2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference

March 13 - 15, 2022

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5/25/2021  |   8:30 AM - 10:30 AM   |  RAPID RESPONSE OF STREAM BENTHIC ALGAE AND MACROINVERTEBRATE FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION TO RIPARIAN CLEARING IN A TROPICAL MONTANE HOTSPOT   |  Virtual Platform

RAPID RESPONSE OF STREAM BENTHIC ALGAE AND MACROINVERTEBRATE FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION TO RIPARIAN CLEARING IN A TROPICAL MONTANE HOTSPOT

Riparian forests are crucial in montane streams as a food source and to protect stream ecological integrity, but they are facing agriculture or mining in highly biodiverse areas such as the Cordillera del Condor, southern Ecuador. After riparian clearing, benthic algal growth and functional organization of macroinvertebrate communities between forested and opened reaches were determined in six streams. Opened reaches exhibit more light penetration and warmer temperatures than forested reaches. Algal growth was up to 20-fold greater in opened than in forested reaches. Shredder invertebrates were more abundant in forested reaches, while scraper invertebrates were more abundant in opened reaches. The results indicate the rapid response of the structure and function of tropical montane streams to riparian deforestation. Conserving and restoring riparian forests could provide a nature-based and economical management approach to balance agriculture production, mining activities, and ecological integrity of fluvial ecosystems in biodiversity hotspots.

  • Ecosystem functioning
  • Tropical streams and lakes
  • Land use

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Presenters/Authors

Carlos Iñiguez Armijos (), Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Ecuador, cainiguez@utpl.edu.ec;


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