Aquatic Insects and Benthic Diatoms: A History of Biotic Relationships in Freshwater Ecosystems
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MDPI
Materia
Coevolution Epizoosis Grazing Periphyton Scrapers
Date
2020Referencia bibliográfica
Fenoglio S, Tierno de Figueroa JM, Doretto A, Falasco E, Bona F. Aquatic Insects and Benthic Diatoms: A History of Biotic Relationships in Freshwater Ecosystems. Water. 2020; 12(10):2934. [https://doi.org/10.3390/w12102934]
Sponsorship
FESR, Interreg Alcotra 2014-2020, EcO Project of the Piter Terres MonvisoAbstract
The most important environmental characteristic in streams is flow. Due to the force of
water current, most ecological processes and taxonomic richness in streams mainly occur in the
riverbed. Benthic algae (mainly diatoms) and benthic macroinvertebrates (mainly aquatic insects)
are among the most important groups in running water biodiversity, but relatively few studies have
investigated their complex relationships. Here, we review the multifaceted interactions between
these two important groups of lotic organisms. As the consumption of benthic algae, especially
diatoms, was one of the earliest and most common trophic habits among aquatic insects, they then
had to adapt to the particular habitat occupied by the algae. The environmental needs of diatoms
have morphologically and behaviorally shaped their scrapers, leading to impressive evolutionary
convergences between even very distant groups. Other less evident interactions are represented by
the importance of insects, both in preimaginal and adult stages, in diatom dispersion. In addition,
the top-down control of diatoms by their grazers contributes to their spatial organization and
functional composition within the periphyton. Indeed, relationships between aquatic insects and
diatoms are an important topic of study, scarcely investigated, the onset of which, hundreds of
millions of years ago, has profoundly influenced the evolution of stream biological communities.