Association of body size and behavior of freshwater ostracods (Crustacea, Ostracoda) with aquatic macrophytes

Abstract

In aquatic systems, macrophytes play an important role in habitat structuring and can be relevant for the establishment and/or mobility of the organisms and might thus influence species composition. This study evaluates the influence of the structural complexity of aquatic plants on the community composition of Ostracoda in the upper Paraná River floodplain. We tested the hypothesis that non-swimming and small-sized species have a higher association with more complex plants by a threshold indicator taxa analysis. Some small and non-swimming ostracod species had a significant affinity for macrophytes with higher complexity, especially Eichhornia crassipes. However, most species did not show an association with the structure of aquatic macrophytes, and there was only a slightly distinction among the communities of different plants. The results show that structural complexity is in some cases an important determining factor for the community composition of Ostracoda, but other factors may interact with and even override the effects of complexity. It can thus be concluded that the relation between habitat complexity and the Ostracoda community composition is complex and not always responds to general predictions.

Ecology and distribution of living ostracod assemblages in a shallow endorheic lake: the example of the Lake Trasimeno (Umbria, central Italy)

“…However, only few of these studies analyse the presence of ostracods in their environment, linking their assemblages with the dominant physical, chemical and biological conditions. Moreover, the relationship between ostracods, macrophytes and the substrate is poorly investigated in Italian freshwater systems (Mazzini et al, 2014b) despite the definition of such links could be extremely useful to identify former ecological niches and habitat (Matsuda et al, 2015).…”

Paleolimnological assessment of six lakes on the Kissimmee Chain, with implications for restoration of the Kissimmee–Okeechobee–Everglades system, Florida, USA

“…Cypretta brevisaepta is an oligohaline indicator that occurs below 0.5 ppt, but it has an optimum range of 0.5-1 ppt (Keyser 1977). Limnocythere inopinata and Cypridopsis vidua prefer organic substrates with vegetative cover and are often associated with Chara (Matsuda et al 2015), as they were in core samples prior to c. 1890. Ostracods were absent in Lake Tohopekaliga after c. 1890, which signaled the disappearance of naturally low water levels.…”

Periphytic community structure of Ostracoda (Crustacea) in the river-floodplain system of the Upper Paraná River

“…The positive correlation of temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen with ostracods abundance was evidenced by Nagorskaya & Keyser (2005), whereas oxygen content and variables related with substratum and discharge showed negative influence on ostracod presence, abundance and species richness at a local scale (Poquet & Mesquita-Joanes, 2011). Besides the effect of the abiotic variables, also the presence and coverage of the vegetation can have significant effects on the distribution and abundance of ostracod species (Kiss, 2007), while the structural complexity of aquatic macrophytes might be an important determining factor for ostracod community composition (Matsuda et al, 2015).…”

“…Aquatic macrophytes are important biotopes for ostracods, which use this microhabitat for breeding, feeding and protection against predators (Higuti et al, 2007(Higuti et al, , 2010Liberto et al, 2012;Szlauer-Łukaszewska, 2012;Higuti & Martens, 2016;Matsuda et al, 2015;Pereira et al, 2017).…”