Open AccessSampling efficiency of a protocol to measure Odonata diversity in tropical streams
Author(s) -
Joana Darc Batista,
Victor Rennan Santos Ferreira,
Helena Soares Ramos Cabette,
Lourivaldo Amâncio de Castro,
Paulo de Marco Júnior,
Leandro Juen
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0248216
Subject(s) - odonata , transect , species richness , sampling (signal processing) , protocol (science) , ecology , sample (material) , environmental science , biodiversity , geography , biology , computer science , physics , medicine , telecommunications , alternative medicine , pathology , detector , thermodynamics
Odonata can be sampled following different types of protocols. In Brazil, the most used protocol is the scanning in fixed areas method, where a 100-meter transect is delimited in one of the stream margins, subdivided into 20 segments measuring 5 meters. Despite being universally used, the methodological efficiency or limitations of this protocol for Odonata has never been tested. In this scenario, our objective was to assess the efficiency of the sampling protocol to measure the richness and composition of Odonata in three fundamental aspects: the time of sampling and sampling effort over time and space. We show that the best sampling efficiency was achieved in collections performed at noon, in transects measuring 100 meters, requiring at least two samplings in the same location, supporting the procedures traditionally adopted by many studies with the group. While comparing species composition, we did not see any implication between the different treatments on the capture of the local species pool. However, we highlight and discuss some possible methodological flaws when using this protocol to sample specific Odonata groups. We believe the results obtained are fundamental in the inventory of species and to conduct future studies, as well as to aid conservative measures that use the order Odonata as a tool for environmental monitoring.