Resumen

The purpose of this study is to examine the structure of aquatic communities of tropical headwater streams of the Andean cloud forest and determine abiotic environmental factors that may be significant to the biological integrity. This will be accomplished by examining the distribution of globally important benthic invertebrate taxa: especially the orders Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT). The EPT orders are some of the most abundant and important members of stream networks, and in South America as well as throughout much of the world they make up the primary components of many water quality monitoring efforts (Acosta et al. 2009; Dominguez and Fernández 2009). In order to guide future conservation decisions, we need to enhance our understanding of change in the cloud forest, and aquatic insect communities will help us achieve our goals.