Black Fly (Diptera: Simuliidae) Assemblages of High Andean Rivers Respond to Environmental and Pollution Gradients

Abstract

Simuliid larvae are common inhabitants of mountain rivers throughout the world, where they can serve as ecological indicators. Black flies were sampled during three seasons in four rivers in the upper basin of the Bogotá River in the Colombian Andes, and physical, chemical, and hydrological data were recorded. Multivariate methods were used to determine the relationships between the presence and abundance of simuliid species and environmental characteristics. Fourteen species were found: eight in the genus Gigantodax (Enderlein, Diptera, Simuliidae) and six in the genus Simulium (Latreille, Diptera, Simuliidae). Dissolved oxygen, dissolved solids, redox potential, chemical oxygen demand, and nutrients contributed to an explanation of species distributions. Species in clean waters and in more polluted waters had narrow niches; those in low to moderately polluted waters had broader niches. Species in the lower reaches of the watercourses had greater turnover, perhaps because the most sensitive species had disappeared and been replaced by more tolerant species. Thus, simuliids can be used as predictors of environmental characteristics of Andean rivers and can be useful in the evaluation and management of these watersheds.

Preliminary observations on the patterns of co-occurrence of Black fly (Diptera: Simuliidae) larvae and some of their potential macroinvertebrate predators

“…Black flies are ubiquitous organisms, found in most environments with running waters that may harbor their immatures (Currie and Adler, 2008), even though their local occurrence is influenced by a series of local abiotic factors such as substrate type (Hamada et al, 2002;Pepinelli et al, 2005;Figueiró et al, 2012), water flow velocities (Figueiró et al, 2008(Figueiró et al, , 2015, water pollution (Docile et al, 2015(Docile et al, , 2016 and altitude (Figueiró et al, 2006;Kuvangkadilok et al, 1999;Buitrago-Guacaneme et al, 2018;Cuadrado et al, 2019). Seasonality also plays an important role in the distribution of black flies, with wet and dry seasons influencing local (Srisuka et al, 2015;Pavitra et al, 2020) and regional diversity patterns (Figueiró et al, 2014).…”

Estructura De La Comunidad De Dípteros Acuáticos en Tramos De Los Cursos Altos De Los Ríos Fucha Y Bogotá

“…Acorde con la concentración de oxígeno, el potencial rédox de todos los tramos también indicó condiciones oxidantes, lo que favorece los procesos de degradación de materia orgánica y la autodepuración de estos ríos (Vagnetti et al, 2003). A pesar de la mayor contaminación por coliformes fecales en los tramos bajos (tabla S1), el porcentaje de saturación de oxígeno en estos lugares fue relativamente alto, lo que explicaría la presencia de géneros considerados reofílicos, como es el caso de los representantes de la familia Simulidae (Cuadrado et al, 2019).…”

“…Los ríos de alta montaña tropical se caracterizan por su gran diversidad y riqueza de taxones (Cuadrado et al, 2019). En estos ambientes las comunidades de macroinvertebrados acuáticos se han propuesto como bioindicadores con el fin de evaluar la calidad del agua (Lenat, 1993).…”

Comparative Study of Potential Habitats for Simulium qinghaiense (Diptera: Simuliidae) in the Huangshui River Basin, Qinghai–Tibet Plateau: An Analysis Using Four Ecological Niche Models and Optimized Approaches

“…Extensive research on the assessment of environmental quality utilizes the abundance of environmental indicator insects in freshwater ecosystems. The quantity and quality (i.e., environmentally sensitive vs. tolerant) of these insects not only vividly reflect the health of ecosystems but also aid researchers in predicting and addressing a series of impacts resulting from global climate change, providing vital information for addressing this global challenge [12][13][14]. Black flies (Diptera: Nematocera: Simuliidae) are distributed in the Huangshui River basin and have been identified as environmental indicator species crucial for evaluating the ecological health of rivers and surrounding landscapes [15].…”