Macroinvertebrates body size patterns: a simple tool for freshwater bioassessment?

• Autor(a) principal: Neves, Joana
• Data de Publicação: 2016
• Outros Autores: Soares, Amadeu, Monaghan, Kieran
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.34624/captar.v6i1.12741

Body size is arguably the single most important ecological trait. It is particularly important in aquatic ecosystems, where species interactions are structured according to size-abundance patterns. Theory predicts that disturbed systems will be dominated by small-sized organisms while non-impacted are expected to include a more diverse range of organism sizes. Based on the assumption that in non-disturbed habitats species achieve their energetic optimal size, while under stressed conditions growth may be constrained, we proposed that it should be possible to evaluate environmental conditions by describing patterns in body size. [...]