Diversity and distribution of the Caddisflies (Insecta: Trichoptera) of Ecuador.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Aquatic insects and other freshwater animals are some of the most threatened forms of life on Earth. Caddisflies (Trichoptera) are highly biodiverse in the Neotropics and occupy a wide variety of freshwater habitats. In Andean countries, including Ecuador, knowledge of the aquatic biota is limited, and there is a great need for baseline data on the species found in these countries. Here we present the first list of Trichoptera known from Ecuador, a country that harbors two global biodiversity "hotspots."

Methods

We conducted a literature review of species previously reported from Ecuador and supplemented these data with material we collected during five recent field inventories from about 40 localities spanning both hotspots. Using species presence data for each E

SUBMITTER: Rios-Touma B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5237369 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature