Abstract

CASTILLO-VELASQUEZ, Rodolfo-Mauricio  and  HUAMANTINCO-ARAUJO, Ana-A.. Spatial variation of the aquatic macroinvertebrates community in the littoral zone of the Santa Rosa coastal wetland, Lima, Peru. Rev. biol. trop [online]. 2020, vol.68, n.1, pp.50-68. ISSN 0034-7744.  http://dx.doi.org/10.15517/rbt.v68i1.35233.

Coastal wetlands are sensitive ecosystems of high productivity due to ecological services they provide: water purification, flood reduction, and protection of marine coasts. In addition, these zones are places of great biological diversity. The objective of the present study was to determine the community structure of the aquatic macroinvertebratesin relation to the spatial variations in the littoral zone of the Santa Rosa coastal wetland in Lima, Peru. The study was carried out during six bimonthly periods from August 2015 to June 2016. We established eight sampling sites: three sites in the main lagoon, three sites in the lagoon arm and two sites in isolated small pools. We carried out the sampling with a D-frame of 250 μm mesh aperture with three replicates for each site. The eight evaluated sites were environmentally characterized, and the physicochemical parameters of the water were recorded for each sampling site. We collected 28 655 macroinvertebrates distributed in 76 genera. Diptera and Coleoptera were the orders with the greatest richness: 24 and 19 genera respectively. The most abundant genera were: Buenoa (Hemiptera: Notonectidae), Ischnura (Odonata: Coenagrionidae), Chironomus and Goeldichironomus (Diptera: Chironomidae); these four represented 62.43 % of the total abundance. In the spatial variation, most sites shared the same structure and composition of macroinvertebrates. This was expected because they are connected to the main water body temporarily or permanently, which consequently gives them greater stability and resilience. The sites with shallow depth, smaller extension, scarce aquatic vegetation and greater anthropogenic impact were the only ones with results separated from the general set. Due to the variety of environmental impacts produced by agriculture, livestock, and urban activity on the wetland, it was observed that the sites with deeper and more abundant vegetation were more resilient than the areas exposed to environmental impacts and with less water and vegetation. On the other hand, the physicochemical parameters of water at one site (E1) differentiate the community in the absence of impact.

Keywords : aquatic insects; coastal wetlands; diversity; environmental integrity; peruvian desert.

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