Distribution and Habitat Preferences of the Newly Rediscovered Telmatogeton magellanicus (Jacobs, 1900) (Diptera: Chironomidae) on Navarino Island, Chile

Abstract

The habitat of the intertidal flightless midge Telmatogeton magellanicus (Jacobs, 1900) is described for the first time from the northern coast of Navarino Island, Tierra del Fuego, Chile. Additionally, we report the first observations of adult behaviour in the wild. We delineate the species’ distribution across three tidal zones (high, mid and low), and identify substrate characteristics that favour the presence of the midge. The mid-tide zone was the key habitat utilized by T. magellanicus, with lower densities in the low-tide zone and no presence in the high-tide zone. There was a strong association between the presence of larvae and filamentous algae, especially Bostrychia spp. and, to a lesser extent, Ulva spp., as well as between larvae and the presence of larger, more stable boulders. As a result, the species’ overall distribution was widespread but patchy. We suggest that the main limiting factor is the relative humidity experienced in different habitats. One of the most striking features of the behavioural observations during data collection was the extremely active adults, which suggests high energy expenditure over a very short period of time. This may be due to the limited time available to find mates in a single low-tide period, when adults have about three hours after emerging from the pupa to complete mating and oviposition before inundation by the tide. The data presented here provide a baseline for future studies on this species’ ecology, phenology, physiology and general biology.

The evolution of marine dwelling in Diptera

“…WoRMS contains an ongoing list of marine dipterans, but relies entirely upon published literature and the scientific community to self‐report ecological descriptions of species. Some groups with well‐known marine life history such as Thoracochaeta (Sphaeroceridae: Limosiinae; (Marshall, 1982 ; Hodge et al., 2017 )), Oedoparena (Dryomyzidae; (Gibson & Choong, 2021 )), Telmatogeton (Chironomidae: Telmatogetoninae; (Brodin & Andersson, 2009 ; Lorenz Simões et al., 2020 ; Nondula et al., 2004 )), Thalassomya (Chironomidae: Telmatogetoninae; (Qi et al., 2019 )), and Tanytarsus (Qi et al., 2019 ) were missing from the overall list of marine species in WoRMS. Similarly, genera like Fucellia (Anthomyiidae: Anthomyiinae; (Kaczorowska, 2005 )) and Pontomyia (Chironomidae: Chironominae; (Huang & Cheng, 2011 )) were given marine designations in WoRMS as a family but were not among the taxa examined in the fly tree of life (Wiegmann et al., 2011 ).…”

Un centinela para el monitoreo del cambio climático y su impacto sobre la biodiversidad en la cumbre austral de América: La nueva red de estudios a largo Plazo Cabo de Hornos

“…La Red LTSER-Chile, coordinada y financiada en su primera etapa por el IEB, fue establecida con aportes de la Iniciativa Científica Milenio y la Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (CONICYT), e incluyó tres sitios co-fundadores, con infraestructura y equipos de trabajo, que abarcan el gradiente latitudinal de los bosques de Chile desde su extremo norte hasta su extremo sur: Parque Nacional (PN) Bosque Fray Jorge (30ºS, Gutiérrez et al 2010), en la Reserva de la Biosfera Fray Jorge (Squeo & Méndez, 2019), Estación Biológica Senda Darwin en Chiloé (42ºS, Carmona et al 2010) y Parque Etnobotánico Omora (55°S, . A través de esta colaboración con la Red LTSER-Chile, los estudios de largo plazo realizados en el Parque Omora incorporaron los ecosistemas subantárticos altoandinos (Méndez et al 2013), dulceacuícolas (Contador et al 2015;Rendoll-Cárcamo et al 2019;Simões et al 2020) y fortalecieron estudios críticos sobre especies exóticas invasoras que representan una creciente amenaza para la biodiversidad en la RBCH (Rozzi et al 2004;Schüttler et al 2008Schüttler et al , 2009Schüttler et al , 2010Schüttler et al , 2011Schüttler et al , 2018Schüttler et al , 2019Rendoll-Cárcamo et al 2016, 2017aCrego et al 2018b, c). La investigación socio-ecológica se fortaleció también con el trabajo desarrollado por el Programa de Postgrado en Ciencias y Conservación de la Universidad de Magallanes (UMAG), con apoyo de otras universidades y centros chilenos y extranjeros que han incluido el desarrollo de numerosas tesis de postgrado y cursos internacionales.…”

Ocean currents as a potential dispersal pathway for Antarctica’s most persistent non-native terrestrial insect

“…Rafting is a known behavioural tactic in invertebrates of both freshwater and marine environments, including the Magellanic sub-Antarctic chironomid Telmatogeton magellanicus (Simões et al 2020), and Antarctic and Arctic Collembola (Coulson et al 2002;Hawes et al 2008). There is evidence of invertebrate rafting both with and without debris, especially in Collembola, and this has been proposed as a potentially important dispersal pathway for flightless species (Coulson et al 2002;Hawes et al 2008).…”