PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE TARDIGRADES FAUNA OF SANTA ROSA CITY (LA PAMPA, ARGENTINA)

ROCHA ALEJANDRA ; GONZALEZ REYES A.; DOMA IRENE; OSTERTAG BELÉN; PÉREZ MARIANA; OBHOLZ GISELLA; FERRANDO MATÍAS; RODRIGUEZ V.; GRABOSKY A.; CORRONCA J.; RODRIGUEZ ARTIGAS S.

Villa de Merlo

Encuentro; XXXV Reunión Científica Anual; 2017

Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo

The distribution of urban tardigrades worldwide is poorly understood. Sites with varying vehicular traffic intensity (high, medium, low) and rural areas near the capital city of the province of La Pampa were sampled. This work is part of a project whose general objective is to identify the tardigrade assemblages present in the rural urban gradient and to relate these assemblages with the conditions that prevail in the anthropized ecosystems. Here we present a preliminary list of species present in sites of medium vehicular traffic of the capital city. The tardigrades were extracted from samples of mosses and / or lichens developed on sidewalk trees. In the laboratory the specimens were anesthetized, fixed and later mounted in polyvinyl lactophenol for later identification. Until now 22 samples were analyzed and 353 individuals and 40 eggs were extracted. The tardigrades collected correspond to heterotardigrades of the family Echiniscidae and eutardígrades of the family Milnesidae, Macrobiotidae and Ramazzottidae. The species richness was represented by: Echiniscus rufoviridis, Ramazzottius oberhaeuseri, Paramacrobiotus areaolatus, Milnesium sp. and Macrobiotus kristenseni. The number of species of tardigrades per sample was 2 to 3. The species that most frequently appeared was R. oberhaeuseri (89), followed by Milnesium sp (61) and M. kristenseni (53). With these findings it is hoped to contribute to the knowledge of the fauna of urban tardigrades poor studied of the neotropical region.