Temporal partitioning of Chironomidae emergence in an insular, tropical rainforest stream

Abstract

Annual water temperature variation strongly influences larval growth of aquatic insects in streams located in temperate regions or at high elevations, which produces cohorts with highly synchronized emergence periods and short average annual durations of emergence. Studies of Chironomidae in tropical streams indicate that species in these habitats have longer average durations of emergence due to reduced annual variation in water temperature. We used emergence trap data collected over one year from Quebrada Prieta (El Verde Field Station, Puerto Rico) to test the prediction that chironomids of an insular rainforest stream should have longer average annual durations of emergence than chironomids in both temperate streams and mainland streams in continental tropical regions. Taxa richness was relatively low with twenty-eight Chironomidae taxa collected from Quebrada Prieta. Emergence patterns of the most common taxa demonstrated some seasonally with the highest emergence generally occurring during the dry season (January through April). The estimated average emergence duration of Chironomidae in Quebrada Prieta was 205 days/species/year, which was greater than estimates of average durations for chironomids of three streams in Pennsylvania, USA (70 days/species/year), 6 streams in Minnesota, USA (89 days/species/year), and four streams in Guanacaste National Park in northwestern Costa Rica (116 days/species/year). The emergence duration for the chironomid community in Quebrada Prieta was most similar to another tropical, mountain stream in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (255 days/species/year). Although many taxa emerged throughout the one-year sampling period, some taxa in Quebrada Prieta had distinct emergence peaks. This demonstrates that although environmental conditions are stable enough to allow for emergence throughout the year for many species, there is some seasonality in the development of chironomid taxa in this tropical stream. These results are consistent with predictions that invertebrates in tropical streams will have longer, less synchronous emergence periods than species in temperate regions with high annual fluctuations in temperature. However, this research is also similar to several other studies that have identified seasonal emergence peaks in tropical chironomids which demonstrates a need to better understand the exogenous cues that affect these patterns.