@Article{BraunGonçPireKotz:2019:ElSoBr,
author = "Braun, Bruno Marmitt and Gon{\c{c}}alves, Alberto Senra and
Pires, Mateus Marques and Kotzian, Carla Bender",
affiliation = "{Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM)} and {Instituto
Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE)} and {Universidade
Unisinos} and {Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM)}",
title = "Potential distribution of riffle beetles (Coleoptera: Elmidae) in
southern Brazi",
journal = "Austral Entomology",
year = "2019",
volume = "58",
number = "3",
pages = "646--656",
month = "Aug.",
keywords = "aquatic insects, Macrelmis, Neotropical Region, spatial
distribution, species distribution models.",
abstract = "The diversity and distribution of freshwater insects in South
America is poorly known. Riffle beetles (Elmidae) are aquatic
Coleoptera that are considered important indicators of
environmental integrity. In Brazil, the country with the largest
area and highest richness of Elmidae in the Neotropics, the
diversity of the family remains incipient. The southern region of
Brazil (state of Rio Grande do Sul) reportedly has a higher
richness of stream insects than other regions. In this study, we
used species distribution models (SDMs) to estimate the potential
distribution of riffle beetle taxa in southern Brazil to identify
areas with elevated diversity and suggest priority areas for
further investigation towards conservation of Elmidae. As most
records of Elmidae were represented by larvae, we predicted the
potential distribution firstly of genera and secondly of species
within the genus Macrelmis because they were available as adults
and allowed identification to species level. These were modelled
in relation to environmental factors such as climate, topography,
hydrography and land cover. Our results suggested that montane
regions and basins located within well-preserved forested regions
indicated the highest potential richness of Elmidae. In addition,
the areas with higher predicted suitability for the occurrence of
genera overlapped with the suitable areas for species of
Macrelmis. This result suggests the existence of an elevated
ecological similarity among most of the modelled taxa, and that
projections for certain Elmidae genera can be useful proxies for
estimations of the potential distribution of species in the
region. The most important environmental factors related to the
predicted distribution of Elmidae taxa were associated with
climate (precipitation), landscape (forest cover) and topography.
Unsurprisingly, freshwater ecoregions were also suggested as
important drivers of Elmidae distribution. Our results indicate
that conservation efforts for aquatic insects such as riffle
beetles in Brazil should focus on watersheds located in montane
and forested regions.",
doi = "10.1111/aen.1238",
url = "http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/aen.1238",
issn = "2052-174X",
language = "en",
targetfile = "Braun_et_al-2019-Austral_Entomology.pdf",
urlaccessdate = "28 mar. 2024"
}