Data about the aquatic insects drift in Xingu River

The drift movement consists of the displacement of the organisms inside the water which allows its locomotion. This movement will result in a variation of the communities of organisms along the river, generating patterns. Based on this, we tested the hypotheses a) the movement of organisms along an upstream-downstream gradient will result in a pattern of nesteness distribution of organisms in aquatic insect communities; b) there will be an increase in the number of individuals and genera as we approach the most downstream point. The present study was carried out in seven sampling points distributed along the Xingu River. The sampling occurred at night in the central area of the river. The distribution of genera along the river remained constant. A nesteness distribution of the communities in the upstream-downstream gradient was not observed. Based on the results it is possible to visualize that the dispersion movement generates a nestedness of the genera downstream of the river, occurring a confluence for the last sampling point. The organisms are carried by the flow of the water stream and are influenced by the characteristics of the water body adapting to the type of environment in which they are located.