RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WATER QUALITY AND AMPHIBIANS IN URBAN RIVERS

JOFRÉ, MARIANA; CALDERÓN, MIRIAM R; ALMEIDA CÉSAR

Congreso; XXXV Reunión Científica Anual - Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo; 2017

Water contamination has increased in recent years. Species losses are due primarily to habitat destruction and alteration for urban purposes. Many amphibian species are exhibiting population declines and the contaminant concentrations in those areas have a role in these declines. Water quality needs for amphibians are still undetermined. The objectives of this study were: (i) determine water quality parameters and amphibian community metrics in urban rivers and (ii) apply multivariate analysis in order to understand the interrelationships between amphibian community metrics and water quality parameters (Principal Component Analysis) and, to group the rivers according to its similarities (Cluster Analysis). The study focused on 4 rivers with similar geomorphological and hydrological features: Chorrillos, Potrero, Trapiche and Volcan rivers. The amphibian surveys were performed during the rainy season between 2009 and 2013. The physical-chemical samples were taken at the same time. Results showed a significant difference between community metrics among rivers (α=0.05). Among all physical-chemical parameters analyzed, phosphate was the most strongly correlated with species richness (r=-0.69; p