Abstract

BASTARDO, Ruth H.  and  SANCHEZ-ROSARIO, América. State of knowledge of aquatic macroinvertebrates of Hispaniola island. Actu Biol [online]. 2017, vol.39, n.107, pp.75-81. ISSN 0304-3584.  https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.acbi.v39n107a09.

Hispaniola is the island of greatest hydrological wealth in the Greater Antilles and is second in size (77,914 km2) after Cuba (104,556 km2). Two nations occupy this island, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. This paper presents the state of knowledge of the aquatic macroinvertebrates of Hispaniola, resulting in the first list of Families, unifying dispersed information, and may constitute a reference for future work on this freshwater biota. The methodology was based on a literature review and the inspection of ca. 4300 specimens in a reference collection. The results show a rich biota composed of 107 Families of aquatic macroinvertebrates, with insects being the major component (69 families, 64.5% of collection specimens, or 86.2% if calculated based upon the 80 insect families registered for the Greater Antilles), followed by crustaceans (27) and molluscs (11). There is little information available on annelids and flatworms. The Orders of insects with greatest richness of Families were Diptera (17), Coleoptera (15) and Trichoptera (12). The Order Megaloptera is not reported for the island and Plecoptera is only known from a fossil record. The following additions were made based upon expert knowledge: Xiphocarididae (Decapoda), Hydrochidae (Coleoptera) and Blephariceridae (Diptera), and Tricorythidae was replaced by Leptohyphidae (Ephemeroptera). It is suggested to: a) improve reference collections and their accessibility, b) conduct taxonomic studies emphasizing poorly known groups, c) undertake more surveys, d) incorporate macroinvertebrates into bioindicator programs, and e) training of specialists at the local level.

Keywords : Greater Antilles; Dominican Republic; Haiti; insects; mollusks; crustaceans; biological collections; oceanic island.

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