Inúmeros estudos experimentais contribuíram para o desenvolvimento da teoria das redes tróficas lacustres, revelando o importante papel dos peixes, ignorados no campo da limnologia durante décadas. A maioria dos estudos foi desenvolvida na Europa e Estados Unidos e a generalidade da teoria ainda não foi amplamente testada em ambientes subtropicais e tropicais. Apesar das controversas, as hipóteses de cascata trófica e de bottom-up : top-down são os modelos conceituais mais utilizados. Neste contexto, este trabalho baseia-se na hipótese de que as relações tróficas em cascata, relacionadas aos efeitos bottom-up e top-down, podem ser encontradas no Reservatório de Itaipu, inserido em região subtropical. Com base em dados disponibilizados pela Itaipu Binacional, para o período de 1999 a 2004. Análises de Covariância (ANCOVAs) foram realizadas para determinar as relações das variáveis dependentes clorofila-a, cianobactéria e transparência da água sobre as demais variáveis limnológicas. Análises de correlações também foram realizadas para verificar a existência de algum tipo de efeito na cascata trófica. Os resultados obtidos caracterizam o reservatório como mesotrófico, com situações de oligotrofia na zona lacustre. Efeito negativo foi verificado para transparência da água em relação aos sólidos suspensos totais e turbidez. A clorofila apresentou relação positiva com nitrogênio total, mas não para fósforo total. Os peixes onívoros, detritívoros e insetívoros exerceram efeito negativo (controle) na densidade das cianobactérias e na concentração de clorofila. A estimativa da produção de peixes no reservatório foi melhor relacionada com as cianobactérias do reservatório, gerando um modelo estatístico através desta análise. Os efeitos top-down e bottom-up foram confirmados, sendo que as forças top-down foram encontradas apenas no primeiro nível trófico e as demais apresentaram efeito bottom-up. / Many experimental studies contributed for the development of the theory of the lacustrine food web, disclosing the important paper of the fish, for decades ignored by the limnology. These studies, in its majority, had been developed in Europe and North America and the generality of the hypotheses supporting the theory was not tested yet in subtropical and tropical environments. Although controversial, the trophic cascade and bottom-up: top-down hypotheses are the two main conceptual models presently used. This work is based on the hypothesis of the trophic cascade relations, particularly related to bottom-up and top-down effect can be detected in Itaipu Reservoir, a subtropical system. Using the made data available by Itaipu Binacional, from 1999 to 2004. Analyses of Covariance (ANCOVAs) were accomplished to determine the relationships of the dependent variable on the chlorophyll-a, cyanobacterias and transparency of the water (independent variables) and between the other limnologycal variables. Analyses of correlations were also accomplished to verify the existence of some effect type in the trophic cascade. The results show that the reservoir presented mesotrophic, and oligotrophic and characteristics in the lacustrine area. A negative effect was verified between the water transparency in relation to suspended solids and turbid. The chlorophyll presented positive relationship with total nitrogen, but didn\'t present any relationship with the total phosphorus. The omnivorous, and detritivorous and insectivorous fishes presented a negative effect (control) in the cyanobacteria concentrations and chlorophyll. The estimate of the production of fish in the reservoir was better related with the concentrations of cyanobacterias of the reservoir, generating a statistical model through this analysis. The top-down and bottom-up effect had been confirmed, the forces top-down had been found only in the first trophic level, and the others presented bottom-up effect.

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A good ecological status of streams and rivers is crucial for maintaining ecological functionality of running waters. Worldwide eutrophication threatens to change structure and function of freshwater ecosystems (Dodds et al., 2008). To reduce the symptoms of eutrophication in streams and rivers an additional approach, besides the reduction of external nutrient inputs from catchment areas, is needed. Therefore the goal has been set to transfer the approach of biomanipulation, which is widely accepted as tool in water quality management in lakes and reservoirs, to streams. The objective of this study was accordingly to analyse and evaluate some crucial preconditions for top-down control of stream food webs. For that purpose the present thesis examined effects of fish predation (stone loach and gudgeon) on grazer-periphyton interaction in small streams by assessing predator avoidance by benthic grazers, effects of benthic grazers on periphyton community composition during fish presence/absence and the possibility of top-down control on algal biomass by benthivorous fish.

Les herbivores consomment les tissus végétaux et affectent la survie et la croissance des végétaux. Les ennemis naturels des herbivores peuvent réguler leurs populations et indirectement diminuer les dommages sur la végétation. Les relations entre plantes, herbivores et prédateurs sont liées aux caractéristiques intrinsèques des espèces végétales mais aussi influencées par la communauté végétale environnante. L'hypothèse de résistance par association stipule qu'une communauté végétale diversifiée entraîne une diminution des dégâts sur une plante cible par dilution, répulsion des herbivores et/ou favorisation des ennemis naturels. Inversement, les herbivores peuvent se concentrer sur la plante-cible dans une communauté végétale diversifiée (susceptibilité par association). L'objectif de cette thèse est d'évaluer 1) l'influence de la composition de la communauté végétale sur les herbivores et leurs dommages sur une plante-cible, 2) l'impact de la régulation des herbivores par les prédateurs et 3) les interactions entre herbivores, communauté végétale et prédateurs, et les conséquences pour les intensités d'herbivorie sur la plante-cible. Nous nous sommes focalisés sur les dommages causés par les insectes herbivores sur des plantules d'essences forestières feuillues (Betula pendula, Quercus robur et Q. ilex). La variété importante de communautés végétales, au niveau inter (essences dominantes) et intraparcellaire (présence, structure et composition), nous a permis de tester les effets du voisinage végétal sur les insectes herbivores et leurs dommages sur les plantules cibles. Les oiseaux insectivores sont les principaux prédateurs d'insectes et nous avons cherché à estimer les effets de leur exclusion sur les insectes et les conséquences pour les plantules, et ceci le long des gradients de composition du voisinage végétal. Enfin, le degré de spécialisation (spécialiste/généraliste) et le mode de vie (exo/endophyte) ont été caractérisés car ils conditionnent les réponses des insectes herbivores à la végétation voisine ainsi que la prédation avienne. Le voisinage végétal des plantules-cibles modifie la charge en herbivores et les dommages engendrés. Ces réponses sont liées à la spécialisation de l'insecte herbivore : la colonisation des plantules par les espèces spécialistes (mineuses de feuilles) est négativement affectée par la structure de la végétation locale (présence, recouvrement arbustif). Les dommages d'insectes généralistes augmentent avec la richesse spécifique des peuplements et dans les parcelles dominées par des espèces conspécifiques. Les abondances des insectes externes et leurs dommages sont régulés par les oiseaux insectivores mais cet effet indirect dépend de l'espèce de plantule-cible et de la composition de la communauté végétale. Les effets de cascade trophique sont les plus intenses dans les parcelles de pin maritime où les plantules constituent une ressource nouvelle pour les niveaux trophiques supérieurs. Plus localement, le voisinage végétal modifie la sensibilité des arthropodes à la prédation: les oiseaux insectivores bénéficient aux plantules lorsque les proies sont plus accessibles (végétation environnante supprimée).Pour conclure, une des principales richesses de ces résultats vient de la mise en évidence d'interactions très fortes existant entre les effets des oiseaux insectivores et la végétation environnante. Les effets indirects des prédateurs et directs de la végétation environnante sont très liés au degré de spécialisation des insectes phytophages et à leur mode de vie. / Herbivory is thought to depend on intrinsic plant resistance traits and negatively affect survival and growth of plants. Predators can depress herbivore populations and thereby indirectly limit the consumption of primary producers. The surrounding vegetation is also expected to modify the interactions between a focal plant, its herbivores and their natural enemies. The surrounding vegetation may disrupt the colonisation and the consumption of a focal plant by insect herbivores, providing associational resistance. Increasing diversity of neighbouring vegetation can decrease resource availability or enhance herbivores control by predators. By contrast, associational susceptibility may occur with higher levels of herbivory in a focal plant in more diverse plant communities. We tested 1) the effect of the neighbouring vegetation on the levels of herbivory on seedlings, 2) the indirect impact of predators on herbivores and subsequent herbivory, and 3) the interactions between surrounding vegetation, focal plants, herbivores and predators. We examined the damage caused by insect herbivores on three native broadleaved species. We then compared the importance of taxonomic similarity between seedlings and canopy tree species and the structure and composition of surrounding vegetation at both large- and small-scales. Birds are vertebrate predators likely to limit damage to plants and facilitate plant growth by consuming herbivorous insects. We estimated their effects by excluding them from focal plants, and compared their interactive effects with vegetation diversity or removal. The effects of surrounding vegetation and avian predation were also disentangled on concealed- vs. external-feeding guilds (predation sensitivity) and specialist- vs. generalist-insects.Surrounding vegetation of focal seedlings influences the abundance of insect herbivores and damage. Specialist insects (leaf miners) are affected by the understorey vegetation close to oak seedlings, decreasing with its presence or structural diversity. The damage caused by generalist insects depend on the large-scale composition of plant communities, and increase with tree species richness and cover or on conspecific forest habitats. Exclusion of insectivorous birds affects insect herbivory in a species-specific manner, and also greatly varies with forest habitats and presence of vegetation around focal plants. The indirect effect of bird predation on leaf damage is observed on seedlings beneath noncongeneric canopy trees. The removal of local surrounding vegetation affects the top-down effect of insectivorous birds on insect herbivores, according to their sensitivity to predation and the accessibility of preys. To conclude, our studies provide experimental evidences of interactive effects between bird predation and neighbouring vegetation on insect herbivores and levels of herbivory. These indirect effects are strongly related to the specialisation of herbivores and to their sensitivity to bird predation.

A good ecological status of streams and rivers is crucial for maintaining ecological functionality of running waters. Worldwide eutrophication threatens to change structure and function of freshwater ecosystems (Dodds et al., 2008). To reduce the symptoms of eutrophication in streams and rivers an additional approach, besides the reduction of external nutrient inputs from catchment areas, is needed. Therefore the goal has been set to transfer the approach of biomanipulation, which is widely accepted as tool in water quality management in lakes and reservoirs, to streams. The objective of this study was accordingly to analyse and evaluate some crucial preconditions for top-down control of stream food webs. For that purpose the present thesis examined effects of fish predation (stone loach and gudgeon) on grazer-periphyton interaction in small streams by assessing predator avoidance by benthic grazers, effects of benthic grazers on periphyton community composition during fish presence/absence and the possibility of top-down control on algal biomass by benthivorous fish.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:33:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MariaMLC.pdf: 1068178 bytes, checksum: 2211aebe12426e9f45d52a507df28c0f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-05-29 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / The food chain theory predict that presence of omnivory prevent the trophic cascade and could be a strong stabilizing factor over resource and consumer community dynamics, and that the nutrient enrichment destabilize populations dynamics. Most of the freshwater tropical reservoirs are eutrophic, and strategies that seek improve the water quality through the control of phytoplankton biomass and nutrient input, become essential for the improvement and preservation of water quality. The aim of this study was test the zooplanktivory (when larvae) and omnivory (when young and adult) effects of Nile Tilapia over the structure and dynamics of plankton communities, in addition or absence of nutrients enrichment. For this, one field experiment was performed with a factorial design 2x3 resulting in six treatments: control, without fish and nutrient (C); with omnivorous fish (O); with zooplanktivorous fish (Z); without fish and with enrichment of nutrients (NP); with omnivorous fish and nutrients (ONP); and, with zooplanktivorous fish and nutrients (ZNP). The two planktivory types reduced the zooplankton biomass and increased the phytoplankton biomass, but the omnivory of filter-feeding fish attenuated the trophic cascade magnitude. The fertilization by nutrients increases the nutrient concentrations in water and the phytoplankton biomass, but the effect on zooplankton is dependent of the trophic structure. In a general way, the effects of the fish and nutrient addition were addictive, but significant interactions among those factors were observed in the answer of some zooplankton groups. The effects of omnivorous fish over the temporal variability of phytoplankton and zooplankton biomass were very variable, the increase or reduce in variability of the plankton depending of the level of nutrients and of the analyzed variable. With base in this study, we conclude that the planktivory type exercised by the fish and the concentrations of nutrients in the water affects the force of pelagic trophic cascades and probably the success of biomanipulation programs for the handling of water quality in lakes and tropical reservoirs / A teoria de cadeias alimentares prev? que a presen?a de onivoria pode atenuar os efeitos de cascata tr?fica e estabilizar as popula??es de aut?trofos e herb?voros, as quais s?o desestabilizadas pela fertiliza??o por nutrientes. Tendo em vista que muitos lagos e reservat?rios tropicais encontram-se eutrofizados, estrat?gias que visem o controle do aporte de nutrientes e a redu??o da biomassa fitoplanct?nica s?o essenciais para a melhoria da qualidade da ?gua desses ambientes. O presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar o efeito da zooplanctivoria e onivoria por uma mesma esp?cie de peixe (Til?pia do Nilo), que quando larva ? zooplanct?vora e quando jovem e adulta torna-se filtradora on?vora, sobre a estrutura e din?mica das comunidades planct?nicas, na presen?a e aus?ncia de enriquecimento por nutrientes. Para tanto, foi realizado um experimento com desenho fatorial 2 x 3, resultando em 6 tratamentos: sem adi??o de peixes ou nutrientes (C); com adi??o de peixes zooplanct?voros (Z); com adi??o de peixes on?voros (O); com adi??o de nutrientes (NP); com adi??o de peixes zooplanct?voros e nutrientes (ZNP); e com adi??o de peixes on?voros e nutrientes (ONP). Os resultados mostram que os dois tipos de planct?voros reduziram a biomassa zooplanct?nica e aumentaram a biomassa fitoplanct?nica, mas que a onivoria dos peixes filtradores atenuou a magnitude das cascatas tr?ficas. Os resultados tamb?m mostram que a fertiliza??o por nutrientes aumenta as concentra??es de nutrientes na ?gua e a biomassa fitoplanct?nica, mas que o efeito sobre o zoopl?ncton depende da estrutura tr?fica. De um modo geral, os efeitos da adi??o de peixes e nutrientes foram aditivos, mas intera??es significativas entre esses fatores foram observadas na resposta de alguns grupos zooplanct?nicos. Os efeitos dos peixes on?voros sobre a variabilidade temporal da biomassa do fitopl?ncton e do zoopl?ncton foram muito vari?veis, aumentando ou reduzindo a variabilidade do pl?ncton dependendo do n?vel de nutrientes e da vari?vel analisada. ? poss?vel concluir, com base neste estudo, que o tipo de planctivoria exercido pelos peixes e as concentra??es de nutrientes na ?gua afetam a for?a das cascatas tr?ficas pel?gicas e provavelmente o sucesso dos programas de biomanipula??o para o manejo da qualidade da ?gua de lagos e reservat?rios tropicais