A Survey of Freshwater Macroinvertebrates in Tobago

Abstract

A survey of macroinvertebrates inhabiting the freshwater environments of Tobago was made during April, May, and June of 1996. This collection yielded 61 species, bringing the total number of freshwater macroinvertebrate taxa known from Tobago to 112. Dominant taxa included a few species of Gastropods, decapod crustaceans, ephemeropterans, odonates, hemipterans, and coleopterans. Species richness was usually greatest in streams having cobble substrates and flowing through undisturbed forested land. Generally this macroinvertebrate fauna is sparse when compared to that of continents, most likely due to the relatively small size of Tobago and to a much lesser extent, human disturbance of freshwater environments in some areas of the island. Further studies are likely to find additional species that were previously unknown to occur on Tobago, some of which may be endemic to the island.