Climatic influence in the non-biting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae) distribution in the Araucanian region, south-central Chile

MARTEL CEA,A; MASSAFERRO, J; ABARZUA, A; ASTORGA,G

Zaragoza

Congreso; 5th PAGES Open Science meeting; 2017

PAGES

The on-going climate change in south-central Chile will strongly affect ecosystems whit the consequent impact in socioeconomic activities. Under the most unfavourable scenario of climate change (SRES A2), projected towards the end of the 21st century, between 30°S and 41°S, predicts an increase in temperatures of 2 to 4°C, and until 40 % drop of precipitations. Among the negative effects we would expect: Prolonged periods of drought, and lower availability of moisture in soils elsewhere, while in the Andes Cordillera, the rising of the 0°C isotherm, lower accumulation and early melting of snowpack making south-central Chile, and particularly the Andean region, extremely vulnerable to climate change. It is well known that the Chironomid fauna can respond to changes in their habitat, from changes in productivity in the water column, volcanic eruptions, vegetation changes, anthropogenic activities (e.g. land use change), and climate (specially summer temperatures), providing a reliable tool to assess different kinds of disturbances. However, in central Chile (north of 40°S) there has been non-extensive research of modern ecological data linking the distribution of chironomid to environmental variables.In this study we present preliminary results on the spatial distribution of modern chironomids in the Araucarian region (37°S-40°S) and associated environmental data by using 21 surface sediment samples of lakes located from the high-altitude Andes cordillera to lowlands and coastal sites