Colón Santiago, Angel G.

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    Periphyton on non-serpentine and serpentine-derived substrates and small-scale distribution of macroinvertebrates in tropical streams
    (2019-11-26) Colón Santiago, Angel G.; Flores-Santos, Carlos; College of Arts and Sciences - Sciences; Colón-Rosa, Héctor W.; Maldonado-Ramírez, Sandra L.; Martínez-Rodríguez, Gustavo A.; Colón Rosa, Héctor W.; Department of Biology; Parés-Matos, Elsie
    A common approach to manage and conserve public lands is to survey their ecosystems and their biodiversity. Understanding how complex ecosystems, such as rivers, operate is important to reveal the multifaceted interactions that govern river’s health and productivity. The Maricao Commonwealth Forest, situated in what is known as the serpentine belt of Puerto Rico, is considered one of the most biodiverse regions in the island due to its serpentine substrates and soils. However, scientific publications and information on the periphytic communities and aquatic macroinvertebrates in the forest’s streams are very limited and mostly outdated. In the present study, the periphytic communities of the Maricao River were evaluated during seven months using serpentine-derived and non-serpentine-derived substrates. Furthermore, the small-scale distribution of macroinvertebrates communities were evaluated in the Maricao River and the Lajas River within the forest. Chlorophyll-a analyses and light microscopy techniques were used to assess the periphytic communities; meanwhile, macroinvertebrates were collected using drifting techniques and identified to family taxonomic rank. Periphytic communities were composed of diatoms of the genera Synedra/Ulnaria complex, Diatoma, Cymbella, Nitzchia, Achnanthidium, Gomphonema, and Amphora. A Wilcoxon test showed no significant differences on the biomass accrual between the substrates. However, correlation matrixes negatively correlated the water current velocity and the algal biomass accrual. Also, variations on the collected diatoms were related to temporal changes. A total of 2,149 macroinvertebrates belonging to 10 orders and 32 families typical of tropical streams were collected. The dominant families found were Leptophlebiidae, Elmidae, and Chironomidae. Principal Component Analysis and Correspondence Analysis showed that water current velocity and water depth influence the taxonomic and functional composition of the macroinvertebrates communities in both rivers. According to the biological index “Biological Monitoring Working Party” (BMWP) for Puerto Rico and Cuba, both rivers have excellent water quality. This is the first work that describes the periphytic communities in serpentine substrates of the Maricao River and that provides an inventory of benthic macroinvertebrates in the Maricao State Forest.