Uso de Redes Neuronales Convolucionales para el Reconocimiento Automático de Imágenes de Macroinvertebrados para el Biomonitoreo Participativo

In Panama, there are community organizations that guarantee access to water for human consumption to more than 20% of the country's total population. For the sustainability of the water resource, it is essential to involve the communities in the process of monitoring the water quality. This can be achieved through the implementation of participatory biomonitoring using macroinvertebrates as indicators. In fact, it has been determined that the presence of different families of these organisms in ecosystems can be associated to different levels of their ecological quality. This work aims to develop a system capable of recognizing two families of macroinvertebrates through the use of images. The system is based on the use of algorithms of deep neural networks, with which we can achieve the learning of patterns. From a set of public images from the internet and biomonitoring carried out in the field, we train a convolutional neural network implemented in Tensorflow and Keras. These images belong to photographs of specimens of the families Calopterygidae and Heptageniidae. For this preliminary test, we report reliability percentages with values above 95%.Keywords: image recognition, neural networks, convolutional neural networks, macroinvertebrate

The Trichoptera of Panama VII. Additional new country records for caddisflies from the Republic of Panama

The Republic of Panama currently has 358 recorded species of Trichoptera. Herein we add 25 new country records for Panama. The newly recorded taxa increase Panama’s total known caddisfly fauna to 383 species, distributed among 15 families and 52 genera. These results are part of an ongoing effort to characterize the caddisfly fauna of Panama, and to evaluate that country’s major watersheds (cuencas)

The Trichoptera of Panama VII. Additional new country records for caddisflies from the Republic of Panama

The Republic of Panama currently has 358 recorded species of Trichoptera. Herein we add 25 new country records for Panama. The newly recorded taxa increase Panama’s total known caddisfly fauna to 383 species, distributed among 15 families and 52 genera. These results are part of an ongoing effort to characterize the caddisfly fauna of Panama, and to evaluate that country’s major watersheds (cuencas)

A common fungicide impairs stream ecosystem functioning through effects on aquatic hyphomycetes and detritivorous caddisflies

Fungicides can reach streams through runoff or adhered to leaf litter, and have the potential to adversely affect processes such as litter decomposition and associated communities. This study investigated the effects of chlorothalonil, a widely used fungicide, on litter decomposition, detritivorous invertebrates (larvae of the insect Sericostoma pyrenaicum) and aquatic hyphomycetes (AHs), using stream microcosms. We considered the single and combined effects of two exposure modes: waterborne fungicide (at two concentrations: 0.125 mu g L-1 and 1.25 mu g L-1) and litter previously sprayed with the fungicide (i.e., pre-treated litter, using the application dose concentration of 1250 mu g L-1). We also assessed whether fungicide effects on invertebrates, AHs and decomposition varied among litter types (i.e., different plant species), and whether plant diversity mitigated any of those effects. Invertebrate survival and AH sporulation rate and taxon richness were strongly reduced by most combinations of fungicide exposure modes; however, invertebrates were not affected by the low waterborne concentration, whereas AHs suffered the highest reduction at this concentration. Total decomposition was slowed down by both exposure modes, and microbial decomposition was reduced by litter pre-treatment, while the waterborne fungicide had different effects depending on plant species. In general, with the exception of microbial decomposition, responses varied little among litter types. Moreover, and contrary to our expectation, plant diversity did not modulate the fungicide effects. Our results highlight the severity of fungicide inputs to streams through effects on invertebrate and microbial communities and ecosystem functioning, even in streams with well-preserved, diverse riparian vegetation.We thank Richard Pearson and two anonymous reviewers for their comments on the manuscript. This study was derived from AC's PhD thesis and AA's MSc thesis. AC was supported by a fellowship of the National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation (SENACYT) and the National Research System of Panama (SNI). SM was supported by a postdoctoral grant from the University of the Basque Country. Additional funding was obtained from the Spanish Ministry for Science, Innovation and Universities and FEDER (project BioLoss, RTI2018095023-B-I00) and Basque Government funds (IT951-16)

Litter Decomposition can be Reduced by Pesticide Effects on Detritivores and Decomposers: Implications for Tropical Stream Functioning

Understanding which factors affect the process of leaf litter decomposition is crucial if we are to predict changes in the functioning of stream ecosystems as a result of human activities. One major activity with known consequences on streams is agriculture, which is of particular concern in tropical regions, where forests are being rapidly replaced by crops. While pesticides are potential drivers of reduced decomposition rates observed in agricultural tropical streams, their specific effects on the performance of decomposers and detritivores are mostly unknown. We used a microcosm experiment to examine the individual and joint effects of an insecticide (chlorpyrifos) and a fungicide (chlorothalonil) on survival and growth of detritivores (Anchytarsus, Hyalella and Lepidostoma), aquatic hyphomycetes (AH) sporulation rate, taxon richness, assemblage structure, and leaf litter decomposition rates. Our results revealed detrimental effects on detritivore survival (which were mostly due to the insecticide and strongest for Hyalella), changes in AH assemblage structure, and reduced sporulation rate, taxon richness and microbial decomposition (mostly in response to the fungicide). Total decomposition was reduced especially when the pesticides were combined, suggesting that they operated differently and their effects were additive. Importantly, effects on decomposition were greater for single-species detritivore treatments than for the 3-species mixture, indicating that detritivore species loss may exacerbate the consequences of pesticides of stream ecosystem functioning.This work was supported by the National Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation (SENACYT; project APY-GC-2018B-052; contract no. 259e2018) and the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Panama (MEF; project 019910.001). AC was supported by a fellowship from SENACYT (contract no. 001e2015) and by the National Research System of Panama (SNI; PhD category; contract no. 186e2018). GC was supported by a fellowship from IFARHU- SENACYT (contract no. 270-2018-1011

Environmental Determinants of COVID 19 Transmission Across a Wide Climatic Gradient in Chile

Several studies have examined the transmission dynamics of the novel COVID-19 disease in different parts of the world. Some have reported relationships with various environmental variables, suggesting that spread of the disease is enhanced in colder and drier climates. However, evidence is still scarce and mostly limited to a few countries, particularly from Asia. We examined the potential role of multiple environmental variables in COVID-19 infection rate [measured as mean relative infection rate = (number of infected inhabitants per week / total population) × 100.000) from February 23 to August 16, 2020 across 360 cities of Chile. Chile has a large climatic gradient (≈ 40º of latitude, ≈ 4000 m of altitude and 5 climatic zones, from desert to tundra), but all cities share their social behaviour patterns and regulations. Our results indicated that COVID-19 transmission in Chile was mostly related to three main climatic factors (minimum temperature, atmospheric pressure and relative humidity). Transmission was greater in colder and drier cities and when atmospheric pressure was lower. The results of this study support some previous findings about the main climatic determinants of COVID-19 transmission, which may be useful for decision-making and management of the disease.Funding was provided by the Initiation Fondecyt project 11170390 to F.C.A. D.N. received a CONICYT-PFCHA/ Doctorado Nacional/2019-21191862 scholarship. A.C. received a scholarship of the National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation (SENACYT, Panama) and by the National Research System of Panama (SNI; doctoral student category)

Agriculture impairs stream ecosystem functioning in a tropical catchment

The expansion of agriculture is particularly worrying in tropical regions of the world, where native forests are being replaced by crops at alarming rates, with severe consequences for biodiversity and ecosystems. However, there is little information about the potential effects of agriculture on the functioning of tropical streams, which is essential if we are to assess the condition and ecological integrity of these ecosystems. We conducted a litter decomposition experiment in streams within a tropical catchment, which were subjected to different degrees of agricultural influence: low (protected area, PA), medium (buffer area, BA) and high (agricultural area, AA). We quantified decomposition rates of litter enclosed within coarse-mesh and fine-mesh bags, which allowed the distinction of microbial and detritivore-mediated decomposition pathways. We used litter of three riparian species representing a gradient in litter quality (Alnus acuminate > Ficus irtsipida > Querns burnelioides), and examined detritivore assemblages through the contents of litterbags and benthic samples. We found that the increasing agricultural influence promoted microbial decomposition, probably due to nutrient-mediated stimulation; and inhibited detritivore-mediated and total decomposition because of reduced detritivore numbers, most likely caused by pesticides and sedimentation. Effects were evident for Alnus and Ficus, but not for Querns, which was barely decomposed across the gradient. Our study provides key evidence about the impact of agriculture on topical stream ecosystem functioning, which is associated to changes in stream assemblages and may have far-reaching repercussions for global biochemical cycles. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.Thisworkwas supported by the National Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation (SENACYT; project APY-GC-2018B-052; contract no. 259-2018) and the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF; project 019910.001). AC was supported by a fellowship from SENACYT (contract no. 001-2015) and by the National Research System of Panama (SNI; PhD category; contract no. 186-2018). GC was supported by a fellowship from IFARHU-SENACYT (contract no. 270-2018-1011)

Latitude dictates plant diversity effects on instream decomposition

Running waters contribute substantially to global carbon fluxes through decomposition of terrestrial plant litter by aquatic microorganisms and detritivores. Diversity of this litter may influence instream decomposition globally in ways that are not yet understood. We investigated latitudinal differences in decomposition of litter mixtures of low and high functional diversity in 40 streams on 6 continents and spanning 113 degrees of latitude. Despite important variability in our dataset, we found latitudinal differences in the effect of litter functional diversity on decomposition, which we explained as evolutionary adaptations of litter-consuming detritivores to resource availability. Specifically, a balanced diet effect appears to operate at lower latitudes versus a resource concentration effect at higher latitudes. The latitudinal pattern indicates that loss of plant functional diversity will have different consequences on carbon fluxes across the globe, with greater repercussions likely at low latitudes