Zooplankton of the highland bogs of Putana, a desert wetland of the high puna, northern Chile

Abstract

The Atacama “puna” (high-altitude plateau) is situated among the high peaks of the Andes at over 4000 m a.s.l. This ecosystem covers parts of north-eastern Chile, north-western Argentina, south-eastern Peru, and mid-western Bolivia. The puna brings together several types of wetlands, such as salt-flats, lakes, rivers, high marshes, and highland bogs. Highland bogs are peatlands associated with endorheic basins. The object of this study was to analyse the specific composition and structure of the zooplankton of the bogs of the Putana River, on the Altiplano of northern Chile. In 2012, zooplankton samples were taken for qualitative and quantitative analysis at nine stations of the bog. Nine taxa of zooplanktonic crustaceans were recorded. The species richness is higher than records in other high Andean wetland at a similar altitude, although the species found have been reported for other high Andean wetlands and Andean lakes in Chile and from neighbouring countries.