Abstract (eng)
Tropical ecosystems, especially tropical freshwater habitats are under threat of human-made disturbances. Odonata are known to qualify for assessing the integrity of freshwater ecosystems. To gain knowledge about potential drivers of Odonata community assemblages, this study aims to shed light on the interplay of differing habitat types and morphological traits of Odonata species shaping the community composition in the southern Pacific lowlands of Costa Rica. The study took place from October 2016 to February 2017 around La Gamba. Adult Odonata were sampled along streams in four different habitat types, forest interior, forest margin, gallery forest and openland. Measurements of morphological traits known to influence flight characteristics were taken from voucher specimens. The study found no habitat preferences among the sampled species on a family level. Community-weighted means of the measured traits revealed morphological differences of the Odonata communities along the gradient from forest interior to openland habitats, but a fourth corner analysis failed to link certain morphological traits to the assessed habitat variables.