HR: 1330h
AN: NB33P-11    [Abstracts]
TI: A Temporal Comparison of the Macroinvertebtate Community Structure of the Arima River, Trinidad, West Indies
AU: * Maharaj, S S
EM: excelsa777@yahoo.co.uk
AF: Department of Life Sciences, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine. Trinidad, West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago
AU: Alkins-Koo, M
EM: MAlkins-Koo@fans.uwi.tt
AF: Department of Life Sciences, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine. Trinidad, West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago
AB: In 1969 H.B.N. Hynes conducted a field study of invertebrates of the Arima River, Trinidad, West Indies. The 1971 paper that resulted was a landmark in developing concepts for longitudinal zonation in tropical streams. Thirty-four years later in 2003, 4 of Hynes' sample sites were re-sampled in an attempt to assess the impact of land use change over this period and current human activities on stream macroinvertebrate community structure. Hynes' 1969 data and those for 2003 were compared at a family level using MDS ordination and cluster analysis (PRIMER version 5). No significant dissimilarities were noted between sites for the respective years. This may be attributed to the fact that land use change within the Arima catchment has not been extensive enough to cause a dramatic shift in stream community composition. However, subtle changes in community structure may not be ascertained as discrimination at a family level may mask differences that would be clearer at a generic or species level.
DE: 1871 Surface water quality
SC: North American Benthological Society [NB]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly