Diversity analysis of Chironomidae from the Andean-Amazonian transition (Caquetá, Colombia): a regional perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15517/y4kf5z72Keywords:
beta diversity; , riverscape;, non-biting midges; , Hill numbersAbstract
Introduction: The family Chironomidae is one of the most diverse and abundant groups of aquatic macroinvertebrates in aquatic ecosystems. Objective: To analyze Chironomidae's composition and diversity in the Caquetá department's Andean-Amazonian corridor, Colombia. Methods: Three study zones (Andean, Transition, and Amazonian), each with ten sampling stations, were selected. We conducted four field campaigns to collect biological material and record riverscape characteristics. We assessed alpha diversity using Hill numbers, a set of diversity measures providing a unified framework for diversity analysis. We also analyzed beta diversity by considering species richness differences and turnover. Using multivariate RDA analysis, physical and chemical variables of the riverscape contrast with taxonomic composition and beta diversity. Results: 36 chironomid taxa were identified, with the subfamily Chironominae and the genera Cricotopus, Chironomus, Larsia, and Polypedilum standing out. Hill numbers showed differentiation in Shannon-Wiener diversity (q1) and inverse Simpson diversity (q2), but richness (q0) showed less variation across study zones. The most significant component of beta diversity was species richness differences. Current velocity, total dissolved solids (TDS), vegetation cover, and substrates of sandy and vegetative origin (roots, aquatic macrophytes), as well as other components of the riverscape, significantly influenced species composition and beta diversity. Conclusions: Significant genus level information is provided for the Chironomidae family in the Andean-Amazonian region of the department of Caquetá, revealing dissimilarity among the study areas driven by differences in richness, as a measure of taxonomic beta diversity. Moreover, these findings indicate that the transition region functions as an ecotone for Chironomidae, serving as an intermediate zone between the Andes and the Amazon.
Downloads
References
Acosta, R., & Prat, N. (2010). Chironomid assemblages in high altitude streams of the Andean region of Peru. Fundamental and Applied Limnology, 177(1), 57–79. https://doi.org/10.1127/1863-9135/2010/0177-0057
Arnold, J. B. (2025). ggthemes: Extra themes, scales and geoms for ggplot2 (R package version 5.2.0) [Software]. CRAN. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=ggthemes
Barboza, L. G. A., Mormul, R. P., & Higuti, J. (2015). Beta diversity as a tool for determining priority streams for management actions. Water Science & Technology, 71(10), 1429–1435. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2015.112
Baselga, A. (2010). Partitioning the turnover and nestedness components of beta diversity. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 19(1), 134–143. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-8238.2009.00490.x
Bejarano-Narváez, M. J., Tamaris-Turizo, C. E., González-Trujillo, J. D., & Prat-Fornells, N. (2023). Variación altitudinal de las comunidades de larvas de Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera) en un río de la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. Boletín Científico Centro de Museos, Museo de Historia Natural, 27(1), 71–83. https://doi.org/10.17151/bccm.2023.27.1.4
Bravo-Chaves, L. R., & Restrepo-Franco, G. M. (2021). Diversidad de macroinvertebrados acuáticos en dos ecosistemas lóticos en El Doncello, Caquetá. Revista Facultad de Ciencias Básicas, 17(1), 57–72. https://doi.org/10.18359/rfcb.5432
Cerba, D., Koh, M., Vlaicevic, B., Turkovic-Cakalíc, I., Miloševíc, D., & Stojkovíc-Piperac, M. (2022). Diversity of periphytic Chironomidae on different substrate types in a floodplain aquatic ecosystem. Diversity, 14(4), 264. https://doi.org/10.3390/d14040264
Chao, A., Gotelli, N. J., Hsieh, T. C., Sander, E. L., Ma, K. H., Colwell, R. K., & Ellison, A. M. (2014). Rarefaction and extrapolation with Hill numbers: A framework for sampling and estimation in species diversity studies. Ecological Monographs, 84(1), 45–67. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-0133.1
Chao, A., Ma, K. H., & Hsieh, T. C. (2016). iNEXT Online: Software for interpolation and extrapolation of species diversity [Software]. Institute of Statistics, National Tsing Hua University. https://chao.shinyapps.io/iNEXTOnline/
Chaux, J. P., Pimentel-Parra, G. A., Murcia-Ordoñez, B., Chaves-Moreno, L. C., Acosta, L. C., & Suárez, L. F. (2018). Biodiversidad de la comunidad de macroinvertebrados acuáticos asociados al Río Fragua Chorroso y su papel como bioindicador de calidad de agua. Revista Facultad de Ciencias Básicas, 14(2), 130–137. https://doi.org/10.18359/rfcb.3222
Cortés-Cadena, Y. Y., Hernández-Acosta, L. C., & Peláez-Rodríguez, M. (2016). Calidad del agua de la quebrada la Yuca en el campus social de la Universidad de la Amazonia, Florencia (Caquetá) Colombia. Momentos de Ciencia, 13(1), 51–57.
da Silva, F. L., Pinho, L. C., Wiedenbrug, S., Dantas, G. P. S., Siri, A., Andersen, T., & Trivinho-Strixino, S. (2018). Family Chironomidae. In N. Hamada, J. H. Thorp, & D. C. Rogers (Eds.), Thorp and Covich’s freshwater invertebrates: Keys to Neotropical Hexapoda (4th ed., Vol. 3, pp. 661–700). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-804223-6.00031-7
Dong, S., Gao, Y., Gao, Y., He, M., Liu, F., Yan, F., & Wang, F. (2021). Evaluation of the trophic structure and energy flow of a rice-crayfish integrated farming ecosystem based on the Ecopath model. Aquaculture, 539, 736626. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2021.736626
Dray, S., Bauman, D., Blanchet, G., Borcard, D., Clappe, S., Guénard, G., Jombart, T., Larocque, G., Legendre, P., Madi, N., & Wagner, H. H. (2026). adespatial: Multivariate multiscale spatial analysis (Version 0.3-29) [Paquete de R]. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=adespatial
Engels, S., Medeiros, A. S., Axford, Y., Brooks, S. J., Heiri, O., Luoto, T. P., Nazarova, L., Porinchu, D. F., Quinlan, R., & Self, A. E. (2020). Temperature change as a driver of spatial patterns and long‐term trends in chironomid (Insecta: Diptera) diversity. Global Change Biology, 26(3), 1155–1169. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14862
Garay, G. N. R., Paggi, A. C., & Scheibler, E. E. (2020). Chironomidae assemblages at different altitudes in Northwest Argentina: The role of local factors. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, 92(2), e20190953. https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765202020190953
Gething, K. J., Ripley, M. C., Mathers, K. L., Chadd, R. P., & Wood, P. J. (2020). The influence of substrate type on macroinvertebrate assemblages within agricultural drainage ditches. Hydrobiologia, 847, 4273–4284. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-020-04416-6
Głowacki, Ł., Leszczyńska, J., Grzybkowska, M., Pyrzanowski, K., Dukowska, M., & Przybylski, M. (2023). Determinants of chironomid species richness in mid-European temperate rivers – Environmental factors, regional influences, diversity, and seasons. Ecological Indicators, 147, 109838. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.109838
González-Trujillo, J. D., Petsch, D. K., Córdoba-Ariza, G., Rincón-Palau, K., Donato-Rondon, J. C., Castro-Rebolledo, M. I., & Sabater, S. (2019). Upstream refugia and dispersal ability may override benthic-community responses to high-Andean streams deforestation. Biodiversity and Conservation, 28(6), 1513–1531. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-019-01739-2
Gutiérrez-Garaviz, J., Peláez-Rodríguez, M., & Ovalle-Serrano, H. (2016). Macroinvertebrados acuáticos presentes en dietas de peces de la cuenca del río Hacha (Caquetá, Colombia). Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, 40(156), 420–432. https://doi.org/10.18257/raccefyn.344
Hill, M. O. (1973). Diversity and evenness: A unifying notation and its consequences. Ecology, 54(2), 427–432. https://doi.org/10.2307/1934352
Hincapié-Montoya, D. M., Posada-García, J. A., Álvarez-Arango, L. F., Velásquez, C., & Serna-Arbeláez, J. D. (2022). Lista de macroinvertebrados acuáticos continentales de Colombia (v3.3) [Data set]. Grupo Taxón-MIA. https://doi.org/10.15472/hmyvdl
Hoorn, C., Wesselingh, F. P., ter Steege, H., Bermudez, M. A., Mora, A., Sevink, J., Sanmartín, I., Sanchez-Meseguer, A., Anderson, C. L., Figueiredo, J. P., Jaramillo, C., Riff, D., Negri, F. R., Hooghiemstra, H., Lundberg, J., Stadler, T., Särkinen, T., & Antonelli, A. (2010). Amazonia through time: Andean uplift, climate change, landscape evolution, and biodiversity. Science, 330(6006), 927–931. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1194585
Hoyos-Jaramillo, D. C., & Dias, L. (2020). Contribución taxonómica a la subfamilia Chironominae de Caldas: nuevos registros, clave taxonómica y diagnosis. Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, 44(171), 507–521. https://doi.org/10.18257/raccefyn.1184
Hynes, H. B. N. (1972). The ecology of running waters. University of Toronto Press.
Jost, L. (2006). Entropy and diversity. Oikos, 113(2), 363–375. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2006.0030-1299.14714.x
Karima, Z. (2021). Chironomidae: Biology, ecology and systematics. In F. K. Perveen (Ed.), The wonders of Diptera: Characteristics, diversity, and significance for the world’s ecosystems (pp. 1–25). IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95577
Legendre, P. (2014). Interpreting the replacement and richness difference components of beta diversity. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 23(11), 1324–1334. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12207
Leszczyńska, J., Grzybkowska, M., Głowacki, Ł., & Dukowska, M. (2019). Environmental variables influencing chironomid assemblages (Diptera: Chironomidae) in lowland rivers of Central Poland. Environmental Entomology, 48(4), 988–997. https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvz057
Liu, G., Lin, Z., Qi, X., Wang, Y., Wang, Y., Jiang, W., He, F., & Wu, N. (2023). Environmental filtering, spatial processes and biotic interactions jointly shape different traits communities of stream macroinvertebrates. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 11, 1196296. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2023.1196296
Matthews‐Bird, F., Gosling, W. D., Coe, A. L., Bush, M., Mayle, F. E., Axford, Y., & Brooks, S. J. (2016). Environmental controls on the distribution and diversity of lentic Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera) across an altitudinal gradient in tropical South America. Ecology and Evolution, 6(1), 91–112. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1833
Molineri, C., Tejerina, E. G., Torrejón, S. E., Pero, E. J., & Hankel, G. E. (2020). Indicative value of different taxonomic levels of Chironomidae for assessing the water quality. Ecological Indicators, 108, 105703. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.105703
Nunes, N. S. P., Carvalho, E. M., & Nakagaki, J. M. (2020). Are Chironomidae (Diptera) good indicators of impact in lotic environments? Revista Ibero-Americana de Ciências Ambientais, 11(4), 113–125. https://doi.org/10.6008/CBPC2179-6858.2020.004.0010
Ocon, C., Siri, A., Altieri, P., & Donato, M. (2023). Functional feeding groups of Chironomidae (Diptera: Nematocera) and their spatial variation in an intermittent hill stream (Ventana Stream, Buenos Aires, Argentina). Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, 95(4), e20191316. https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765202320191316
Oksanen, J., Simpson, G. L., Blanchet, F. G., Kindt, R., Legendre, P., Minchin, P. R., O’Hara, R. B., Solymos, P., Stevens, M. H. H., Szoecs, E., Wagner, H., Barbour, M., Bedward, M., Bolker, B., Borcard, D., Borman, T., Carvalho, G., Chirico, M., De Caceres, M., …, & Weedon, J. (2026). vegan: Community ecology package (R package version 2.7-3). https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=vegan
Open Data – SINCHI Institute. (2023, 11 de julio). Coberturas de la tierra SIMCOBA. https://datos.siatac.co/pages/coberturas
Ospina-Torres, R., Mey, W., & Jaime-Murcia, P. (2018). Two new orthoclad species from Colombian Andes (Diptera: Chironomidae). Zootaxa, 4472(2), 385–392. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4472.2.11
Oviedo-Machado, N., & Reinoso-Flórez, G. (2018). Aspectos ecológicos de larvas de Chironomidae (Diptera) del río Opia (Tolima, Colombia). Revista Colombiana de Entomología, 44(1), 101–109. https://doi.org/10.25100/socolen.v44i1.6546
Paggi, A. C. (2009). Diptera Chironomidae. In E. Domínguez & H. R. Fernández (Eds.), Macroinvertebrados bentónicos sudamericanos: Sistemática y biología (pp. 383–409). Fundación Miguel Lillo.
Pero, E. J. I., Torrejon, S. E., & Molineri, C. (2023). Influencia de la ecorregión y tipo de río en Chironomidae neotropical (Diptera) desde las montañas húmedas hasta tierras bajas semiáridas. Revista de Biología Tropical, 71(1), e50081. https://doi.org/10.15517/rev.biol.trop.v71i1.50081
Podani, J., & Schmera, D. (2011). A new conceptual and methodological framework for exploring and explaining pattern in presence-absence data. Oikos, 120(11), 1625–1638. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2011.19451.x
Prat, N., & Castro-López, D. (2023). Chironomidae as indicators of water pollution in Pesquería River (México). Journal of Entomological and Acarological Research, 55(1), 10861. https://doi.org/10.4081/jear.2023.10861
R Core Team. (2024). R: A language and environment for statistical computing (Version 4.4.1) [Software]. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. https://cran.r-project.org/bin/windows/base/old/
Rideout, N. K., Compson, Z. G., Monk, W. A., Bruce, M. R., Hajibabaei, M., Porter, T. M., Wright, M. T. G., & Baird, D. J. (2022). Environmental filtering of macroinvertebrate traits influences ecosystem functioning in a large river floodplain. Functional Ecology, 36(11), 2791–2805. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14168
Rodríguez-Capítulo, A., Muñoz, I., Bonada, N., Gaudes, A., & Tomanova, S. (2009). La biota de los ríos: los invertebrados. In A. Elosegui & S. Sabater (Eds.), Conceptos y técnicas en ecología fluvial (pp. 253–270). Fundación BBVA.
Rojas-Céspedes, M. G., Guevara, G., & Reinoso-Flórez, G. (2024). Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera) en tres quebradas altoandinas tropicales en Colombia: cambios altitudinales y temporales. Revista de Biología Tropical, 72(1), e57730. https://doi.org/10.15517/rev.biol.trop..v72i1.57730
Roldán-Pérez, G., & Ramírez-Ramírez, J. J. (2022). Fundamentos de limnología neotropical (3rd ed.). Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales.
Roque, F. O., Siqueira, T., Bini, L. M., Ribeiro, M. C., Tambosi, L. R., Ciocheti, G., & Trivinho‐Strixino, S. (2010). Untangling associations between chironomid taxa in Neotropical streams using local and landscape filters. Freshwater Biology, 55(4), 847–865. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2427.2009.02314.x
Rossaro, B., & Marziali, L. (2024). Response of Chironomids (Diptera, Chironomidae) to environmental factors at different spatial scales. Insects, 15(4), 272. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15040272
Rossaro, B., Marziali, L., & Boggero, A. (2022). Response of Chironomids to key environmental factors: Perspective for biomonitoring. Insects, 13(10), 911. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13100911
Rossaro, B., Marziali, L., Montagna, M., Magoga, G., Zaupa, S., & Boggero, A. (2022). Factors controlling morphotaxa distributions of Diptera Chironomidae in freshwaters. Water, 14(7), 1014. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14071014
Shimabukuro, E. M., & Trivinho-Strixino, S. (2018). Madicolous Chironomidae from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest: a checklist with notes on altitudinal distributions (Diptera, Insecta). ZooKeys, 751, 41–73. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.751.20611
Trivinho-Strixino, S. T. (2011). Larvas de Chironomidae: guia de identificação. Laboratório de Entomologia Aquática da Universidade Federal de São Carlos.
Villamarín, C., Villamarín-Cortez, S., Salcido, D. M., Herrera-Madrid, M., & Ríos-Touma, B. (2021). Drivers of diversity and altitudinal distribution of chironomids (Diptera: Chironomidae) in the Ecuadorian Andes. Revista de Biología Tropical, 69(1), 113–126. https://doi.org/10.15517/rbt.v69i1.40964
Wiederholm, T. (Ed.). (1983). Chironomidae of the Holarctic region: Keys and diagnoses. Part 1: Larvae. Scandinavian Entomology.
Wickham, H. (2016). ggplot2: Elegant graphics for data analysis. Springer-Verlag New York.
Williams-Subiza, E. A., Brand, C., & Miserendino, M. L. (2022). Compositional shifts in freshwater macroinvertebrate communities over 30 years of urbanization. Ecological Engineering, 183, 106738. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2022.106738
Additional Files
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Revista de Biología Tropical
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC BY 4.0)
Attribution (BY) • (BY) You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).
