The Trichoptera of Panama. XVI. Evaluation of Trichoptera (Insecta) from Omar Torrijos Herrera General Division National Park

Abstract

The objective of this study was a preliminary evaluation of the adult Trichoptera (Insecta) fauna of Omar Torrijos Herrera General Division National Park, comparing collection methods and local/regional species affinities. Employing both Malaise traps and UV light traps, adult caddisflies were collected in four streams (two each in the Caribbean and Pacific drainages). In recent publications, 11 new species were described and four first country records published for this study. Seventy-two taxa were identified from all samples, with two species yet to be described. We found multiple collection methods were required to adequately estimate species richness. The Chao2 estimator of potential species richness indicated a minimum of 118 species, and even more species could be expected if prolonged sampling occurred monthly in all park streams. The identification and addition of 15 new taxa to Panama’s Trichoptera fauna from such a small area and sampling effort is both remarkable and encouraging.

Keywords:

• Neotropics
• protected areas
• regional affiliation
• biological diversity

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the Panamanian Ministry of Environment, which, through the Sustainable Production System and Biodiversity Conservation Project (PSPSCB), financed the collections in PNGDOTH from the World Bank grant and which provided collection permits and other support. We also appreciate the organisational and logistical support by the Gorgas Institute and COZEM concerning the current national parks project. We are indebted to Roger Blahnik, University of Minnesota, who verified some of the species and provided helpful comments, and to Albert Thurman for his logistical support and friendship. We appreciate the efforts of Tatiana I. Arefina-Armitage for editing the manuscript. Finally, we thank the anonymous reviewers for evaluating and improving this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

Support for fieldwork came from Panama’s Ministerio de Ambiente, funded by a grant from the World Bank. Completion of this report was made possible thanks to support to the first author by the Sistema Nacional de Investigación (SNI) of SENACYT, Panama.