Comunidades de insectos acuáticos de charcos temporarios y lagunas en la ciudad de Buenos Aires (Argentina)

We studied the community of aquatic insects inhabiting both temporary pools and permanent ponds occuring in Buenos Aires City. A total of 3436 rain pools were examined, and six permanent ponds at the "Reserva Ecologica Costanera Sur" in the Rio de la Plata riverside were visited 149 times. A total of 85 taxa were recorded from both habitats, included in five orders of Insecta. The order Coleoptera showed the highest diversity values (36 taxa), followed by Diptera (27), Heteroptera (17), Odonata (4), and Ephemeroptera (1). High values of richness were observed in temporary pools (58 taxa) and permanent ponds without floating vegetation (64 taxa). The diversity index for temporary ponds was significantly (p<0,05) lower than in permanent habitats