Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Modeling the Size Spectrum for Macroinvertebrates and Fishes in Stream Ecosystems
Published on: July 30, 2019
Interactions between benthic macroinvertebrates and fishes in a low order stream in Campos de Cima da Serra, RS,
L T Winckler-Sosinski1, T C L Silveira, U H Schulz
1Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria, Pelotas, RS, Brazil, 96001-970. lilianws@cpact.embrapa.br
Abstract:
Benthic macroinvertebrates constitute the link between organic matter input in streams and fishes. However, the possibility of influence of predators on the invertebrates is still a controversial issue. The possibility of alteration of the benthic community by the modification in predation in a stream in the South of Brazil was studied by means of an exclusion experiment under semi-natural conditions. The exclusion showed an increase in the abundance of Plecoptera in the river where the rainbow trout was introduced, the larvae of Trichoptera also increased in abundance in the units of fish exclusion. This difference does not confirm the pressure applied by the trout on the benthic macro fauna due to differences in ichthyofauna and in the habitat of both rivers. Nevertheless, it points to the need for the development of studies concerning the trophic relations and the possible effects of this introduction in the aquatic biota.
Related Concept Videos
Microbial Interactions: Predation
Osmoregulation in Fishes
Freshwater Microbial Ecology
Microbial Interactions: Cooperation
Symbiosis
