Diversity of aquatic insects as bioindicators of water quality of the watershed of the river in the gorges jutiapa playpens, lemons and jutiapa La Tigra National Park, Francisco Morazán, Honduras

Abstract

The interest in knowing the current status of inland water bodies and their evolution over time has stimulated research over the past two decades, seeking to establish standards of "water quality" that would meet the demands of resource use. In that sense, an approximation can be addressed through the analysis of physic-chemical characteristics of water and the use of indicator organisms in environmental quality. In the period between February and March (dry season) of 2009 was made a collection of aquatic insects in the Limones stream, Corralitos stream and the Jutiapa river in the La Tigra National Park, Francisco Morazan, Honduras. The study's objective was to determine the abundance and diversity

The study's objective was to determine the abundance and diversity of benthic aquatic insects as bioindicators of water quality and to establish possible relationships with physicochemical parameters of the above sites, by analyzing community parameters (Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index, Berger-Parker index, Jaccard similarity index of the benthic macrofauna and implementation of the Family Biotic Hint BMWP-CR) to determine the water quality of selected streams. In Corralitos stream 371 specimens were collected, in Limones stream 177 and in Jutiapa river 64, with a total of 612 specimens, 8 orders and 26 families. The order Diptera with 6 families (being the main Culicidae with 31%, and the families Leptophlebiidae Simulidae with 18.79%) accounted for 51.96%. The orders with less especimens were Lepidoptera (0.495%) and Plecoptera (0.16%).

The water body with more diversity was Limones stream and the less diverse was the Jutiapa river. The dominance index was higher for the Jutiapa stream, being the most dominant Leptophlebiidae family. The similarity index was greater between the q Limones stream and Jutiapa river. Use of the Biotic Index of families helped to define the 3 streams of the watershed Jutiapa with water quality as regular, moderate eutrophication and pollution with little difference in the calculated values, but within the same range. Of the 3 streams, which had higher organic pollution was the Corralitos stream, located in the middle, where it is impacted by different crops, especially coffee. The diversity index results indicate that the Limones stream could be considered as a reference site for good quality biological conditions for future assessments.

A comparison with the physical and chemical parameters of water, allows the validation of the use of the Family Biotic Index as a useful tool for the assessment of water quality in inland water ecosystems, so it is recommended to study the abundance and diversity of aquatic insects during different seasonal periods.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5377/rct.v0i10.1061

Revista Ciencia y Tecnología, No. 10, junio 2012 pp 25-56