Evidence on Night Movements of  Macroinvertebrates to Macrophytes in a Pampean Stream

doi:10.4236/ojmh.2014.43009

Home > Journals > Earth & Environmental Sciences > OJMH

OJMH> Vol.4 No.3, July 2014

Share This Article:

Open Access

Evidence on Night Movements of Macroinvertebrates to Macrophytes in a Pampean Stream

Full-Text HTML XML

Download as PDF (Size:1269KB) PP. 95-100

DOI: 10.4236/ojmh.2014.43009 1,769 Downloads 2,460 Views Citations

Author(s) Leave a comment

Nicolás Ferreiro

Affiliation(s)

Instituto de Ecología y Desarrollo Sustentables (INEDES) and Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Nacional de Luján, Luján, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.

ABSTRACT

Nocturnal invertebrate abundance peaks in lotic systems are usually associated to drift, however, diel migrations other than drift may be important in slow-flowing systems. Then, macroinvertebrate distribution on macrophytes may change along the day as result of vertical or horizontal migration from sediments or the water column. My objective was to determine whether macroinvertebrate abundance on macrophytes changes along 24 h. Three Ceratophyllum demersum patches were sampled in late spring from the Las Flores stream (Central Argentina) at 11:20 h, 17:10 h, 23:00 h and 5:00 h. Macroinvertebrates were counted and identified, and relative abundances were estimated for each sampling time. The dominant groups of macroinvertebrates sampled were Oligochaeta, Amphipoda and Cladocera. The relative abundance of macroinvertebrates on macrophytes was the highest at 5:00 h, when dissolved oxygen in water reached its minimum. In conclusion, the abundance of macroinvertebrates on macrophytes in Pampean streams may increase at night, probably as result of nocturnal migration driven by changes in predation risk or dissolved oxygen.

KEYWORDS

Night Movements, Oligochaeta, Aquatic Plants, Lotic Ecosystem, Dissolved Oxygen

Cite this paper

Ferreiro, N. (2014) Evidence on Night Movements of Macroinvertebrates to Macrophytes in a Pampean Stream. Open Journal of Modern Hydrology, 4, 95-100. doi: 10.4236/ojmh.2014.43009.

References

[1]	Flecker, A.S. (1992) Fish Predation and the Evolution of Invertebrate Drift Periodicity: Evidence from Neotropical Streams. Ecology, 73, 438-448. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1940751

[2]	Scheuerell, M.D. and Schindler, D.E. (2003) Diel Vertical Migration by Juvenile Sockeye Salmon: Empirical Evidence for the Antipredation Window. Ecology, 84, 1713-1720. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(2003)084[1713:dvmbjs]2.0.co;2

[3]	Elliot, J.M. (1967) Invertebrate Drift in a Dartmoor Stream. Archiv für Hydrobiologie, 63, 202-237. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/2051127c0

[4]	Brittain, J.E. and Eikeland, T.J. (1988) Invertebrate Drift—A Review. Hydrobiologia, 166, 77-93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/bf00017485

[5]	Hays, G.C. (2003) A Review of the Adaptive Significance and Ecosystem Consequences of Zooplankton Diel Vertical Migrations. Hydrobiologia, 503, 163-170. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2276-6_18

[6]	Bishop, J.E. (1969) Light Control of Aquatic Insect Activity and Drift. Ecology, 50, 371-380. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1933885

[7]	Chaston, I. (1969) A Comparison of the Activity Patterns of the Aquatic Larvae Protonemura meyeri (Plecoptera) and Chaoborus punctipennis (Diptera). The American Midland Naturalist Journal, 82, 302-307. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2423847

[8]	Gerrish, G.A., Morin, J.G., Rivers, T.J. and Patrawala, Z. (2009) Darkness as an Ecological Resource: The Role of Light in Partitioning the Nocturnal Niche. Oecologia, 160, 525-536. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00442-009-1327-8

[9]	Feijoó, C. and Lombardo, R. (2007) Baseline Water Quality and Macrophytes Assemblages in Pampean Streams: A Regional Approach. Water Research, 41, 1399-1410. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2006.08.026

[10]	Nurminen, L.K.L. and Horppila, J.A. (2002) A Diurnal Study on the Distribution of Filter Feeding Zooplankton: Effect of Emergent Macrophytes, pH and Lake Trophy. Aquatic Sciences, 64, 198-206.

[11]	Giorgi, A., Feijoó, C. and Tell, G. (2005) Primary Producers in a Pampean Stream: Temporal Variation and Structuring role. Biodiversity and Conservation, 14, 1699-1718. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10531-004-0694-z

[12]	Wiley, M.J. and Kohler, S. (1980) Positioning Changes of Mayfly Nymphs Due to Behavioral Regulation of Oxygen Consumption. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 58, 618-622. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z80-088

[13]	Ferreiro, N.A., Feijoó, C., Giorgi, A. and Leggieri, L. (2011) Effects of Macrophyte Heterogeneity and Food Availability on Structural Parameters of the Macroinvertebrate Community in a Pampean Stream. Hydrobiologia, 664, 199-211. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0599-7