Distribution of planktonic microcrustaceans (Cladocera and Copepoda) in lentic and lotic environments from the semiarid region in northeastern Brazil

Abstract

<jats:p>Abstract The present study aimed to inventory the biodiversity of planktonic microcrustaceans (Cladocera and Copepoda) in 44 environments from the semiarid region of Brazil, increasing the knowledge about zooplankton community, including phytophilous species. Between 2011 and 2017, organisms were collected in a non - systematic way in the states of Rio Grande do Norte, Pernambuco, Ceará and Paraíba. A total of 60 species of planktonic microcrustaceans were identified, of which 52 were cladocerans and eight were copepods. The basin that presented the highest richness was Pajeú River with 41 species. Nevertheless, the extrapolated number of species shows an increasing tendency for this basin. The genus composition was different between the basins, with Moxotó basin (Pernambuco) being isolated from the others, probably since lagoons were the only type of environment sampled in this basin. Richness and abundance patterns were higher for the basins where sampling was mainly performed in lentic environments, such as Pajeú and Moxotó. Microcrustacean inventories and long-term studies need to be conducted more frequently to better understand the biodiversity of continental aquatic ecosystems in the semiarid region of Brazil.</jats:p>

A new species of Acantholeberis (Crustacea, Branchiopoda) suggests an ancient geographic distribution of the genus in South America

“…1). The narrow distribution of species seems to be well documented as several areas in Brazil were sampled and no specimens of Acantholeberis were mentioned (Sousa & Elmoor-Loureiro 2008, 2012Lansac-Tôha et al 2009;Santos-Winiewski et al 2011;Rocha et al 2011;Brito et al 2020), even those studies performed on the Brazilian coast at latitudes lower than 22° S (Sousa et al 2009;Van Damme & Dumont 2010;Soares & Elmoor-Loureiro 2011;Diniz et al 2020). Thus, A. accolismaris sp.…”

The vicinity of reservoirs and type of environment contribute to the occurrence of an exotic cladoceran, Daphnia lumholtzi (Sars, 1885), in a Neotropical drainage basin

“…According to our results, the different types of environment (lentic and lotic) were significantly correlated with the densities of D. lumholtzi . Comparative studies carried out in continental aquatic ecosystems with different flow velocities have demonstrated that there are greater densities and richness of zooplankton species in lentic environments (Diniz et al, 2018; Lansac‐Tôha et al, 2009), such as lakes and reservoirs. Although they make their own movements, the swimming capacity of these organisms is limited, as is the case of D. lumholtzi , which makes them unable to overcome currents and consequently establish or maintain large populations.…”

Zooplankton species distribution, richness and composition across tropical shallow lakes: A large scale assessment by biome, lake origin, and lake habitat

“…In general, we observed that the total of zooplankton species found in our study was lower when compared to other Brazilian regions (Neves et al, 2003, Aoyagui andBonecker, 2004;Eskinazi-Sant'anna et al, 2005;Souza-Soares et al, 2011). However, the species record per region is generally related to the number of specialists researchers in each area, which makes it difficult, or even impossible, to compare results among regions (Silva 2008;Diniz et al, 2020). We know that there is a traditional discrepancy between knowledge about biodiversity in northeastern Brazil when compared to other Brazilian regions, especially from Caatinga biome and semiarid climate (Silva and Perbiche-Neves, 2017;Barros et al, 2020).…”

“…In fact, there are fewer biodiversity studies carried out in the Caatinga when compared to other Brazilian biomes (Silva and Perbiche-Neves, 2017;Barros et al, 2020). The majority of the Caatinga biome has never been investigated or remains sub-sampled (Tabarelli and Vicente, 2004;de Albuquerque et al, 2012), especially for invertebrates groups (Silva and Perbiche-Neves 2017;Diniz et al, 2020). It is also important to note that the Rotifera, Copepoda and Cladocera composition differed between the lakes from Caatinga and the Atlantic Forest biome.…”

“…In Brazil, a country recognized as having one of the highest biodiversity of the planet (Myers et al, 2000), most of the studies about microcrustaceans and rotifers biodiversity is from São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Paraná states (Brandorff, 1976;Matsumura-Tundisi, 2005, 2011;Souza-Soares et al, 2011;Silva and Perbiche-Neves, 2017). Meanwhile, although the number of studies about freshwater ecosystems in the Brazilian Northeast have increased in recent years (Diniz et al, 2020), many of them are still difficult to find and access, being found in grey literature as particular libraries and collections (de Melo J unior et al, 2007a;Paranhos et al, 2013). The Brazilian Northeast region has a significant number of lakes (Rosenberg et al, 2000;Lazzaro et al, 2003;Moss, 2009) with different geomorphological origins, human uses and it is subjected to an unique climatic and environmental variations that can act as active ecological filters to zooplankton species selection (Crossetti et al, 2008;Arthaud et al, 2012).…”