El uso de gremios tróficos en macroinvertebrados acuáticos como herramienta de monitoreo en los Altos Andes del Sur de Ecuador

Abstract

Aquatic macroinvertebrates are widely used as indicators of water quality. However, in the Andean region of Ecuador, little is known about how the macroinvertebrate community assemblage responds to changes in the habitat where they occur. One of the main drawbacks is taxonomy, where classifying organisms on a full taxonomic scale becomes complicated. To resolve this point, in a in a NMDS (non-metric multidimensional scaling) ordination analysis, the abundance of macroinvertebrates obtained in 12 monitoring stations in the Cajas Massif, southern Ecuador, was used. The rankings were contrasted using the trophic guilds approach versus the family taxonomic approach (the maximum taxonomic classification available). The ordering analyzes showed a more differentiated spatial organization with the trophic guilds approach than with the family-level approach. When explaining the organization of the communities, the ABI (Andean Biotic Index) and the elevation, significantly explains the organization of the community from the trophic guilds approach; although, only the elevation explains the ordering from the family scale approach. The results suggest that, from the trophic guilds approach, a better approximation of the general ecological role of the macroinvertebrate community associated with environmental services such as water quality is represented. Guilds such as shredders, scrapers, and detritivores adjust to increasing ABI (i.e. water quality). Consequently, monitoring with a focus on the trophic guilds can be used in studies of water quality and its relationship with the community. RESUMENLos macroinvertebrados acuáticos son ampliamente utilizados como indicadores de calidad de agua. Sin embargo, en la región Andina del Ecuador, poco se conoce sobre cómo el ensamble de la comunidad de macroinvertebrados responde a cambios del hábitat donde ocurren. Uno de los principales inconvenientes es la taxonomía, en donde clasificar a los organismos a una escala taxonómica completa se torna complicado. Para resolver este punto, en un análisis de ordenación NMDS (escalamiento multidimensional no métrico), se usó la abundancia de macroinvertebrados obtenidos en 12 estaciones de monitoreo en el Macizo del Cajas, sur de Ecuador. Las ordenaciones fueron contrastadas usando el enfoque de gremios tróficos frente al enfoque taxonómico de familia (la máxima clasificación taxonómica disponible). Los análisis de ordenación mostraron una organización espacial más diferenciada con el enfoque de los gremios tróficos que al respecto del enfoque a nivel de familia. Al explicar la ordenación de las comunidades, el ABI (Índice Biótico de los Andes) y la elevación, explican significativamente la ordenación de la comunidad desde el enfoque de gremios tróficos; aunque, tan solo la elevación explica la ordenación desde el enfoque a escala de familia. Los resultados apuntan a que, desde el enfoque de gremios tróficos, se representan una mejor aproximación del papel ecológico general de la comunidad de macroinvertebrados asociados a servicios ambienta...

Aquatic macroinvertebrate trophic guilds, functional feeding groups, and water quality of an andean urban river

“…The presence of detritivores and scrapers is reported as an indicator of sites with better water quality, while predators indicate poorer water quality due to anthropogenic activities (Jiménez et al, 2021). This was not the case in the present study, and this may be due to environmental differences (climatic, geological, and geomorphological) that affect the river systems studied.…”

“…Extreme alterations in the environment from water pollution change the taxonomic composition, species richness, and abundances (Acosta et al, 2009;Roldán-Pérez, 2016;Kengne et al, 2022). They also alter the guilds that are classified into trophic and functional feeding groups according to their feeding type and behavior (Merritt and Cummins, 1996;Ramirez and Gutiérrez-Fonseca, 2014;Merritt et al, 2019;Jiménez et al, 2021). The introduction of food resources, such as organic matter in wastewater either untreated or subjected to basic treatment only, promotes the presence or dominance of groups that are able to use these resources at the expense of others.…”

“…The feeding strategies of macroinvertebrates allow them to be grouped into trophic guilds; when the behavior and morphological characteristics associated with this activity are considered, macroinvertebrates can be grouped into functional feeding groups (Ramírez and Gutiérrez-Fonseca, 2014;Serna et al, 2022). In urban rivers, the research approach based on the presence and abundance of specific trophic guilds and functional feeding groups can be a valuable tool for estimating the quality and status of these ecosystems (Bae and Park, 2016;Walteros and Castaño, 2020;Jiménez et al, 2021), in addition to providing information on its functioning at the energy level.…”

“…Lists are available of genera and families sorted into trophic levels and functional groups based on the composition of the diet (gastric content) and their morphology associated with the diet for Bolivia (Tomanova et al, 2006); feeding groups for Colombia (Chara-Serna et al, 2012); functional feeding groups and trophic guilds for Colombia (only for Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera; Guzman-Soto and Tamaris-Turizo, 2014); and trophic guilds for Peru (Silva and Huamantinco, 2022). In addition, there are publications on the same subject that take as reference the results of the studies described above regarding trophic guilds and functional groups for Latin America (Ramírez and Gutiérrez-Fonseca, 2014), trophic guilds for Colombia Frontiers in Environmental Science frontiersin.org 03 (Jiménez et al, 2021), and functional groups for Peru (de Souza and Aguilar, 2022). Physiographic, climatic, and ecosystem heterogeneity contribute to the lack of detailed information for the Neotropical region.…”