Occurrence of aquatic macroinvertebrates in an extrativist reserve of brazilian Amazon

Abstract

Freshwater invertebrates occupy important roles in ecological processes and are frequently used as indicators of water quality. Their existence, however, is still obscure in many regions of the country, i.e. very few relevant studies have been conducted regarding their presence especially in the Amazon region. Thus, this study aimed to present an inventory of aquatic macroinvertebrates from the marginal region of an Amazonian lake. This study was conducted in a floodplain area, at the Extractivist Reserve of Cuniã Lake (margin of the Madeira River).To sample macrofauna, were collected sediment and aquatic macrophytes near the marginal region in seven sites during low-water season (August 2015) and the high-water season (February 2016). The environmental variables (water temperature (ºC), electric conductivity (μS /cm), pH, and dissolved oxygen (mg/L) were measured at each site and concentrations of organic matter in the sediment were also determined. A total of 28 taxa were recorded. The most significant taxa for the lake were the genera: Campsurus (Ephemeroptera: Polymitarcydae) and Tenagobia (Hemiptera: Corixidae. The lake presents diverse macrofauna, indicating good environmental quality and organic enrichment, which highlights the importance of flood in composition of local macrofauna.

Keywords

• Floodplain area
• Madeira River
• Western Amazon