Aquatic macrophyte flora of coastal lakes in Santa Catarina, southern Brazil

Abstract

Aquatic macrophytes are representative fl ora elements of diverse wetland environments. They play several roles in aquatic ecosystems and are components of paramount importance in maintaining the dynamic and quality of these environments. For coastal lakes, where most aquatic macrophyte studies have been conducted, fl oristic surveys are continuously increasing, resulting in more knowledge about these species. This study sought to increase what is known about aquatic macrophytes by inventorying the biodiversity of these plants in three coastal lakes in the cities of Florianópolis (Lake Pequena), Imbituba (Lake Doce) and Araranguá (Lake Azul), Santa Catarina. A total of 112 aquatic macrophyte species were identifi ed, including 76 species for Lake Pequena, 50 for Lake Doce and 52 for Lake Azul. Among the most representative families, Cyperaceae (24 species), Poaceae (10) and Onagraceae (eight) are notable.

Inventory of Aquatic Macrophyte Species in Coastal Rivers of the São Paulo State, Brazil

“…From the total taxa recorded in the coastal rivers of São Paulo, 51.1% of these taxa were also found in the Guarapiranga Reservoir, in the São Paulo state Metropolitan Region (Rodrigues et al 2017), 35.5% in the Upper Paraná River (Floodplain ecosystems in Southern Brazil) (Souza et al 2017a) and 24.4% in coastal lakes in the Santa Catarina state (Southern Brazil) (Ferreira et al 2017). Although the aquatic environments are quite distinct, that is, coastal rivers, reservoir, floodplain and coastal lakes; the greatest similarity occurs due to the geographically close locations.…”

“…Although well distributed in Neotropical aquatic ecosystems (Pott et al 2011, Souza et al 2017a, floating species can be limited by salt (Paudel et al 2018) and water flow (Camargo et al 2003) in coastal lotic ecosystems. Some submerged macrophyte species may be salt tolerant, but they occur in lower richness in coastal areas (Adair et al 1994, Abu-Hena et al 2010, Henry-Silva et al 2010, Ferreira et al 2017.…”

“…Hitchc.) has already been recorded in all Brazilian regions (Flora do Brasil 2020 2018) and it has been observed in different aquatic ecosystems such as Pantanal wetlands (Pott et al 2011), reservoirs (Michelan et al 2010, Rodrigues et al 2017 and coastal rivers and lakes (Amorim 2015, Ferreira et al 2017. Panicum repens is native to Australia and it is considered an invasive of difficult control in the southern United States (Sutton 1996).…”

“…The knowledge on aquatic macrophyte distribution still presents large gaps (Chambers et al 2008) and such studies in coastal regions are even scarcer. Most studies on coastal aquatic ecosystems assess physiological tolerances and ecological interactions among only a few species (Castillo et al 2000, Costa et al 2003, Touchette 2006, Guo & Pennings 2012, Nunes & Camargo 2018, and species lists and inventories are poorly published (Ribeiro et al 2011, Ferreira et al 2017. Species inventories represent a consistent and efficient method to generate information on aquatic macrophytes distribution, to monitor biodiversity, and for conservation actions of species and aquatic ecosystems (Brooks et al 2004, Thomaz et al 2004.…”

Reproductive phenology and germination of Eleocharis laeviglumis R. Trevis. & Boldrini (Cyperaceae)

“…The species is endemic to southern coastal wetlands of Brazil (Trevisan & Boldrini 2006) and is one of the dominant emergent macrophytes in Lagoa Pequena (LP), a freshwater coastal lake 600m from the ocean on southern Florianópolis island, Santa Catarina, Brazil (27º39'17.9"S; 48º28'36.2"W). The ecosystem supports a rich macrophytic flora, with Cyperaceae being the richest taxon (Ferreira et al 2017). Although LP is located in an urban area and suffers from human impacts, it is partially surrounded by restinga forests, dunes and wetlands (Falkenberg 1999).…”