Modeling the predator-prey relationship for the macroinvertebrate community on the shore of Lake Tota

High Andean lakes are ecosystems affected by multiple anthropogenic pressures that alter water quality and biotic communities, and aquatic macroinvertebrates are excellent bioindicators for these ecosystems. The present work analyzes the dynamics of the macroinvertebrate community associated with Egeria densa, the relationship with physicochemical variables, biotic indices, and predator-prey interaction in the littoral of Lake Tota. This work was developed in three campaigns on nine sampling stations on the perimeter of the lake. Among the findings, Hyallela sp. (30 %) and Dicrotendipes sp. (27 %) are the most abundant and dominant taxa of the study, being bioindicators of the presence of decomposing organic matter and decrease in water quality. ANOVA analysis of the physicochemical variables of water and nutrients of Egeria densa showed significant differences at the temporal level. The biotic indices showed differences in water quality, determining a possible zoning of this parameter along the coast. Finally, to identify community relationships, a predator-prey model is presented, with Hyalella sp. as prey and Ischnura sp. as predator through the Lotka-Volterra equations, finding that there is agreement between the behavior of measured and simulated abundances. In this way, the trophic dynamics contribute to understand the communities and their projection in time in relation to the environmental conditions of the littoral zone.