Taxonomic and Functional Diversity of Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Assemblages and Water Quality in Rivers of the Dry Tropics of Costa Rica

 

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Kohlmann, Bert, Vásquez, Danny, Arroyo, Alejandra, Springer Springer, Monika
Formato: artículo original
Fecha de Publicación:2021
Descripción:One of Costa Rica’s driest areas is the province of Guanacaste, in the Pacific Northwest, with almost no rain during the dry season from November to April. Due to this marked seasonality, the area is covered by dry tropical deciduous forest, considered the most threatened and least known tropical ecosystem in this area. This study analyzes and characterizes the assemblages of aquatic macroinvertebrates in water bodies within the Tempisque basin. Biological water quality was measured using the BMWP′-CR index. Macroinvertebrate assemblages were analyzed using abundance, richness, and functional feeding group approaches (FFG). Partial least square (PLS) analyses were performed, and the relationships between environmental factors and macroinvertebrate assemblages are also discussed. Macroinvertebrate assemblages were dominated numerically by mayflies, caddisflies, flies, and beetles. The BWMP′-CR index showed varying biological water quality, ranging from “very bad” to “excellent,” depending on rainfall and site management. Results suggest that tropical Mesoamerican rivers contradict the “river continuum concept” because predators and scrapers displace shredders in numbers. On the other hand, the study area shows a notable high richness of the Coleoptera genera. The class Rhynchocoela (Nemertea) is reported for the first time in Central America. The results indicate that the dry forest river ecosystem shows staggering biodiversity despite the surrounding agricultural land use, probably because of their older origin concerning tropical rain forests in Central America.
País:Kérwá
Institución:Universidad de Costa Rica
Repositorio:Kérwá
Lenguaje:Inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:kerwa.ucr.ac.cr:10669/87860
Acceso en línea:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2021.660260/full
https://hdl.handle.net/10669/87860
Palabra clave:Freshwater fauna
BIODIVERSITY
Tropical dry forest
Functional feeding groups
Tempisque basin
WATER QUALITY
RAINFOREST