Effect of substrates of native and exotic plant species on the initial period of colonization of benthic macroinvertebrates in the Cerrado biome

Soares, Danúbia Magalhães and Borges, Lucas Rodrigues and da Silva, Marcella Fortes Falcão and Luche, Lucas Dalle (2021) Effect of substrates of native and exotic plant species on the initial period of colonization of benthic macroinvertebrates in the Cerrado biome. Community Ecology, 22 (1). pp. 127-134. ISSN 1585-8553

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Abstract

The introduction of exotic species can generate changes in the composition of organic debris of alien origin in aquatic ecosystems close to the places of introduction. This new debris can cause impacts at the level of communities and ecosys- tems. Therefore, the present work aims to answer the following question: are the macroinvertebrate communities present in substrates formed by leaves of the exotic species Pinus caribaea Morelet (Pinaceae) and Eucalyptus grandis Hill ex Maiden (Myrtaceae) similar to those found in substrates composed by the mix of these two species and substrates composed by a mix of native species? For the collection of macroinvertebrates, sets of four types of artificial substrates were submerged in a stream inside the Ecological Station of Panga (Uberlândia—MG, Brazil). The treatments were: leaves of P. caribaea, leaves of E. grandis, leaves of both exotic species and leaves of two native species. In the 20 sample units, about 250 individuals were found, belonging to the orders Coleoptera, Diptera, Ephemeroptera, Heteroptera, Megaloptera, Odonata, Plecoptera and Trichoptera. The effects of the treatments were observed in the exponential decay of the substrate mass and in the structure of the benthic macroinvertebrates communities. The composition of these communities differed among treatments, with high dissimilarity observed between P. caribaea treatments and the mix of exotic species. Therefore, the results demonstrate the importance of substrate complexity for benthic macroinvertebrates, as well as the possible effects of biological invasion and co-invasion by species widely used in silviculture activities.

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