Freshwater copepods(Calanoida, Cyclopoida and Harpacticoida) fron the Chihuahuan Desert.

Abstract

This work presents the taxonomy, morphology and distribution of the free-living, freshwater copepods that inhabit ephemeral aquatic habitats in one binational reserve known as the Chihuahuan Desert. This desertic zone is part of the large North American biogeographic region called Altiplano Mexicano, which is shared by Mexico and the United States. A joint effort was made to synthesize findings about the diversity of the copepods that inhabit this peculiar geographic area (in North America), where aquatic systems are scarce and ephemeral; this group of microcrustaceans has received little attention in these extreme aquatic habitats. This work represents the largest effort to study this group in desert-related aquatic habitats to date. This document is the result of collaborative work among colleagues from different institutions in Mexico (Universidad de Quintana Roo, Cozumel and El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Chetumal) and the United States (University of Texas, El Paso). It includes a taxonomic and morphological assessment of 33 species, three of which were unknown to science prior to the completion of the work. The copepod fauna of freshwater systems in the Chihuahuan Desert presented in this book was surveyed with samples collected between 2003 and 2007 (Table I). Approximately one hundred biological samples were examined. The samples were obtained from habitats including natural lakes, ephemeral waters, springs, and reservoirs in the 3 eco-regions of this desert: this area is considered to be of high priority among hydrological basins of northern Mexico and southwestern Texas; thus, some of the areas considered here are protected to varying degrees. Finally, due to the geographic location of the Chihuahuan Desert and the sampling effort, a latitudinal fringe that represents the transition between Nearctic and Neotropical regions of approximately 340,000 km2 was covered.