Abstract

In lentic ecosystems zooplankton plays an important role in energy transference from primary producers to the top trophic levels. The communities have structured spatial associations regulated by biotic and abiotic factors that generate guild organizations where the species utilize the same resource under different biotic and abiotic conditions. The aim of the present study is to determine the existence of some regulatory spatial pattern or the random presence of inland water zooplanktonic crustaceans in Chile. We studied 85 sites, and applied a null model to species associations. We found that the species associations are explained by regulatory patterns, in agreement with the literature about the important role of trophic status and conductivity in the regulation of species composition. The results also agree with descriptions for lakes in Argentina and New Zealand.