Comparison of macroinvertebrate feeding strategies in streams from Asia, South America and Europe.

BRABEC K., TOMANOVA S; SYROVATKA V, K PETRIVALSKA K.,; MOOG O., HERING D; SHARMA S, MISERENDINO M.L.; MOYA N., ROZKOSNY R., SOLDAN T.,; GRAF W., KORTE T., SCHMIDT-KLOIBER A; JARKOVSKY J.

Kathmandu/Nepal

Workshop; International Conference on Rivers in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: Ecology and Environmental. Assessment.; 2008

ICRH

Historical events and environmental conditions are regarded as the most important factorsdriving community composition, structure and function. Functional structure of benthicfauna is considered to be more similar across biogeographic regions than taxonomiccomposition. However differences in trophic structure and longitudinal patterns of benthicfauna are documented between temperate and (sub)tropical streams.• Where are similarities and differences in patterns of feeding strategies among three regions located at three continents• Effect of taxonomic resolution on trophic pattern of macroinvertebrate communities• Evaluate which environmental characteristics explain mostly feeding strategies• Find out if are these relationships region specific? The composition of community functional traits is driven by natural and anthropogenicattributes which act as „selective filters“ occuring at hierarchical spatial scales ranging frommicrohabitat to basin.Community characteristics based on biological and ecological traits became a stable part ofassessment anthropogenic impacts. Feeding strategies indicate predominantly inputs oforganic matter and nutrients.Except higher proportion of shredders comparable patterns were found in European, South Americanand Asian streams and rivers.Further taxonomic investigation would increase precision within groups having high variability ofenvironmental preferences.Identification of relationships between trophic structure of macroinvertebrate communities andenvironmental tresholds allow setting stream types within that assessment of anthropogenic stressgradients would be more effective.