Fishing for dragonflies: mitogenomes, bar codes and environmental DNA of dragonflies (Insecta: Odonata) as a tool to evaluate the conservation status of freshwater ecosystems in Colombia

Water resources are fundamental for life, and therefore it is necessary to permanently monitor the availability and quality of freshwater ecosystems. This requires knowing and evaluating their state of conservation, especially in regions with greater water wealth. Colombia is one of the countries with the most water resources, but knowledge about the biodiversity associated with its freshwater ecosystems is scarce. The Odonata are organisms with great potential to monitor these ecosystems since their larvae depend completely on these habitats. However, most studies that use Odonata as water quality bioindicators characterize the community of adults, not larvae. In fact, no tool has yet been developed to quickly and accurately characterize the communities of these insects in Colombia's freshwater systems. This research proposal seeks to implement modern molecular methodologies in the area of the Anchicayá hydroelectric plant in order to (i) generate a mitogenome library that allows identifying the ideal molecular regions to identify at species level the Odonates that inhabit the region; (ii) validate this library by developing an environmental DNA protocol coupled to barcodes to molecularly identify the larvae at species level, and thus, detect the species of dragonflies (immature and adult) present in different aquatic habitats of this region; and finally, (iii) to establish an integrative neotropical dragonfly biotic index that will allow the evaluation of conservation status and freshwater quality in Anchicayá using Odonata's taxonomic diversity.