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Bromeliad habitat regulates the richness of associated terrestrial and aquatic fauna
Author(s) -
Laviski Bianca Ferreira da Silva,
Monteiro Ícaro de Moraes,
Pinho Luiz Carlos,
Baptista Renner Luiz Cerqueira,
MayhéNunes Antonio José,
RaccaFilho Francisco,
NunesFreitas André Felippe
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
austral ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.688
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1442-9993
pISSN - 1442-9985
DOI - 10.1111/aec.13033
Subject(s) - fauna , ecology , epiphyte , epigeal , species richness , biology , abundance (ecology) , trophic level , bioindicator
Bromeliads harbour a great diversity of fauna species. The epiphytic habit of bromeliads is subject to higher temperatures and higher incidence of light than is the epigeic habit, so we expected individuals of the Vriesea neoglutinosa species to differ in terms of the composition, richness and abundance of their fauna associated with different bromeliad habits. We carried out a study in a restinga area on Marambaia Island, Brazil. We collected 32 bromeliads, of which 16 were epigeic and 16 were epiphytic, and found a total of 1125 individual animals of 88 morphospecies. Arthropods stood out in the sample, among which 68.2% were insects. Aquatic fauna was richer in epigeic bromeliads, and terrestrial fauna was richer in epiphytic bromeliads. As expected, species composition was different for aquatic and terrestrial fauna. The heterogeneity of the restinga environment and differences in the development stages of the fauna may be factors that influence its composition. Both bromeliad habits sustain fauna with several trophic guilds that compose a complex food web and depend on the bromeliad environment. As different habits lead to different fauna types, both epigeic and epiphytic bromeliads play a role in the maintenance of local biodiversity and are important for macrofauna conservation in restingas .