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ASSOCIATED INVERTEBRATES OF THE Heliconia rostrata AND Heliconia spathocircinata (HELICONIACEAE) BRACTS AT THE JATUN SACHA BIOLOGICAL STATION, NAPO PROVINCE: A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS

2014; Politecnica Salesiana University; Issue: 20 Linguagem: Inglês

10.17163/lgr.n20.2014.02

1390-8596

Fabián Bersosa, Walter Simbaña, Santiago Moreno-Vázquez,

Environmental DNA in Biodiversity Studies

Water reservoirs created by bracts of heliconia flowers are habitats of great diversity for invertebrates. Between March 4-10, 2010, invertebrates that interacted with bracts of Heliconia rostrata and Heliconia spathocircinata were collected at the Jatuh Sacha Biological Station, Tena Province. Six hundred and thirty-three invertebrates from eight orders, 19 families and 30 morphospecies, were registered in the bracts of heliconias. The most abundant orders were Diptera and Coleoptera, with 200 and 104 individuals, respectively. The greatest abundance of invertebrates were found in bracts of H. Spathocircinata, with 350 specimens, while H. Rostrata included 280 specimens. Specimens of the Annelida and Crustacea classes were also found. This study shows that the Heliconia inflorescence creates real microsystems where organisms can find food, refuge, and resources to develop from larvae into adults and invertebrate relationships.