Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Effect of oil palm on the Plecoptera and Trichoptera (Insecta) assemblages in streams of eastern Amazon

  • Published:
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The production of oil palm is expected to increase in the Amazon region. However, expansion of oil palm plantation leads to significant changes in the physical structure of aquatic ecosystems, mainly through the reduction of riparian vegetation that is essential for aquatic biodiversity. Here, we evaluated the effects of oil palm on the physical habitat structure of Amazonian stream environments and assemblages of Plecoptera and Trichoptera (PT), ​both found in these streams. We compared streams sampled in oil palm plantations (n = 13) with natural forest areas (“reference” streams, n = 8), located in the eastern Amazon, Brazil. Our results showed that oil palm streams were more likely to be in close proximity to roads, had higher pH values, and higher amounts of fine substrate deposited in the channel than reference streams. Further, these environmental changes had important effects on the aquatic invertebrate assemblages, reducing the abundance and richness of PT. Nevertheless, the genera composition of the assemblages did not differ between reference and oil palm (PERMANOVA, pseudo-F (1,19) = 1.891; p = 0.111). We conclude that oil palm production has clear negative impacts on aquatic environments and PT assemblages in Amazonian streams. We recommend that oil palm producers invest more in planning of road networks to avoid the construction of roads near to the riparian vegetation. This planning can minimize impacts of oil palm production on aquatic systems in the Amazon.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allan, J. D. (2004). Landscape and riverscapes: the influence of land use on stream ecosystems. Annual Reviews of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics. doi:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.35.120202.110122.

  • Alves, S. A. O., Amaral, W. A. N., Horbach, M. A., Antiqueira, L. M. O. R., & Dias, I. F. S. (2013). Indicadores de Sustentabilidade da Agroindústria do dendê no estado do Pará. Energia na Agricultura, 28(4), 240–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, M. J. (2001). A new method for non-parametric multivariate analysis of variance. Austral Ecology. doi:10.1111/j.1442-9993.2001.01070.pp.x.

  • Anderson, J. M. (2008). Eco-friendly approaches to sustainable palm oil production. Journal of Oil Palm Research, Special Issue (October 2008), 127–142.

  • Armantrout, N. B. (2001). Aquatic habitat inventories using remote sensing. Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology, 1(1–2), 117–132.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bastos, T. X., Müller, A. A., Pacheco, N. A., Sampaio, S. M. N., Assad, E. D., & Marques, A. F. S. (2001). Zoneamento de riscos climáticos para a cultura do dendezeiro no estado do Pará. Revista Brasileira de Agrometeorologia, 9(3) (N° Especial: Zoneamento Agrícola), 564–570.

  • Bertaso, T. R. N., Spies, M. R., Kotzian, C. B., & Flores, M. L. T. (2015). Effects of forest conversion on the assemblages structure of aquatic insects in subtropical regions. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia. doi:10.1016/j.rbe.2015.02.005.

  • Bispo, P. C., Oliveira, L. G., Bini, L. M., & Sousa, K. G. (2006). Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera assemblages from riffles in mountain streams of Central Brazil: environmental factors influencing the distribution and abundance of immatures. Brazilian Journal of Biology, 66(2B), 611–622.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bleich, M. E., Mortati, A. F., André, T., & Piedade, M. T. F. (2014). Riparian deforestation affects the structural dynamics of headwater streams in Southern Brazilian Amazonia. Tropical Conservation Science, 7(4), 657–676.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brito, T. F., Phifer, C. C., Knowlton, J. L., Fiser, C. M., Becker, N. M., Barros, F. C., et al. (2017). Forest reserves and riparian corridors help maintain orchid bee (Hymenoptera: Euglossini) communities in oil palm plantations in Brazil. Apidologie. doi:10.1007/s13592-017-0500-z.

  • Correa, F. S., Juen, L., Rodrigues, L. C., Silva-Filho, H. F., & Santos-Costa, M. C. (2015). Effects of oil palm plantations on anuran diversity in the eastern Amazon. Animal Biology. doi:10.1163/15707563-00002481.

  • Cummins, K. W. (1964). Factors limiting the microdistribution of larvae of the caddisflies Pycnopsyche lepida (Hagen) and Pycnopsyche Guttifer (Walker) in a Michigan stream (Trichoptera: Limnephilidae). Ecological Monographs, 34(3), 271–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cunha, E. J., Montag, L. F. A., & Juen, L. (2015). Oil palm crops effects on environmental integrity of Amazonian streams and Heteropteran (Hemiptera) species diversity. Ecological Indicators. doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2014.12.024.

  • Davis ALV, Philips TK (2005) Effect of deforestation on a southwest Ghana dung beetle assemblage (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) at the periphery of Ankasa conservation area. Entomological Society of America.

  • Dewalt, R. E., & Olive, J. H. (1988). Effects of eroding glacial silt on the benthic insects of Silver Creek, Portage County, Ohio. Ohio Journal of Science, 88(4), 154–159.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernandes, J. D. F., de Souza, A. L., & Tanaka, M. O. (2014). Can the structure of a riparian forest remnant influence stream water quality? A tropical case study. Hydrobiologia. doi:10.1007/s10750-013-1732-1.

  • Ferreira, L. V., Venticinque, E., & Almeida, S. (2005). O desmatamento na Amazônia e a importância das áreas protegidas. Estudos Avançados, 19(53), 157–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freudmann, A., Mollik, P., Tschapka, M., & Schulze, C. H. (2015). Impacts of oil palm agriculture on phyllostomid bat assemblages. Biodiversity and Conservation. doi:10.1007/s10531-015-1021-6.

  • Gucinski, H., Furniss, M. J., Ziemer, R. R., & Brookes, M. H. (2001). Forest roads: a synthesis of scientific information. Portland: United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hamada, N., & Couceiro, S. R. M. (2003). An illustrated key to nymphs of Perlidae (Insecta: Plecoptera) genera in Central Amazonia, Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia. doi:10.1590/S0085-56262003000300020.

  • Henley, W. F., Patterson, M. A., Neves, R. J., & Lemly, A. D. (2000). Effects of sedimentation and turbidity on lotic food webs: a concise review for natural resource managers. Reviews in Fisheries Science. doi:10.1080/10641260091129198.

  • Holzenthal, R. W., & Pes, A. M. O. (2004). A new genus of long-horned caddisfly from the Amazon basin (Trichoptera: Leptoceridae: Grumichellini). Zootaxa, 621, 1–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holzenthal, R. W., Blahnik, R. J., Prather, A. L., & Kjer, K. M. (2007). Order Trichoptera Kirby, 1813 (Insecta), caddisflies. Zootaxa, 1668, 639–698.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hussain, Q. A., & Pandit, A. K. (2012). Macroinvertebrates in streams: a review of some ecological factors. International Journal of Fisheries and Aquaculture. doi:10.5897/IJFA11.045.

  • Jones, J. I., Murphy, J. F., Collins, A. L., Sear, D. A., Naden, P. S., & Armitage, P. D. (2011). The impact of fine sediment on macro-invertebrates. River Research and Applications. doi:10.1002/rra.1516.

  • Juen, L., Cunha, E. J., Carvalho, F. G., Ferreira, M. C., Begot, T. O., Andrade, A. L., Shimano, Y., Leão, H., Pompeu, P. S., & Montag, L. F. A. (2016). Effects of oil palm plantations on the habitat structure and biota of streams in Eastern Amazon. River Research and Applications. doi:10.1002/rra.3050.

  • Kaufmann, P. R., Levine, P., Robison, E. G., Seeliger, C., & Peck, D. V. (1999). Quantifying physical habitat in wadeable streams. EPA/620/R-99/003. Washington, D.C.: United States Environmental Protection Agency.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleine, P., Trivinho-Strixino, S., & Corbi, J. J. (2011). Relationship between banana plant cultivation and stream macroinvertebrate communities. Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia. doi:10.1590/S2179-975X2012005000012.

  • Kongsager, R., & Reenberg, A. (2012). Contemporary land-use transitions: the global oil palm expansion. Copenhagen: The Global Land Project International Project Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Legendre, P., & Legendre, L. (1998). Numerical ecology: developments in environmental modelling 20. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science B.V.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lorion, C. M., & Kennedy, B. P. (2009). Relationships between deforestation, riparian forest buffers and benthic macroinvertebrates in Neotropical headwater streams. Freshwater Biology. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2427.2008.02092.x.

  • Lucey, J. M., Tawatao, N., Senior, M. J. M., Khen, C. V., Benedick, S., Hamer, K. C., et al. (2014). Tropical forest fragments contribute to species richness in adjacent oil palm plantations. Biological Conservation. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2013.11.014.

  • Martins, R. T., Oliveira, V. C., & Salcedo, A. K. M. (2014). Uso de insetos aquáticos na avaliação de impactos antrópicos em ecossistemas aquáticos. In N. Hamada, J. L. Nessimian, & R. B. Querino (Eds.), Insetos Aquáticos na Amazônia Brasileira: Taxonomia, biologia e ecologia (pp. 117–128). Manaus: Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mercer, E. V., Mercer, T. G., & Sayok, A. K. (2013). Effects of forest conversions to oil palm plantations on freshwater macroinvertebrates: a case study from Sarawak, Malaysia. Journal of Land Use Science. doi:10.1080/1747423X.2013.786149.

  • Müller, A. A., Júnior, J. F., & Filho, P. C. (2006). A Embrapa Amazônia Oriental e o Agronegócio do Dendê no Pará. Belém: Embrapa Amazônia Oriental.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nepstad, D. C., Stickler, C. M., Soares-Filho, B., & Merry, F. (2008). Interactions among Amazon land use, forests and climate: prospects for a near-term forest tipping point. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. doi:10.1098/rstb.2007.0036.

  • Nogueira, D. S., Cabette, H. S. R., & Juen, L. (2011). Estrutura e composição da comunidade de Trichoptera (Insecta) de rios e áreas alagadas da bacia do rio Suiá-Miçú, Mato Grosso, Brasil. Iheringia Série Zoologia, 101(3), 173–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Obidzinski, K., Andriani, R., Komarudin, H., & Andrianto, A. (2012). Environmental and social impacts of oil palm plantations and their implications for biofuel production in Indonesia. Ecology and Society. doi:10.5751/ES-04775-170125.

  • Ohee, H. I. (2016). Freshwater fish diversity in an oil palm concession area in Mimika, Papua. Biodiversitas. doi:10.13057/biodiv/d170240.

  • Oksanen, J., Blanchet, F. G., Kindt, R., Legendre, P., Minchin, P. R., O'Hara, R. B., et al. (2015). Vegan: community ecology package. R package version 2.2–1. https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/vegan/index.html. Accessed 15 February 2016.

  • Peck, D. V., Herlihy, A. T., Hill, B. H., Hughes, R. M., Kaufmann, P. R., Klemm, D. J., et al. (2006). Environmental monitoring and assessment program-surface waters: western pilot study field operations manual for wadeable streams. Washington, D.C.: United States Environmental Protection Agency.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peel, M. C., Finlayson, B. L., & McMahon, T. A. (2007). Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. doi:10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007.

  • Pes, A. M. O., Hamada, N., & Nessimian, J. L. (2005). Chaves de identificação de larvas para famílias e gêneros de Trichoptera (Insecta) da Amazônia Central, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia. doi:10.1590/S0085-56262005000200002.

  • Pivello, V. R. (2011). The use of fire in the Cerrado and Amazonian rainforests of Brazil: past and present. Fire Ecology. doi:10.4996/fireecology.0701024.

  • Poff, N. L., & Ward, J. V. (1990). Physical habitat template of lotic systems: recovery in the context of historical pattern of spatiotemporal heterogeneity. Environmental Management, 14(5), 629–645.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prata, S. S., Miranda, I. S., Alves, S. A. O., Farias, F. C., & Jardim, F. C. S. (2010). Floristic gradient of the northeast Paraense secondary forests. Acta Amazonica, 40(3), 523–534.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team. (2014). R: a language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna: R Foundation for Statistical Computing http://www.R-project.org. Accessed 15 February 2016.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richards, C., & Bacon, K. L. (1994). Influence of fine sediment on macroinvertebrate colonization of surface and hyporheic stream substrates. Great Basin Naturalist, 54(2), 106–113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rivero, S., Almeida, O., Ávila, S., & Oliveira, W. (2009). Pecuária e desmatamento: Uma análise das principais causas diretas do desmatamento na Amazônia. Nova Economia, 19(1), 41–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santos, S. C. C., Silva, N. M., Gorayeb, A. C. C., & Pereira, L. (2010). Condições Ambientais da fonte hídrica do município de Bragança Amazônia Oriental - Brasil. Caminhos de Geografia, 11(36), 100–112.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shimano, Y., & Juen, L. (2016). How oil palm cultivation is affecting mayfly assemblages in Amazon streams. Annales de Limnologie - International Journal of Limnology. doi:10.1051/limn/2016004.

  • da Silva, J. M. L., Rodrigues, T. E., Bastos, T. X., Sampaio, S. M. N., & da Silva, B. N. R. (2003). Macrozoneamento Pedoclimático para a Cultura do Dendezeiro no estado do Pará. Belém: Embrapa Amazônia Oriental.

    Google Scholar 

  • Silva, J. M. C., Rylands, A. B., & Fonseca, G. A. B. (2005). O destino das áreas de endemismo da Amazônia. Megadiversidade, 1(1), 124–131.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sokal, R. R., & Rohlf, F. J. (1994). Biometry: the principles and practice of statistics in biological research. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Suriano, M. T., & Fonseca-Gessner, A. A. (2013). Structure of benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages on a gradient of environmental integrity in Neotropical streams. Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia. doi:10.1590/S2179-975X2013000400007.

  • Tan, K. T., Lee, K. T., Mohamed, A. R., & Bhatia, S. (2009). Palm oil: addressing issues and towards sustainable development. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2007.10.001.

  • Veloso, H. P., Rangel-Filho, A. L. R., & Lima, J. C. A. (1991). Classificação da vegetação brasileira adaptada a um sistema universal. Rio de Janeiro: IBGE, Departamento de Recursos Naturais e Estudos Ambientais.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vieira, I. C. G., Toledo, P. M., Silva, J. M. C., & Higuchi, H. (2008). Deforestation and threats to the biodiversity of Amazonia. Brazilian Journal of Biology, 68(4), 949–956.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wiggins, G. B. (1996). Larvae of the North American caddisfly genera (Trichoptera). Toronto: University of Toronto Press Incorporated.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zar, J. H. (2010). Biostatistical analysis. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was developed with the support of Conservation International do Brazil, Agropalma Group and USAID/PEER. The Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for granting research productivity fellowships to LJ (307597/2016-4), as well as financial support PIBIC provided CKSP, and to the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (Capes) for granting a PhD stipend to APJF and LBC. This manuscript was funded by the projects “Influência dos diferentes tipos de uso do solo sobre a biodiversidade na Amazônia Oriental” (CNPq no. 449314/2014-2), “Zoneamento bioenergético do plantio de palma e os impactos a biodiversidade no Estado do Pará” (FAPESPA/CNPq), and “Biodiversity and Socio-Economic Impacts of Oil Palm Bioenergy Development in the Brazilian Amazon” (USAID/PEER). Dra. Ana Maria Oliveira Pes and Dra. Neusa Hamada for the assistance with the identification of specimens. Msc. Erlane José Cunha by area maps and for his critique of the manuscript. We also thank the UFPA Pró-Reitoria de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação ao (PROPESP) and the Fundação de Amparo e Desenvolvimento da Pesquisa (FADESP) (Edital 01/2015 PROPESP/FADESP-UFPA) for financing the revision of the English grammar of the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Universidade Federal do Pará, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Rua Augusto Correia 1, Belém, Pará, 66075-110, Brazil

    Carina Kaory Sasahara de Paiva

  2. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Embrapa Amazônia Oriental, Universidade Federal do Pará, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Rua Augusto Correia 1, Belém, Pará, 66075-110, Brazil

    Ana Paula Justino de Faria

  3. Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservação (LABECO), Universidade Federal do Pará, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Rua Augusto Correia 1, Belém, Pará, 66075-110, Brazil

    Lenize Batista Calvão & Leandro Juen

Authors
  1. Carina Kaory Sasahara de Paiva
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ana Paula Justino de Faria
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Lenize Batista Calvão
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Leandro Juen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carina Kaory Sasahara de Paiva.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

de Paiva, C.K.S., de Faria, A.P.J., Calvão, L.B. et al. Effect of oil palm on the Plecoptera and Trichoptera (Insecta) assemblages in streams of eastern Amazon. Environ Monit Assess 189, 393 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-6116-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-6116-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation