Native fauna of tardigrades from two natural areas of the Argentina Republic

ROCHA, ALEJANDRA MARIANA; OSTERTAG, B; ANDREA XIMENA GONZÁLEZ-REYES; GRABOSKY, A; DOMA, IRENE; CORRONCA JA

Simposio; 15th International Symposium on Tardigrada; 2022

Background: The increase in the degradation and destruction of natural habitats hasreinforced the need to know and conserve the biodiversity found in them. Some authorshighlight the importance of the study of invertebrates as a key group in conservation biology,especially in the natural environments. Our objective is to contribute to the taxonomic andecological knowledge of tardigrade communities in disturbed natural environments,identifying indicator species that can be used for the conservation and monitoring ofdisturbed natural environments.Methods: The sampling was carried out in 2018 in disturbed natural environments, belongingto Parque Luro Provincial Reserve in La Pampa province and Polygon A Municipal EcologicalReserve in Salta province. The samples were taken from epiphytic communities that grow onthe bark of trees. Different environmental variables of the microhabitat were considered.Results: A total of 1538 specimens were extracted and 11 species were identified. The highestabundance of tardigrades was found in La Pampa (N=1326), while Salta had the highest speciesrichness (S=9). Native communities did not show a statistically significant difference inabundance and species richness (p > 0.05). The dominant species in La Pampa was Viridiscusrufoviridis, while in Salta it was Pseudechiniscus saltensis. Ordination analysis shows that thecommunities of La Pampa were explained by the temperature and humidity of themicrohabitat, meanwhile the communities of Salta by thickness of the microhabitat. Fourindicator species were reported for La Pampa (V. rufoviridis, Macrobiotus kristenseni,Ramazzottius cf. oberhaeuseri, Milnesium pelufforum) and one for Salta, P. saltensis. Diversitypartitioning β showed that species turnover was the main component in the differencebetween the Salta and La Pampa communities.Conclusions: It represents the first contribution on the native fauna of tardigrades forArgentina, also providing information on tardigrades in disturbed natural environments.