Colección de referencia digital para los invertebrados acuáticos del Ecuador (CORA)

Abstract

Abstract:Aquatic invertebrates are present in almost all freshwater ecosystems being represented by a high diversity of species belonging to several phyla. Due to its ecological importance, the study of this group of organisms has been a central part in aquatic ecology and for the assessment and monitoring of aquatic ecosystems. Nevertheless, some of the limitations for their study are taxonomic identification and the availability of information sources, especially for poorly studied regions such as the Neotropics. This work describes how we created a digital reference collection for the aquatic invertebrates of Ecuador named CORA for a genus of the order Odonata (Polythoridae). This collection will be available online in the platform of the Laboratory of Tropical Ecology and Ecosystem Services (EcoSsLab) with free access to the public. CORA is constituted by digital photographs to facilitate the verification and identification of specimens. In addition, the photographs appear together with taxonomic and ecological information of the aquatic invertebrates that has been systematized after an exhaustive search of scientific and gray literature. CORA will be a tool that will be in continuous expansion and can be developed with the collaboration of other researchers and similar initiatives.