazil

    Eduardo M. Venticinque

  3. CPEC, INPA (National Institute of Amazonian Research), Manaus, AM, Brazil

    Eduardo M. Venticinque

  4. Departamentos de Ecologia e Silvicultura, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, AM, Brazil

    Eduardo M. Venticinque

  5. CPBA, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), C.P. 478, 69011970, Manaus, AM, Brazil

    Jansen Zuanon

  6. Departamento de Ecologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG), 74001-970, Goiania, GO, Brazil

    Paulo De Marco Jr

  7. Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Amazonas (UFAM), Manaus, AM, Brazil

    Marcelo Gordo

  8. DCEN, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), C.P. 478, 69011970, Manaus, AM, Brazil

    Luana Fidelis

  9. Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), 36571-000, Vicosa, MG, Brazil

    Joana D’arc Batista & Leandro Juen

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  1. Jorge L. Nessimian
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Correspondence to Jorge L. Nessimian.

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Publication number 515 of the PDBFF Technical Series. PDBFF-INPA/STRI (Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute) and number 09 of the Igarapés Project.

Handling editor: J. Trexler

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Nessimian, J.L., Venticinque, E.M., Zuanon, J. et al. Land use, habitat integrity, and aquatic insect assemblages in Central Amazonian streams. Hydrobiologia 614, 117–131 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-008-9441-x

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