Aquatic macroinvertebrates of the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve

CHRISTOPHER B. ANDERSON; AMY T. TRICE

ONG OSARA

Lugar: Mocksville; Año: 2006 p. 55

Invertebrates are organisms without a spine. In freshwater ecosystems, they include worms, insects, mussels, snails, leeches and crustaceans. In some cases, aquatic invertebrates only live part of their life in the water. For aquatic insects it is most typical that the juvenile stage is found underwater, while adults emerge to fly and reproduce. In the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve, the importance and diversity of aquatic invertebrates is only beginning to be studied and appreciated. To date, more than 50 taxa have been identified. The most diverse are the insects, with more than 70% of the specimens described so far. These small, but abundant, creatures carry out many roles aquatic food webs, ranging from grazers of algae to consumers of dead organic matter (detritivores) to predators. While they are small in size, invertebrates are one of the most diverse and important communities found in aquatic ecosystems, particularly subantarctic streams where fish and other larger fauna are less abundant or completely absent. So, we invite you to learn about this amazing biodiversity that is hidden underwater. At the same time, we hope these “bugs” can help us all explore the marvelous freshwater ecosystems of the Cape Horn archipelago.