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Presented at the NABS Annual meeting, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2002
in Conservation Ecology
PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF BENTHIC INVERTEBRATE COMMUNITIES IN THE RIO CALDERA BASIN, CHIRIQUI PROVINCE, REPUBLIC OF PANAMA.
G.D. DeJong and S.P. Canton. Chadwick Ecological Consultants, Inc., 5575 S. Sycamore St., #101, Littleton, CO 80120
A qualitative survey of benthic invertebrates in the Rio Caldera and three of its tributaries in the highlands of western Panama was conducted in March-April 2001. Timed kick samples were taken in riffle habitats with a minimum of 50 organisms sorted and at least one of each identifiably different taxon kept. Sample sites ranged in altitude from 332
masl to 1,890 masl, with a gradient of 4% through the study area. A total of 50 taxa was found with 90% of the taxa being aquatic insects. Over 40% of the of the insect taxa were Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera, possibly reflecting the relatively high altitude (for Central America) and high gradient of these streams. The freshwater crab, Ptychophallus, was the only crustacean collected, although there is anectodal evidence that freshwater shrimp inhabit the river at the lower elevations. Cluster analysis (presence/absence data) produced an upper elevation cluster of 5 sites (1,335 masl to 1,890 masl), a middle elevation cluster of 5 sites (1,106 masl to 1,278 masl), and the lowest site at 332 masl. Given the rather diverse invertebrate community found with such limited sampling, it appears that this region of Panama offers a rich opportunity for future sampling efforts.
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