Alberto Rodrigues Capitulo

National Scientific and Technical Research Council | conicet · ILPLA Instituto de Limnología `Dr. Raúl A. Ringuelet`

Ecological interactions, such as food webs, are fundamental for predicting ecosystem responses to environmental changes and anthropogenic disturbances. With wetland ecosystems facing escalating threats from intensified land use, our study aimed to assess the effect of land use on macroinvertebrate food webs across four riverine wetlands situated in...

Most studies exploring land use impacts have focused on taxonomic metrics, but interest in the functional approach has increased because it helps to understand the relationships between community structure and functioning of aquatic ecosystems. We evaluated how functional and taxonomic approaches, and the association between them, contribute to ass...

Pollutants as well as starvation usually modify homeostasis of neutral lipids in aquatic organisms. However, studies on the simultaneous effects of both stressors are scarce. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of toxicant exposure under starvation conditions on neutral lipids of the freshwater snail Pomacea canaliculata, selected as t...

Los estuarios son ecosistemas productivos que proporcionan bienes y servicios ecosistémicos, aunque el desarrollo humano provoca tensiones que deterioran la calidad de sus aguas. El Río de la Plata presenta relevancia geográfica y socioeconómica, además de áreas importantes en cuanto a la conservación de la biodiversidad. El objetivo de este estudi...

Most studies exploring land use impacts have focused on taxonomic metrics, but interest in the functional approach has increased because it helps to understand the relationships between community structure and functioning of aquatic ecosystems. We evaluated how functional and taxonomic approaches contribute to assessing the effects of land use on m...

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of agricultural land use and periods of hydrological variability on the environmental variables, as well as macrophyte and macroinvertebrate assemblages in lowland riverine wetlands. As a case study, we compared two periurban wetlands with intensive agricultural land use against two others with e...

The metacommunity theory includes processes that contribute, at different scales, to the understanding of the distribution of organisms in space and aims to assess the relative importance of spatial and environmental factors in the structuring of communities. Fluvial ecosystems of the Argentine Pampas are characterized by their environmental hetero...

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of agricultural land use and periods of hydrological variability on the environmental variables, as well as macrophyte and macroinvertebrate assemblages in lowland riverine wetlands. We compared two wetlands with intensive agricultural land use against two others with extensive livestock consider...

En la Ecorregión Pampa son comunes los humedales llamados bañados de desborde fluvial (BDF),donde las macrófitas desempeñan una función importante en su biogeoquímica. Con el objeto de analizar la eficiencia de fitoabsorción de metales, se colectaron las especies vegetales más representativas de los tipos biológicos palustres (n=201) y flotantes ar...

Urbanization and industrialization produce substantial changes in biodiversity and in the functionality of ecosystems. However, little is known about how anthropic pressures might drive these changes and about their functional consequences. We aimed to determine the responses of macroinvertebrate biological traits to urban and industrial pollution...

Knowing the interactions between exotic and native species is essential to establish possible threats to the local fauna. In this study, we assessed the use of food resources and diet overlap between a recently introduced snail, Sinotaia quadrata, and a native species, Pomacea canaliculata. We analyzed the gut content and stable isotope of snails a...

In lowland streams, channelization is a severe hydromorphological modification with negative impacts on ecosystem functioning and biological communities. We assessed the functional structure and spatial patterns of macrophyte assemblages in channelized streams, and we identified the most affected traits by this practice. We studied unchannelized (U...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the acute effects of the pyrethroid cypermethrin (CYP) and the last generation pesticide spirotetramat (STM) on the prawn Macrobrachium borellii. Initially, the 96-h LC50 was determined in adult prawns. Then, prawns were exposed to sublethal concentrations of pesticides (5% and 20% of the 96-h LC50 values) for...

Riparian areas of riverine plains develop extensive floodable areas named riverine wetlands, which are essential to the water cycle balance and ecosystem dynamics. In this study, we contrasted the hydrological and physicochemical variables of riverine wetlands of both peri-urban areas impacted by intensive farming and those of rural areas with the...

Lowland streams are usually affected by river engineering works that produce the loss of habitat heterogeneity. Our aim was to assess the transplantation of macrophytes with different complexity into a lowland stream which was dredged and widened. Stuckenia pectinata and Hydrocleys nymphoides were collected at an extraction site and installed at a...

Se describe la secuencia histórica de la aplicación de organismos acuáticos bioindicadores en la Argentina y sus posibilidades de ser difundidos e incorporados como herramientas de biomonitoreo en la gestión ambiental. En paralelo, se presenta el desarrollo y las etapas acaecidas en Ecuador y en España. Tanto las distintas regiones de la Argentina...

En este estudio se caracteriza el ensamble de macroinvertebrados en bañados de desborde fluvial de cuatro arroyos pampeanos bonaerenses con diferentes actividades en el uso del suelo (intensa horticultura y ganadería extensiva) desde un punto de vista estructural y funcional. Se aplicaron índices bióticos, ecológicos, análisis multivariados y se an...

Se realizo un estudio limnologico-pesquero de la laguna El Hinojo, Trenque Lauquen, Prov. de Buenos Aires haciendo una caracterizaciòn de la quìmica del agua, fitoplancton, zooplancton, bentos y peces dando recomendaciones sobre el manejo de la pesqueria del pejerrey Odontesthes bonariensis y observando la importante presencia la exòtica carpa Cypr...

Macrophytes play an important role as resource for herbivores. When they are introduced into streams by, rehabilitation projects herbivores might be attracted to this new food source. Thus, it is important to know the palatability of macrophytes, especially when high densities of herbivores with a high relative consumption rate (RCR) are present. P...

The objective of the present study was to investigate the responses of the chironomid communities (Diptera: Chironomidae) to environmental variables in four moderately and highly disturbed rivers located in one of the most degraded watersheds in South America. Sampling campaigns were carried out during 2014–2016 in four sites of the Matanza-Riachue...

Existen ambientes someros ubicados dentro de la traza urbana considerados como lagunas o humedales, que generalmente suelen estar afectados en distinto grado por estresores ambientales. Entre las herramientas para evaluar la calidad de estos ambientes, se encuentran los índices de integridad biótica (IBI). El presente trabajo tuvo como objetivo eva...

Los bañados de desborde fluvial ofrecen varios servicios ecosistémicos, entre ellos la amortiguación de sustancias exógenas que los atraviesan y la mejora en las condiciones del hábitat. Asimismo es sabido que los macroinvertebrados son buenos bioindicadores de calidad del agua y encuentran en las macrófitas un soporte adecuado para su desarrollo....

The objective of this work was assessing the sensitivity of leeches to several water quality attributes in lowlands streams. We used occupancy modelling that account explicitly for detectability, to estimate the influence of four variables (dissolved oxygen, 5-days biochemicals oxygen demand, conductivity, and dissolved inorganic nitrogen) affectin...

Las macrófitas son un importante componente en los ecosistemas acuáticos dado que entre otras propiedades, aumentan la complejidad y la heterogeneidad del hábitat y proveen alimento y refugio para invertebrados. El objetivo del trabajo fue comparar los ensambles de macroinvertebrados presentes en dos especies de macrófitas de diferente tipo biológi...

La importancia de conocer aspectos ecológicos de una especie exótica radica en el riesgo de que la biota regional se vea alterada por interacciones negativas como la competencia por los recursos. En este estudio se analizó la dieta de Sinotaia quadrata, gasterópodo asiático recientemente registrado para Buenos Aires, y de Pomacea canaliculata (espe...

Las especies exóticas representan posibles amenazas para la fauna nativa; su estudio es fundamental para generar herramientas de manejo. El objetivo de este trabajo fue comparar la densidad, biomasa y producción secundaria de Pomacea canaliculata (nativa) y de Sinotaia quadrata (de origen asiático), ambas de tamaño similar y con ciclos de vida simi...

Sinotaia quadrata (Caenogastropda, Viviparidae) es un caracol de origen asiático que fue hallado en 2015 en un sistema lótico pampeano. Este trabajo muestra la dinámica poblacional de esta especie en dos sitios del arroyo periurbano Carnaval (La Plata, Buenos Aires), uno aguas arriba (C4) y otro aguas abajo (C5). Se realizaron muestreos mensuales e...

Cuando una especie es introducida en un nuevo ambiente, es importante conocer, entre otros aspectos, su capacidad reproductiva para poder predecir si dicha especie tiene potencial invasor. Recientemente, el caracol asiático de agua dulce Sinotaia quadrata fue registrado en un arroyo periurbano bonaerense cercano a la ciudad de La Plata. Este estudi...

To develop effective programs to monitor water quality is necessary to identify sensitive biomarkers in indicator species. The aim of this study was to evaluate different biomarkers in the apple snail Pomacea canaliculata exposed to the insecticide Cypermethrin (CYP). Adult male and female snails were exposed to sublethal CYP concentrations (10, 25...

The city of La Plata, Argentina, is situated in a low alluvial zone, with streams having insufficient drainage into the Río de la Plata estuary. In April 2013, a prodigious storm front caused unprecedented flooding in the city and environs that resulted in extensive loss of life and property, especially in the Del Gato stream basin. Through an anal...

One of the most challenging aspects of quality indices has been to compile reliable measures of the species’ sensitivity to various magnitudes and different kinds of ecosystem attributes. Occupancy modelling has become increasingly useful to ecologists because provides a flexible framework to estimate the habitat use as a function of site informati...

With the purpose of collecting macroinvertebrates for benthic studies of hill streams of the Argentinean Pampean ecoregion, a sampling program was performed in different seasons during 2015. The ingolfiellid crustaceans described in this paper were found only in May 2015 in a sector of the rithron of the Ventana Stream located below the point of th...

Sinotaia quadrata is a snail native from Asia recorded for the first time in South America in 2009 in central Argentina. In 2015, this species was also found in a lowland stream with different water qualities. Our aims were to contribute to the knowledge of its population ecology and to compare the individuals from the two locations anatomically. S...

Macrophytes were transplanted into a lowland stream affected by river engineering works. The aim was to analyse the feasibility of their reintroduction and potential to be used for the recovery of the structure and complexity of the lotic habitat. Macrophytes contribute heterogeneity to streams, modify the current velocity, affect sediment and nutr...

Pomacea canaliculata is an apple snail that has become an invasive species in several countries. In this research, through two simultaneous experiments, we assessed the effects of different land uses (urban, agriculture, cattle grazing, farms and recreation) on the growth and survival of snails from native populations. The survival was not affected...

The present study analyzes a battery of biomarkers in the water bug Belostoma elegans from a stream polluted with organic matter (OMS), and another one considered as reference site (RS) during spring-summer season (December to March). Biochemical parameters of glucidic, lipidic and oxidative metabolic pathways were analyzed in males and females of...

Pomacea canaliculata is native to Rio de la Plata basin, and it is invasive in most of South and Southeast Asia after accidental introduction during unsuccessful attempts to establish commercial aquaculture of this species, and being present, the number one pest of rice crops in the region. Investigations in its native habitat are still needed beca...

Interdisciplinary research in the fields of ecohydrology and ecogeomorphology is becoming increasingly important as a way to understand how biological and physical processes interact with each other in river systems. The objectives of the current study were 1) to determine changes in invertebrate community due to hydrological stages, 2) to link loc...

Sinotaia quadrata (Caenogastropoda) es una especie exótica proveniente de Asia recientemente citada para Argentina. Su estudio resulta de extrema importancia debido a que, como potencial especie invasora, existe el riesgo de que altere la biota regional e interactúe de forma negativa con las especies autóctonas (depredación, exclusión competitiva,...

Los objetivos del trabajo fueron, por un lado evaluar la respuesta al transplante de Potamogetonpectinatus e Hydrocleysnimphoides a través del crecimiento individual, y por el otro analizar las diferencias en el ensamble de macroinvertebrados presentes en éstas macrófitas luego del trasplante con el fin de estimar su eficiencia como posible herrami...

Sinotaia quadrata (Benson, 1842) es un gasterópodo nativo de Asia, cuyo primer registro en Sudamérica fue realizado en 2009 en la serranía de la provincia de Córdoba (Argentina). El presente trabajo constituye el primer registro de esta especie en un arroyo de llanura de la provincia de Buenos Aires. Dado que esta especie es potencialmente invasora...

Hydrological ecosystem services involve the regulation of water flows, the reduction of the flooding impact, the soil erosion and the sediment accumulation in the watercourses, also including the maintenance and improvement of the water quality, the aquiferous recharge and the aquatic habitats. The impermeability of the soil due to urbanization, th...

Introducción. Los macroinvertebrados son un grupo bien representado en los ecosistemas de agua dulce y ampliamente utilizados en la evaluación de la calidad del agua. Problema. Muchos índices bióticos utilizados para tal fin se basan en valores de tolerancia estimados en ciertos casos a partir de información obtenida de la bibliografía, no siempre...

Sinelobus stanfordi is a tanaidacean of worldwide distribution of considerable significance within coastal ecosystems. The aim of this research was to provide essential information on the poorlyknown population biology of this species. Benthic samples were taken seasonally from winter 2005 through summer 2007 along 155 km of shoreline within the Rí...

ABSTRACT One of the most important effects derived from the intensive land use is the increase of nutrient concentration in the aquatic systems due to superficial drainage. Besides, the increment of precipitations in South America connected to the global climate change could intensify these anthropic impacts due to the changes in the runoff pattern...

We investigated the responses of the assemblage of Oligochaeta and Aeolosomatidae to organic pollution; comparing taxonomic richness, diversity, abundance, and diet of the individuals inhabiting two lowland streams with different degrees of anthropic impact (the Rodríguez and the Carnaval) belonging to the Río de la Plata basin, Argentina. The phys...

We investigated the responses of the assemblage of Oligochaeta and Aeolosomatidae to organic pollution; comparing taxonomic richness, diversity, abundance, and diet of the individuals inhabiting two lowland streams with different degrees of anthropic impact (the Rodriguez and the Carnaval) belonging to the Rio de la Plata basin, Argentina. The phys...

ABSTRACT. The theory of ecological stoichiometry holds that heterotrophs are mostly homeostatic and exhibit less variation in body stoichiometry than do autotrophs. Most studies of stream foodweb stoichiometry have been done in low-nutrient environments. Little is known about foodweb stoichiometry in nutrient-rich streams, in which a higher level o...

Temporal variability in river morphology, sedimentology and flow are a fundamental control on instream habitat structure and riverine ecosystem biodiversity. However, long-term riverine ecological time-series in a wider temporal context are particularly rare. The present research involves long-term data series of riverine physical habitat and benth...

Sinelobus stanfordi (Richardson, 1901) is a euryhaline tanaidacean distributed worldwide and recorded in the freshwater zone of the Río de la Plata estuary. Despite the vast bibliography on this species, its sensitivity to pollution has never been assessed. This study was conducted in the coastal freshwater tidal zone of the Río de la Plata estuary...

The external ultrastructure of Manayunkia speciosa Leidy, 1858 from specimens collected at the lower Uruguay River, South America is described using scanning-electron-microscopy. The branchial crown has a pair of semicircular lateral lobes, a pair of mediodorsal radioles and a pair of medioventral ones. Radiolar surfaces are ciliated. The faecal gr...

We assessed the effects of nutrient enrichment on three stream ecosystems running through distinct biomes (Mediterranean, Pampean and Andean). We increased the concentrations of N and P in the stream water 1.6–4-fold following a before–after control–impact paired series (BACIPS) design in each stream, and evaluated changes in the biomass of bacteri...

The diet and trophic relationships between the macroinvertebrates Phyllogomphoides joaquini Rodrigues Capítulo, 1992 and Coenagrionidae (Odonata), Chironomidae (Diptera), Diplodon delodontus (Lamarck, 1919) (Bivalvia: Hyriidae), and Pomacea canaliculata (Lamarck, 1822) (Gastropoda: Ampulariidae) and the fishes Pimelodella laticeps Eigenmann, 1917 (...

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The present continuous anthropogenic pressure has resulted in an enhancement of nutrient inputs into rivers and streams. This situation has worsened, mainly in agricultural areas, causing an accelerated eutrophication. Macroinvertebrate feeding strategies reflect the species’ adaptations to environments. For a characterization of the macroinvertebr...

Our objective was to assess the effect of the physical habitat degradation in three lowland streams of Argentina that are subject to different land uses. To address this matter, we looked into some physical habitat alterations, mainly the water quality and channel changes, the impact on macrophytes' community, and the structural and functional desc...

The aim of this study was to propose an index [Index of Biotic Integrity for the Río de la Plata (IBIRP)] formulated from a minimum of information-rich metrics related to biological integrity for evaluation of the coastal freshwater tidal zone of the Río de la Plata estuary. A total of 23 sites were selected along 170 km of shoreline (34°27′10″ S,...

We assessed the water quality in two pampean lotic systems (Argentina), the Juan Blanco and Buñirigo streams, subjected to different land uses (i.e., the UNESCO Biosphere Nature Reserve vs. industry and agriculture, respectively) through measurements of physicochemical data and the structural parameters of the macroinvertebrate assemblages in addit...

AIM: This study evaluated the use of oligochaetes at different levels of taxonomic resolution as environmental indicators in Argentine lowland streams affected by different land uses. METHODS: Sampling sites were grouped based on the physicochemical and habitat characteristics (low-, moderate-, and high-impact disturbance). Collection of the oligoc...

One of the possible consequences of climatic change for streams and rivers in the pampean region of South America is an increment in nutrient loads. To analyze this possible perturbation on a biological scale, the response of oligochaetes to an experimental eutrophication of the La Choza Stream, Argentina was studied. We proposed that the addition...

In Argentina periurban streams frequently receive agricultural, livestock and industrial discharges. Heavy metals have been found in the water column and sediments of numerous water bodies of the pampean region, at levels above the limits established for aquatic life protection. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a contaminant pulse of cadm...

The structure and composition of benthic communities on hard substrates covered by the nonindigenous bivalve Limnoperna fortunei Dunker, the golden mussel, were quantified in the middle zone of the Río de la Plata Estuary (Argentina) from April 2001 through March 2002. A total of 26 taxa were recorded. L. fortunei and Nematoda were the central and...

The oligochaete assemblage on the Argentine coast of the Rio de la Plata estuary was sampled seasonally within environments having different types of disturbances. Three habitats were sampled: sediments free of vegetation, sediments within bullrush stands and substrates with Limnoperna fortunei. The species richness, evenness and Shannon-Wiener div...

Biotic descriptors--both taxonomic (diversity indices, species richness, and indicator species) and nontaxonomic (biomass, oxygen consumption/production, and anatomical deformities)--are useful tools for measuring a stream's ecological condition. Nontaxonomic parameters detect critical effects not reflected taxonomically. We analyzed changes in Chi...

We report the migration of Manayunkia speciosa from its distribution in North America into the Neotropical Region (Argentina). We collected specimens from November 2007 to March 2009 in the lower Uruguay River-at 33° 5.01′S 58° 12′W, 33° 5.9′S 58°25.2′W from sediments reaching densities of 2,890 ind. m−2, at a mean abundance of 350 ind. m−2. Introd...

The rivers and streams in the pampean plains are characterized by a low flow rate due to the low slope of the surrounding terrain, high levels of suspended solids, silty sediment in the benthos, and reduced rithron; the riparian forest of this region has been replaced by low-altitude grasslands. Many of these environments contain a wide coverage of...

The standardization of toxicity tests requires the selection of the most suitable test species and their developmental stages, as well as the selection of the appropriate assay matrix and the evaluation of the sensitivity of the test species to the reference toxicants. International protocols recommend the use of the amphipod Hyalella azteca from t...