Guild structure and species richness in an Anisoptera (Odonata) larval communnity

Abstract

Odonata larvae are important components of the littoral systems in lakes. They are considered food generalists and interact among themselves by a complex of competition und predation of the early upon the late breeders. Here, we determine the guild structure for odonates sarnpled in Lagoa Carioca. Parque Estadual do Rio Doce (PERD), MG, based on microhabitat use. We only found two species of the macrophyte-dweller guild to seven bottom-dweller species. Using a jackknife procedure, we found that the species richness of the areas with macrophytes were higher than the areas where the macrophytes are absent.