Aquatic macrophytes as indicators of water quality in subtropical shallow lakes, Southern Brazil

Abstract

AIMS: We evaluated the potential of aquatic macrophyte communities as bioindicators in six small shallow lakes. METHODS: The sampling was conducted monthly for one year, during which all macrophytes were surveyed, and the water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, total alkalinity, chlorophyll-a, suspended matter, total nitrogen (Nt) and total phosphorus (Pt) were measured. RESULTS: In total, forty-three species were recorded, and there were significant differences in the species richness and limnological conditions among the lakes studied. A canonical correspondence analysis showed that the concentration of nutrients (Nt and Pt), chlorophyll-a, suspended matter, dissolved oxygen and pH were the most important predictors of the distribution of macrophytes. Some emergents were related to the high concentration of nutrients, chlorophyll-a, and suspended matter. Moreover, the most submersed species were associated with environments with low nutrient concentrations and the lowest values chlorophyll-a and suspended matter. In addition, some species submerged and floating were related to low values pH, alkalinity and dissolved oxygen. Limnological differences between lakes may be cited as the main causes of the observed heterogeneous distribution of macrophytes. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate the importance of limnological characteristics of the different environments in the macrophyte community composition and the potential role of this community as a bioindicator in shallow lakes in southern Brazil.

Geographical variation of aquatic macrophyte biodiversity: Towards an integration of scale and ecological organisation = Variación geográfica en la biodiversidad de los macrófitos acuáticos: hacia una integración de la escala y la organización ecológica

“…As noticed by other authors (e.g. Pereira et al, 2012), community heterogeneity remained broadly constant from intermediate levels of TN onwards. However, the relatively low amount of variation captured by the final model (∼15%) supports the idea that ecological factors others than those included here, such as habitat isolation (i.e.…”

Long-term dynamics of flora of karst lakes: Changes and current state

“…They are an indicator of eutrophication processes -one of the main current global problems (Yang et al, 2008;Sender, 2012;Seo et al, 2014;Teneva et al, 2014). By changing the natural environments, aquatic plants can also indicate the extent of anthropogenic impact (Lehmann & Lachavanne, 1999;Clayton & Edwards, 2006;Lacoul et al, 2011;Pirini et al, 2011;Pereira et al, 2012;Evangelista et al, 2014;Sharma & Singh, 2017). It should be mentioned that a rising level of eutrophication causes a significantly manifested decrease in the water quality and is often followed by a decrease in the species diversity in water reservoirs (Egertson et al, 2004).…”

Utricularia breviscapa C. Wright ex Griseb. (Lentibulariaceae) documented for the first time in Suriname

“…Macrophytes are an important component in aquatic ecosystems, as they are often the main primary producers and they add significantly to biodiversity (Pereira et al 2012). The survival of the aquatic macrophytes is dependent on the physical and chemical component of the water source they live in (Pereira et al 2012).…”

“…The survival of the aquatic macrophytes is dependent on the physical and chemical component of the water source they live in (Pereira et al 2012). The family Lentibulariaceae, distributed worldwide, presently consists of about 325 accepted species (Müller et al 2006).…”