Establishing habitat-specific indicator species in Tierra del Fuego with freshwater macroinvertebrates

ANDERSON, CHRISTOPHER B.; JOHNSON, MONTANA; LOPEZ, MARÍA EUGENIA

NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF MARINE AND FRESHWATER RESEARCH

RSNZ PUBLISHING

Lugar: Auckland; Año: 2017 p. 1 - 10

0028-8330

As a tool to understand Tierra del Fuego?s basic ecology anddetect changes due to human pressures, this study developshabitat bioindicators. We compared the freshwater benthicmacroinvertebrates at 61 study sites in six habitat types: grasslandstreams, urbanised streams, forested streams, beaver ponds, lakesand peat bog ponds. Forty-nine taxa were identified; insects werethe most diverse group. Beaver pond, lake and grassland streamassemblages were similar, as were those from lakes, grasslandstreams and peat bog ponds. Fourteen taxa were habitat-specific. Inforests, these included mayfly scrapers (Andesiops, Meridialaris) andblackfly filterers (Gigantodax). In lakes, two copepod filterers wereindicators, and in urban streams, one shredder (Aphroteniella) andthree collector-gatherers (springtail, earthworm, aquatic worm).Predators (Corixa, Aeshna) were characteristic of peat bog ponds.Beaver ponds had no indicator species. Establishing links betweenspecies and ecosystems constitutes the beginning of a broadereffort to understand anthropogenic impacts to Fuegian watersheds.