Feeding habits of Trichoptera (Insecta) larvae of the subtropical Basin
Keywords:
functional feeding groups, gut contents analysis, Yungas, Tucumán, cluster analysisAbstract
The functional feeding groups of aquatic invertebrates indicate both the type of food source used and the feeding mechanism involved. The groups considered were: collectors (gatherers and filterers), shredders, scrapers and predators. Trichoptera larvae display a diversity of trophic adaptations and exploit a variety of microhabitats, but information on their feeding habits in the Neotropical region is still incomplete. The main objective of this paper was to analyze the feeding habits and define the functional feeding groups of Trichoptera recorded in a subtropical Andean basin. The larvae were collected during the low water period and identified to the genus level. Diet profiles were obtained through gut content analysis. Schoener’s Proportional Similarity Index was applied to assess the similarity between diet profiles. A complete linkage dendrogram was obtained and significant clusters (dietary patterns) were identified. The majority of taxa examined prefer more than one food item, being fine particle organic matter present throughout all genera. Metrichia, Hydroptila, Oxyethira and Marilia are categorized as collectors-gatherers. Nectopsyche is defined as collector-gatherer and secondarily shredder. Mortoniella and Helicopsyche are primarily scrapers and secondarily collectors-gatherers. Chimarra shows a collector-filterer habit. Smicridea and Polycentropus are basically predators, but they also feed on particles trapped in nets. Only four of the ten genera analyzed here correspond to the functional groups already reported for other regions.
References
ALBARIÑO, RJ & A VALVERDE. 1998. Hábito alimenticio del estado larval de Parasericostoma cristatum (Trichoptera: Sericostomatidae). Rev. Soc. Entomol. Argent. 57:131-135.
ANGRISANO, EB. 2001. Trichoptera. En: Fernández, H & E Domínguez (eds.), Guía para la determinación de los artrópodos bentónicos sudamericanos. Editorial Universitaria de Tucumán, Argentina.
BROWN, AD. 2000. Development threats to biodiversity and opportunities for conservation in the mountain ranges of the upper Bermejo river basin, NW Argentina and SW Bolivia. Ambio 29: 445-449.
COVICH, AP. 1988. Geographical and historical comparisons of neotropical streams: biotic biodiversity and detrital processing in highly variable habitats. J. N. Am. Benthol. Soc. 7:361-386.
CUMMINS, KM. 1973. Trophic relations of aquatic insects. Annu. Rev. Entomol. 18:183-203.
CUMMINS, KW. 1993. Invertebrates. Pp. 234-250 en: Calow, P & GE Petts (eds.), The Rivers Handbook. Blackwell Scientific, Oxford.
CUMMINS, KW; RW MERRIT & PCN ANDRADE. 2005. The use of invertebrates functional group to characterize ecosystem attributes in selected stream and rivers in south Brazil. Stud. Neotrop. Fauna Environ. 40:69-89.
DÍAZ VILLANUEVA, V & C TROCHINE. 2005. The role of microorganisms in the diet of Verger cf. limnophilus (Trichoptera: Limnephilidae) larvae in a Patagonian Andean temporary pond. Wetlands 25:473-479.
FLINT, OS; R HOLZENTHAL & SC HARRIS. 1999. Nomenclatural and systematic changes in the Neotropical Caddisflies (Insecta: Trichoptera). Insecta Mundi 13:73-84.
GIL, MA; PA GARELIS & EA VALLANIA. 2006. Hábitos alimenticios de larvas de Polycentropus joergenseni Ulmer, 1909 (Trichoptera: Polycentropodidae) en el Río Grande (San Luis, Argentina). Gayana 70: 206-209.
HEINO, J. 2005. Functional biodiversity of macroinvertebrates assemblage along major ecological gradients of boreal headwater streams. Freshwat. Biol. 50:1578-1587.
HUNZINGER, H. 1997. Hydrology of montane forests in the sierra de San Javier, Tucumán, Argentina. Mt. Res. Dev. 17:299-308.
MERRITT, RW & KW CUMMINS. 1996. An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America. Kendall/ Hunt. Iowa.
MOTTA, RL & VS UIEDA. 2004. Diet and trophic groups of an aquatic insect Community in a tropical stream. Braz. J. Biol. 64:809-817.
PECKARSKY, BL. 1996. Predator-prey interactions. Pp. 431-451 en: Hauer, FR & GA Lamberti (eds.), Methods in Stream Ecology. Academic Press, California. USA.
POSADA-GARCÍA, JA & G ROLDÁN-PÉREZ. 2003. Clave ilustrada y diversidad de las larvas de Trichoptera en el Nor-Occidente de Colombia. Caldasia 25: 169-192.
R DEVELOPMENT CORE TEAM. 2008. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria.
REYNAGA, MC & PA RUEDA MARTÍN. En prensa. Trophic analysis of two species of Atopsyche (Trichoptera: Hydrobiosidae ). Limnologica.
SCHOENER, TW. 1970. Nonsynchronous spatial overlap of lizards in patchy habitats. Ecology 51(3):408-418.
SOKAL, RR & FJ ROHLF. 1995. Biometry: the principles and practice of statistics in biological research. 3ra edición. WH Freeman & Co., New York. Pp. 887.
TOMANOVA, S; E GOITIA & J HELEŠIC. 2006. Trophic levels and functional feeding groups of macroinvertebrates in neotropical streams. Hydrobiologia 556:251-264.
TOWNSEND, CR & AG HILDREW. 1994. Species traits in relation to a habitat templet for river systems. Freshwat. Biol. 31:265-275.
VANNOTE, RL; GW MINSHALL; KM CUMMINS; JR SEDELI & CE CUSHING. 1980. The river continuum concept. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 37:130-137.
WALLACE JR, RK. 1981. An assessment of diet-overlap indexes. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 110:72-76.
WIGGINS, GB & RJ MACKAY. 1978. Some relationships between systematic and trophic ecology in neartic aquatic insects, with special referent to Trichoptera. Ecology 59:1211-1220.
WIGGINS, GB. 1996. Larvae of the north American Caddisfly Genera (Trichoptera). University of Toronto Press, Toronto.
WIGGINS, GB. 2004. Caddisflies. The Underwater Architects. University of Toronto Press, Toronto.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2009 María C. Reynaga
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Authors retain their rights as follows: 1) by granting the journal the right to its first publication, and 2) by registering the published article with a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which allows authors and third parties to view and use it as long as they clearly mention its origin (citation or reference, including authorship and first publication in this journal). Authors can make other non-exclusive distribution agreements as long as they clearly indicate their origin and are encouraged to widely share and disseminate the published version of their work.