Small is better: comparing the efficiency of two Surber samplers' sizes for biomonitoring programs in tropical headwater streams in the Amazon region.

This study aimed to compare the efficiency of two different sizes of the Surber sampler to assess benthic macroinvertebrates in headwater streams in two Amazonian regions. Two Surber samplers of different sizes were used, one measuring 20 × 20 cm and the other 30 × 30 cm, both with a 0.25-mm net.

Species identity and diversity effects on invasion resistance of tropical freshwater plant communities.

Biotic resistance mediated by native plant diversity has long been hypothesized to reduce the success of invading plant species in terrestrial systems in temperate regions. However, still little is known about the mechanisms driving invasion patterns in other biomes or latitudes. We help to fill this gap by investigating how native plant community presence and diversity, and the presence of native phylogenetically closely related species to an invader, would affect invader Hydrilla verticillata establishment success in tropical freshwater submerged plant communities.

Interactive effects of climate change and biodiversity loss on ecosystem functioning.

Climate change and biodiversity loss are expected to simultaneously affect ecosystems, however research on how each driver mediates the effect of the other has been limited in scope. The multiple stressor framework emphasizes non-additive effects, but biodiversity may also buffer the effects of climate change, and climate change may alter which mechanisms underlie biodiversity-function relationships. Here, we performed an experiment using tank bromeliad ecosystems to test the various ways that rainfall changes and litter diversity may jointly determine ecological processes.