Biological traits of macroinvertebrates from Puna peatbogs: Patterns along spatial environmental gradients

REYNAGA, MARÍA CELINA; NIETO, CAROLINA; RODRÍGUEZ, JOSÉ S.; IZQUIERDO, ANDREA E.

Freshwater Science

The Society for Freshwater Science

Año: 2019 vol. 39 p. 137 - 146

2161-9549

We investigated the relationships between the biological traits of macroinvertebrates and the environmental characteristics of 13 peatbogs of the Puna and High Andean ecoregions. We recorded the abundance of aquatic macroinvertebrates and 8 focal biological traits (maximum size, body shape, body flexibility, exoskeleton hardness, type of respiration, locomotion, functional feeding group, and specific adaptations to flow constraint). At each sampling point within each bog we measured elevation as well as different physical-chemical characteristics of the water. We used RLQ analysis, which links environmental features (R) with biological traits (Q) through taxonabundances (L). Water temperature, specific conductivity, and flow were most strongly associated with variation in invertebrate traits among the bogs. We developed a graphic model of the habitat templet that accounts for howthese environmental factors shape the observed diversity of traits. We expect organisms to have different traits depending on where their habitat falls on the habitat templet. By delineating the nature of the relationship betweentraits and habitat features, this paper provides the basics for understanding functional aspects of peatbogs such as resource uses in the context of operating ecological filters.