Abstract
The Toltén river is located in the 137 years old Araucania region, Chile (38° S), and is characterized by low alterations through human interference due agriculture and towns in its surrounding basin, the presence of native fishes and salmonids, and by its lake effluent regime originated from Villarrica lake. The aim of the present study was to make a review of ecological role of the benthic inland water macroinvertebrates as preys for native fishes of the River Toltén, in order to understand their importance in the ecosystem of the river. The literature revealed that the main prey for native fishes are Chironomidae larvae, nevertheless there are not specific reports for Tolten river. The exposed results are similar with similar native species for Patagonia, and these native species would have prey for introduced salmonids, or these species would have prey competition with introduced salmonids in according to the literature descriptions for Argentinean and Chilean Patagonia.
Highlights
The northern Patagonian Chilean rivers (38-41°S) are characterized by their origin from lake effluents (Niemeyer and Cereceda, 1984)
The aim of the present study was to make a review of the role of macroinvertebrate inland water in the ecosystem(s) of the Toltén river, which constitutes an important resource for the Araucania region as a fresh water source and as a habitat for macroinvertebrates and fishes species
In order to know the geographical distribution of the mentioned species and update their systematic classification, the link of (Global Biodiversity Information Facility, 2019) of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) was used
Summary
The northern Patagonian Chilean rivers (38-41°S) are characterized by their origin from lake effluents (Niemeyer and Cereceda, 1984). These circumstances have generated, and still continue to generate, a specific composition in the benthic communities that are adapted to these particular flow conditions (Colin et al, 2012; Piedra et al, 2012). The literature about macroinvertebrates in this kind of rivers is quite fragmented, and mainly describes the presence of. Smith), freshwater crabs of the genus Aegla (Leach, 1820), and the southern Chilean river prawn, Samastacus spinifrons (Phillippi, 1882) (De los Ríos-Escalante et al, 2013; Jara, 2013; Rudolph, 2013), and Diptera, Trichoptera and Ephemeroptera larval stages (Figueroa, 2000; Figueroa et al, 2006, 2007), many of these groups are currently endangered due to humaninduced alterations in their habitats and the introduction of
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