title: Effects of crevice size on the establishment of macroalgae in subtropical streams.
abstract: Considering that in previous studies, the surface roughness (micrometric dimension) showed a weak effect on the colonization of stream macroalgae, we investigated the effects of different crevice sizes (milimetric dimension, a scale slightly higher than previous investigations) on the macroalgal abundance in three streams exposed to full sunlight in southern Brazil. We used smooth sterile glass plates with different shapes: P - plane surface without crevices; S - sinuous surface (depth of crevices with 0.159 mm ± 0.03); N - non-unifom surface (0.498 mm ± 0.09); C - surfaces with convex structures (1.190 mm ± 0.12); and three additional surface types with different patterns of heterogeneity with combinations of glass pieces: P + S (H1); P + S + N (H2) and P + S + N + C (H3). The plates were placed into the streams and after 105 days the percent cover of macroalgal community was measured. No significant differences among treatments were recorded. However, we observed a trend of macroalgae occurs within the crevices in all treatments and this suggests that, for stream macroalgae, the crevice sizes used in this study was still not enough to provide an expressive algal growth, even in the treatment with bigger crevices.
authors: Laboratory of Aquatic Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, São Paulo State University - UNESP. Av. Dom Antônio, Assis, SP, Brazil.
authors: A F
authors: AF
authors: Tonetto
authors: Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-Americana - UNILA, Foz do Iguaçu, PR, Brazil.
authors: C K
authors: CK
authors: Peres
authors: Laboratory of Aquatic Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, São Paulo State University - UNESP. Av. Dom Antônio, Assis, SP, Brazil.
authors: M A
authors: MA
authors: Khnayfes
authors: Laboratory of Aquatic Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, São Paulo State University - UNESP. Av. Dom Antônio, Assis, SP, Brazil.
authors: C C Z
authors: CC
authors: Branco
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D017753:Ecosystem; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D011156:Population Density; D045483:Rivers; D012624:Seaweed / Q000502:physiology*; D014329:Tropical Climate