Trophic Behavior of Two Perlidae Species (Insecta, Plecoptera) in a River in Southern Spain

Two Perlidae species, Dinocras cephalotes and Perla bipunctata, were studied in a river in Spain with the objectives of: a) describing their diets; b) detecting differences between size classes; c) analyzing niche breadth; and d) assessing the degree of niche overlap between both species and size cl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International review of hydrobiology. 2008-05, Vol.93 (2), p.167-174
Main Authors: Bo, Tiziano, Fenoglio, Stefano, López-Rodríguez, Manuel Jesús, Tierno de Figueroa, José Manuel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Baetidae
Biological and medical sciences
Cephalotes
Chironomidae
diet
Dinocras cephalotes
Freshwater
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
Iberian Peninsula
Insecta
Invertebrates
niche breadth
Perla bipunctata
Perlidae
Plecoptera
Synecology
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Summary:Two Perlidae species, Dinocras cephalotes and Perla bipunctata, were studied in a river in Spain with the objectives of: a) describing their diets; b) detecting differences between size classes; c) analyzing niche breadth; and d) assessing the degree of niche overlap between both species and size classes. Dinocras cephalotes and Perla bipunctata nymphs fed mainly on Baetidae and immature Chironomidae. We did not detect significant differences in the quantity of ingested detritus, algae, and leaf pieces. Niche breadth was very low, although both species presented a high niche overlap. P. bipunctata seems to select some prey items throughout its nymphal development, whereas D. cephalotes augments its diet with other prey items as it grows. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
ISSN:1434-2944
1522-2632
DOI:10.1002/iroh.200711034