Inland water microcrustacean assemblages in an altitudinal gradient in Aysen region (46° S, Patagonia Chile)

The Chilean Patagonia has numerous kinds of inland water ecosystems such as lakes, ponds, wetlands and rivers that have been poorly studied due to access difficulties. This study was carried out in Aysen region, in southern Chile, and it included different kinds of water bodies such as rivers, strea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brazilian Journal of Biology
Main Authors: Patricio De los Ríos-Escalante, Esteban Quinán, Patricio Acevedo
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Instituto Internacional de Ecologia
Subjects:
Q
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1590/1519-6984.08212
https://doaj.org/article/b23941181f8b4730b9961abd03b5cf10
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Summary:The Chilean Patagonia has numerous kinds of inland water ecosystems such as lakes, ponds, wetlands and rivers that have been poorly studied due to access difficulties. This study was carried out in Aysen region, in southern Chile, and it included different kinds of water bodies such as rivers, streams, ponds, lagoons and lakes distributed along an altitudinal gradient at 46° S. It was found a low species number, essentially cladocerans, copepods and amphipods. A null model was applied in order to determine the existence of regulator factors of species associations, and the results revealed that they are not random. The patterns would be influenced by geographical and limnological characteristics of the studied sites. Our results would agree with regional studies on habitat heterogeneity such as in Torres del Paine National Park and other zones in Tierra del Fuego island.