Article
 

Is the diet of a typical shredder related to the physical habitat of headwater streams in the Brazilian Cerrado?

Public Deposited

Downloadable Content

Download PDF
https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/articles/7w62fb317

Descriptions

Attribute NameValues
Creator
Abstract
  • Macroinvertebrates are important for processing leaf detritus in temperate streams, but studies about their role in tropical streams often present conflicting results. Via digestive tract analyses, we assessed the diets of Phylloicus sp. larvae (Trichoptera: Calamoceratidae), collected from streams of two southeastern Brazil river basins (Araguari, Sao Francisco). We classified gut contents as coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM), fine particulate organic matter (FPOM), algae, animal tissue, vascular plant tissue and mineral material. We hypothesized that the diets of Phylloicus larvae would be related to the physical habitat of the streams (e.g., riparian vegetation, organic matter availability and morphological characteristics), larval size and river basin. Although FPOM content predominated in both basins, we found greater CPOM content in Phylloicus larvae of Upper Sao Francisco sites, and this food item was related to greater riparian vegetation canopy density. The FPOM content was greater in larvae of Upper Araguari sites, and this food item was correlated with greater instream brush cover. Algae, animal tissue, vascular plant tissue and mineral material were very rare in the digestive tracts, and therefore could not be explained. These results indicate the importance of riparian vegetation structure in modulating feeding habitats of macroinvertebrates. We conclude that the Phylloicus larvae had more flexibility in what they eat than we might expect based on their traditional classification as shredders. Therefore, trusting in published classifications, ignoring regional or local differences, may be inaccurate. Instead, regional studies of feeding habits are needed for accurate classifications of invertebrate taxa into trophic guilds.
Resource Type
DOI
Date Available
Date Issued
Citation
  • Ferreira, W. R., Ligeiro, R., Macedo, D. R., Hughes, R. M., Kaufmann, P. R., Oliveira, L. G., & Callisto, M. (2015). Is the diet of a typical shredder related to the physical habitat of headwater streams in the Brazilian Cerrado?. Annales de Limnologie-Internatonal Journal of Limnology, 51, 115-124. doi:10.1051/limn/2015004
Journal Title
Journal Volume
  • 51
Academic Affiliation
Rights Statement
Funding Statement (additional comments about funding)
  • MC received CNPq research grant and research fellowship nos. 471385/2011-5 and 302960/2011-2 and FAPEMIG research grant PPM-00077/13.
Publisher
Peer Reviewed
Language
Replaces

Relationships

Parents:

This work has no parents.

Items

Thumbnail Title Date Uploaded Visibility Actions
file details HughesRobertFishWildlifeDietTypicalShredder.pdf 2017-07-28 Public Download