INVESTIGADORES
MISERENDINO Maria Laura
artículos
Título:
Macroinvertebrate assemblages in Andean Patagonian rivers and streams
Autor/es:
MISERENDINO, M. L
Revista:
HYDROBIOLOGIA
Editorial:
Kluwer Academic Publishers
Referencias:
Lugar: Belgium; Año: 2001 vol. 444 p. 147 - 158
ISSN:
0018-8158
Resumen:
Macroinvertebrate
communities from 29 streams and rivers of the mountain and the Andean
Patagonian Plateau were analyzed. Samples were collected from six river basins,
which were part of four different biozones of the Patagonian Ecoregion. Samples from mountain streams were dominated
by Plecoptera, Ephemeroptera, Trichoptera and Diptera, while plateau rivers where
mainly Diptera, Oligochaeta and Mollusca. Total invertebrate abundance ranged
from 7 to 12,249 ind.m-2. Elmidae, Paratrichocladius, Chironomus, Smicrideaannulicornis, Parasericostoma ovale and Meridialaris
laminata were the most abundant insect taxa, while Nais communis and Hyalella
curvispina were the most abundant non-insect taxa. Species-environmental
relationships were examined using Canonical Correspondence Analysis. Current
speed, conductivity, substrate size and abundance of aquatic plants, were
identified as the major variables structuring faunal assemblages. Regression analyses revealed that
species richness was negatively correlated with latitude, and positively
correlated with water temperature and altitude. Macroivertebrate abundance
increased with conductivity, altitude and water temperature. These results
suggest that habitat heterogeneity was the strongest predictor of
macroinvertebrate assemblages, but species richness could be predicted at a
landscape scale using topographical and climatic features.