TITLE:
Spacial and Temporal Variation of Degradation of Organic Matter by Benthic Macroinvertebrates
AUTHORS:
Ana Ribeiro, Natividade Vieira
KEYWORDS:
Decomposition; Litter Bags; Macroinvertebrates; Organic matter
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Environmental Protection,
Vol.4 No.11A,
November
8,
2013
ABSTRACT: Leaf litter input from riparian landscapes has been identified as both a
major energy flow to stream ecosystems and as a food source for stream
macroinvertebrates. In this study the benthic macroinvertebrate community was used to
evaluate the decomposition of organic matter in river systems. The aim of this work
was to study the decomposition of organic matter using the benthic
macroinvertebrate colonization. The research was developed over five months
(January 2011 to May 2011) in four different sites, distributed along the River
Ferreira terminal area, northern Portugal. A litter bag experiment was used to
examine the role of macroinvertebrate communities in the processing of organic
material on the river. Litter bags were placed in the water and collected every
7, 15, 30, 60, 90 and 120 days. In litter bags was observed a high abundance of
Oligochaeta and Chironomidae, which are characterized by being
detritivorous-herbivores and filtering collectors, respectively, indicating the
benthic macroinvertebrate more involved on the decomposition of organic matter. These results
contributed to increase current knowledge about benthic macroinvertebrate
communities and may serve as incentive for future research works.