Spatio-temporal variation in the community of aquatic macroinvertebrates in streams of Amazonian montanes

Abstract The composition of aquatic macroinvertebrates in Amazonian streams is related with the physical and chemical characteristics of the water, and the integrity of the surrounding habitat. The partitioning of diversity into additive components is a well-established and validated approach, but studies employing temporal additive partitioning have relatively limited representation in the Ecology field. We aimed to analyze spatio-temporal patterns in the diversity of aquatic macroinvertebrates in 11 streams in the Serra dos Carajás region, Eastern Amazonia. We used three distinct sampling periods, in which the macroinvertebrate communities and environmental variables were sampled, to evaluate the contribution of spatial and temporal effects on community. We separated the diversity into local, regional, and temporal components, and we used a permutational multivariate analysis of variance to identify the variations of environmental conditions between different streams and between sampling periods. The results showed a greater accumulation of taxa between different sampling periods than expected at random. Samples collected at the end of the rainy season exhibited notable differences in environmental conditions from the others. Our findings indicate that environmental change is a relevant driver to spatial and temporal dynamics of macroinvertebrate communities. Additionally, our results highlight the significance of temporal beta diversity in understanding total diversity of streams, and we conclude that it is essential to conduct more prolonged studies to understand the effect of environment in stream ecology. This will help distinguish between stochastic factors, seasonal variations, and the impact of long-term anthropogenic influences. Graphical abstract