ABSTRACT
RESUMEN El conocimiento de la biodiversidad acuática de ecosistemas lénticos es escaso en muchas regiones del mundo. Por ello, se consideró importante realizar evaluaciones preliminares de la fauna bentónica de poca profundidad en tres franjas subacuáticas de muestreo entre los 0 a 10 m en una zona rocosa del área noreste del lago de Coatepeque, El Salvador. Las familias más abundantes fueron Thiaridae (Gastropoda), Hyalellidae (Malacostraca, Amphipoda) y larvas de Coenagrionidae (Insecta, Odonata) entre la orilla y 2,5 m de profundidad. En los sedimentos finos (10 m) se encontró una riqueza de especies y abundancia reducida en comparación a los estratos menos profundos, así como una gran cantidad de conchas vacías de caracoles de la familia Thiaridae y cápsulas cefálicas de larvas de quironómidos (Insecta, Diptera).
ABSTRACT The knowledge of aquatic biodiversity in lentic ecosystems is scarce in many regions of the world. Therefore, it was considered important to accomplish preliminary assessments of benthic fauna associated with low depths in three sampling subaquatic fringes between 0 and 10 m on a rocky shore along the northeast area of Coatepeque Lake, El Salvador. The most abundant families were Thiaridae (Gastropoda), Hyalellidae (Malacostraca, Amphipoda), and Coenagrionidae (Insecta, Odonata) from the edge to a depth of 2,5 m. A reduced species richness and abundance were found in fine sediments (10 m) in comparison to shallower strata, as well as a lot of empty shells of the Thiaridae family and cephalic capsules of chironomid larvae (Insecta, Diptera).
ABSTRACT
It was hypothesized that the structural heterogeneity provided by submerged trees positively favours the spatial distribution of fish abundance at early stages of development in an area under the influence of a Neotropical reservoir in the Paraná River basin. The distribution at early stages of development of the most abundant species was evaluated. To remove any possible confounding effect related to local environmental variables, changes in these were also evaluated. Sampling was carried out at sites with and without submerged trees. Among all individuals sampled, 96·1% were classified as larvae and 3·9% as juveniles. The area without submerged trees showed higher total abundance, but there were spatial differences in the distribution of early stage fishes. From the moment the larvae are able to swim actively, they search for sites with a complex structure. The results show that reaches with submerged trees play an important role in the early development of fishes in reservoirs, and, hence, the preservation of those trees is essential to maintain biodiversity in reservoirs.