Hurricane disturbance drives trophic changes in neotropical mountain stream food webs.

Food webs are complex ecological networks that reveal species interactions and energy flow in ecosystems. Prevailing ecological knowledge on forested streams suggests that their food webs are based on allochthonous carbon, driven by a constant supply of organic matter from adjacent vegetation and limited primary production due to low light conditions. Extreme climatic disturbances can disrupt these natural ecosystem dynamics by altering resource availability, which leads to changes in food web structure and functioning.

Mayfly emergence production and body length response to hydrology in a tropical lowland stream.

Background: Hydrological impacts on aquatic biota have been assessed in numerous empirical studies. Aquatic insects are severely affected by population declines and consequent diversity loss. However, many uncertainties remain regarding the effects of hydrology on insect production and the consequences of energy transfer to the terrestrial ecosystem.

The description of Anacroneuria suerre sp. nov. from Costa Rica (Plecoptera: Perlidae) and using nymphs in ecotoxicological studies.

The lack of nymph-adult associations limits our knowledge of the ecology, history and sensitivity of aquatic insects. In this study, the new species, Anacroneuria suerre sp. nov is described from Costa Rica based on the male, female, and nymphal stages.

Large-scale climatic phenomena drive fluctuations in macroinvertebrate assemblages in lowland tropical streams, Costa Rica: The importance of ENSO events in determining long-term (15y) patterns.

Understanding how environmental variables influence the distribution and density of organisms over relatively long temporal scales is a central question in ecology given increased climatic variability (e.g., precipitation, ENSO events).

[Ecological ensembles and assemblages - a reply to Monge-Nájera].

Critical evaluation of terminology use in ecology is important to avoid using jargon that helps little to facilitate communication. Here we reply to Monge-Najera’s comment on the use of the terms ensemble and assemblage, we argue for the use of the words ensamble and ensamblaje in Spanish. In addition, both terms have a proper place in ecology and we provide a case for their use in proper ecological context.

A new species of Anacroneuria Klapálek 1909 (Plecoptera: Perlidae) and notes on the altitudinal distribution of the genus in Costa Rica.

Anacroneuria is the most widespread genus of Perlidae throughout the Neotropical region and 30 species have been reported from Costa Rica. In this paper, we describe and illustrate a new species from a high elevation cloud forest, A. quetzali sp.

New records of Anacroneuria Klapálek, 1909 (Plecoptera: Perlidae) for Central America.

The perlid genus Anacroneuria is the most widely distributed stonefly occurring in the Neotropics. Regional studies of this genus were made early in the last century, whereas local taxonomic and distributional studies have recently increased. In this study, we provide new Central American records for four species of Anacroneuria.

Three new species of Anacroneuria Klapálek (Plecoptera: Perlidae) from Panama.

In Central America, the Plecoptera is represented by the genera Anacroneuria and Perlesta, both from the Perlidae family. A total of 45 species have been reported for the region, of which 16 have been found in Panama, all of the genus Anacroneuria. Three new species for Panama are described in this study: Anacroneuria darien, A.

Application of the BMWP-Costa Rica biotic index in aquatic biomonitoring: sensitivity to collection method and sampling intensity.

The use of aquatic macroinvertebrates as bio-indicators in water quality studies has increased considerably over the last decade in Costa Rica, and standard biomonitoring methods have now been formulated at the national level. Nevertheless, questions remain about the effectiveness of different methods of sampling freshwater benthic assemblages, and how sampling intensity may influence biomonitoring results. In this study, we compared the results of qualitative sampling using commonly applied methods with a more intensive quantitative approach at 12 sites in small, lowland streams on the southern Caribbean slope of Costa Rica.

Functional feeding groups of aquatic insect families in Latin America: a critical analysis and review of existing literature.

Aquatic macroinvertebrates are involved in numerous processes within aquatic ecosystems. They often have important effects on ecosystem processes such as primary production (via grazing), detritus breakdown, and nutrient mineralization and downstream spiraling. The functional feeding groups (FFG) classification was developed as a tool to facilitate the incorporation of macroinvertebrates in studies of aquatic ecosystems.

[Studies on Latin American freshwater macroinvertebrates: recent advances and future directions].

Latin America is an active scientific research area, in particular with respect to the study of freshwater macroinvertebrates. The present serves as an introduction to a special issue that highlights recent research projects on macroinvertebrates in Latin America. As part of this introduction, we conducted a literature analysis of the last 14 years of publications from the region that highlights the steady increase in publications on macroinvertebrates.

[Freshwater macroinvertebrates from Cocos Island, Costa Rica: species and comparison with other islands of the Eastern Tropical Pacific].

Freshwater macroinvertebrates from Cocos Island, Costa Rica: species and comparison with other islands of the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Cocos Island is an oceanic island in the Eastern Pacific, at 496km from Cabo Blanco, Costa Rica. This 24 km2 island is surrounded by a protected marine area of 9640 km2.

The larvae of Heteragrion majus Selys and H. atrolineatum Donnelly, with a key to known species from Costa Rica (Odonata: Megapodagrionidae).

The final larval stadium of Heteragrion majus Selys, 1886 and H. atrolineatum Donnelly, 1992 are described and illustrated for the first time, using reared material from Costa Rica, and compared with other species of the genus known from the country. All species were very similar as larvae, but they can be separated by the presence and distribution of antennal setae, spines on the posterior margin of the abdominal segments, and size.