A principal ecological role proposed for the hyporheic zone is as a refugium that promotes benthic invertebrate survival during adverse conditions in the surface stream. Whilst a growing body of work has examined use of this hyporheic refugium during hydrological extremes (spates, streambed drying), little research has considered variation in refugium use over prolonged periods including contrasting conditions of surface flow. In this thesis, benthic invertebrate use of the hyporheic refugium is considered at monthly intervals over a five-month period of variable surface flow, at nine sites in two groundwater-dominated streams, the River Lathkill (Derbyshire) and the River Glen (Lincolnshire). Conditions identified as potential triggers of refugium use included a flow recession and a high-magnitude spate on the Lathkill, and small spates and a decline in flow preceding localised streambed drying on the Glen. During flow recession, reductions in submerged habitat availability and concurrent increases in benthic population densities were dependent on channel morphology. An unusual paired benthic-hyporheic sampling strategy allowed the type of refugium use (active migration, passive inhabitation) to be inferred from changes in hyporheic abundance and the hyporheic proportion of the total population. Using this approach, evidence of active migrations into the hyporheic zone use was restricted to two instances: firstly, Gammarus pulex (Amphipoda: Crustacea) migrated in response to habitat contraction and increased benthic population densities; secondly, migrations of Simuliidae (Diptera) were associated with low-magnitude spates. Refugium use was site-specific, with refugial potential being highest at sites with downwelling water and coarse sediments. A conceptual model describing this spatial variability in the refugial capacity of the hyporheic zone is developed for low flow conditions. In some cases, hyporheic refugium use was apparently prevented by disturbance-related factors (rapid onset, high magnitude) regardless of the refugial potential of the sediments. The extension of the hyporheic zone's refugial role to include low flows highlights the need to explicitly protect the integrity of hydrologic exchange in river rehabilitation schemes. However, the limited capacity of the hyporheic refugium emphasizes the additional importance of maintaining habitat heterogeneity including multiple instream refugia.

Orientador: Célio Fernando Baptista Haddad / Resumo: Nesta tese exploramos a diversificação de espécies de anuros da Tribo Lophyohylini distribuídas na Mata Atlântica (MA) e Caatinga, biomas do Brasil. Para tanto, utilizamos dados genômicos e métodos de filogeografia estatística para analisá-los, uma abordagem robusta e até então ainda escassa na filogeografia dos organismos sul-americanos. Através do sequenciamento Sanger amostramos trechos de DNA mitocondrial (mtDNA) e através do sequenciamento de alto rendimento obtivemos polimorfismos de nucleotídeo único (SNPs) do DNA nuclear (nDNA). No primeiro capítulo, reunimos 82 amostras da espécie Aparasphenodon brunoi que apresenta distribuição nas terras baixas e costeiras do bioma MA, sendo considerada ideal para investigar o papel da instabilidade climática do Pleistoceno em seu processo de diversificação. Ainda no primeiro capítulo, para avaliar a influência do comportamento filopátrico, associado às diferenças no modo reprodutivo, na dispersão e consequentemente, no fluxo gênico entre populações, reunimos 72 amostras de A. arapapa e A. aff. brunoi. Estas tratam-se de espécies simpátricas, de distribuição mais restrita e com modos reprodutivos contrastantes o que as tornam ideais para esse tipo de comparação. De acordo com a inferência baseada em modelos demográficos, por volta do último máximo glacial (UMG) a população norte de A. brunoi se manteve estável enquanto que a do sul experimentou um gargalo seguido de expansão recente. Além disso, a população norte de A. brunoi apres... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: In this dissertation we explored the diversification of anuran species of the Lophyohylini Tribe distributed in the Atlantic Forest (AF) and Caatinga biomes of Brazil. To do so, we used genomic data and methods of statistical phylogeography to analyze them, a robust and until then still scarce approach in the phylogeography of South American organisms. Through the Sanger sequencing we sampled mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and through high-throughput sequencing we obtained single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from nuclear DNA (nDNA). In the first chapter, we collected 82 samples of the species Aparasphenodon brunoi that is distributed in the low and coastal lands of the AF biome, being considered ideal to investigate the role of Pleistocene climatic instability in its diversification process. In the first chapter, to evaluate the influence of philopatric behavior, associated with differences in reproductive mode, dispersion and consequent gene flow among populations, we also collected 72 samples of A. arapapa and A. aff. brunoi species. These are sympatric species with a narrower distribution and with contrasting reproductive modes, making them ideal for this type of comparison. According to the inference based on demographic models, around the last glacial maximum (LGM) the northern population of A. brunoi remained stable while the southern one experienced a bottleneck followed by recent expansion. In addition, the northern population of A. brunoi exhibits greater nuclear diver... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor