Resumo

MOSQUERA MURILLO, Zuleyma. Aquatic insects associated with roots of Eichhornia crassipes (Mart) Solms in wetlands of Atrato River, Chocó - Colombia. rev. cienc. [online]. 2017, vol.21, n.2, pp.29-44. ISSN 0121-1935.  https://doi.org/10.25100/rc.v21i2.6697.

Aquatic macrophytes play an important role in lentic systems, as they constitute a particular habitat for various groups of aquatic insects and play an important role in the structuring of their communities. The objective of this study was to characterize the community of aquatic insects associated to Eichhornia crassipes (Mart) Solms in five swamps of the middle and lower basins of the Atrato River, Chocó-Colombia. During two months aquatic insects were collected, using a quadrant of one m2, with a mesh of 0.5 mm, with three replicates per swamp. Simultaneously some physical, chemical and hydrological variables were measured (dissolved oxygen, pH, water temperature, electrical conductivity, alkalinity, total dissolved solids, transparency and depth). The community was composed of 6 orders, 18 families and 24 genera. The most abundant order was Coleoptera (39.81%), standing out the Gyrinidae family with the genus Hydrocanthus; while the greatest taxonomic richness was for dipterans with 7 genera, among which Ablabesmyia stands out. The diversity index presented an average of 1.17 bits/ind ± 0.47, while the average dominance was 0.54 ± 0.20. The most abundant functional groups were predators and collectors, which accounted for 99.04% of the individuals, predominating Hydrocanthus (Gyrinidae) and Callibaetis (Baetidae) respectively. The physicochemical variables did not show significant differences between samples and there were strong associations between the aquatic entomofauna and the analyzed abiotic variables.

Palavras-chave : Entomofauna; floating macrophytes; wetlands; Chocó.

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