Pelagic and littoral cladocerans (Crustacea, Anomopoda and Ctenopoda) from reservoirs of the Northwest of São Paulo State, Brazil

Abstract

Abstract:There are few studies on the zooplankton from the northwestern region of São Paulo State, Brazil, compared to other regions of the State. Cladocerans are a very representative zooplankton group with high species diversity. Most of this diversity can be found at littoral zones of lakes and reservoirs, especially those occupied by macrophytes. This study was part of a thematic project FAPESP/BIOTA Program -The Virtual Institute of Biodiversity (www.biotasp.org.br), and its aim is to catalogue and analyze the distribution of cladoceran species (Crustacea, Anomopoda and Ctenopoda) in pelagic and littoral zones from small reservoirs in the northwest of the São Paulo State, in dry and rainy seasons. Zooplankton samplings were carried out in littoral and pelagic zone of 10 small shallow reservoirs (mean depth: 2.8 m) using a plankton 45 µm mesh net. Water physical and chemical parameters were also monitored with a multiparameter Horiba U10. pH and dissolved oxygen concentration were lower at rainy than dry seasons, indicating high decomposition rates of organic matter introduced from the rural environment, being the main factor contributing to reservoirs' eutrophication. Fifty eight cladocerans species were recorded, with four new occurrences for the São Paulo State. This high richness contrasts with the high devastation of the northwestern region in the State. During the two seasons, littoral zones presented higher cladoceran richness and diversity than pelagic zone. Littoral zones with higher macrophytes diversity also showed higher cladocerans richness and diversity than that with low macrophyte diversity. Littoral and pelagic zones comparisons emphasized the importance of studies on different regions of the aquatic environments, confirming the elevated richness in the littoral zone, as reported in previous works. This study revealed also the strong influence of the macrophyte community and the adjacent terrestrial environment, which is occupied by forest or agriculture. Resumo: A região noroeste paulista é uma das regiões com menor quantidade de dados sobre o zooplâncton, comparado a outras regiões do estado. Os Cladocera constituem um grupo bastante representativo do zooplâncton, apresentando elevada diversidade de espécies. A maior parte desta diversidade pode ser encontrada nas regiões litorâneas de lagos e reservatórios, especialmente aquelas ocupadas por muitas macrófitas. Como parte de um projeto temático mais amplo (Programa Biota-Fapesp -Instituto Virtual da Biodiversidade, www.biotasp.org. br), o presente trabalho tem o objetivo de caracterizar as comunidades de cladóceros (Crustacea, Anomopoda e Ctenopoda) pelágicos e litorâneos presentes em pequenos reservatórios na região noroeste do estado de São Paulo, nas estações seca e chuvosa. As amostragens foram realizadas tanto na zona litorânea quanto pelágica de 10 pequenos reservatórios rasos (média de 2,8 m), através de arrastos verticais com rede de plâncton de 45 µm de malha. Parâmetros físicos e químicos da água também foram avaliados utilizando...

Cladocera (Crustacea, Branchiopoda) of a temporary shallow pond in the Caatinga of Pernambuco, Brazil

“…The dominance of the Chydoridae family was also reported by other researchers (Elmoor-Loureiro, 2007b;Elmoor-Loureiro and Mendonça-Galvão, 2008;Maia-Barbosa et al, 2008;Sousa and Elmoor-Loureiro, 2008;Castilho-Noll et al, 2010;Soares and Elmoor-Loureiro, 2011) (Table 4). This fact may be related to the peculiar characteristics of organisms in this family that have a thicker shell, spines and appendages specialized in grasping substrates, allowing greater mobility and success in the littoral lake areas.…”

“…A greater diversity of cladocerans can be found in the littoral region of continental water bodies, areas of transition between aquatic and terrestrial environments (Castilho-Noll et al, 2010), especially those occupied by aquatic macrophytes. Although the littoral areas have rich biodiversity, according to Nogueira et al (2003), the biology and ecology of cladocerans in these areas are still poorly known, particularly when compared to organisms living in open waters (Maia-Barbosa et al, 2008).…”

Trophic state categorisation and assessment of water quality in Manjirenji Dam, Zimbabwe, a shallow reservoir with designated multi-purpose water uses

“…However, due to the interaction of the terrestrial and aquatic phases at the shoreline, studies comprising both the littoral and pelagic zone have been recommended (Zohary and Ostrovsky, 2011), given the potential cascading effects on the whole lake ecosystem. A study by Castilho-Noll et al (2010) noted that zooplankton species richness in the pelagic zone was only 67% of that determined for the overall system. Some planktonic species may appear in the littoral but not the pelagic zone (Kumar et al 2004;Thorp and Covich, 2010).…”

“…Some planktonic species may appear in the littoral but not the pelagic zone (Kumar et al 2004;Thorp and Covich, 2010). Thus a study encompassing both the littoral zone and pelagic zone would serve to give more representative information of the vertical and horizontal lake physicochemical structure which shapes biotic communities (Antenucci et al, 2003;Castilho-Noll et al, 2010).…”

Distribution and attachment characteristics of Sida crystallina (O.F. Müller, 1776) in lentic freshwater ecosystems of South Korea

“…These are known as epiphytic cladocerans (i.e. plant-attached species; Castilho-Noll et al 2010;Gyllström et al 2005;Kuczyńska-Kippen and Nagengast 2006) and are strongly affected by the abundance, morphology, and arrangement of plant species (Choi et al 2014b). Unfortunately, epiphytic cladoceran distribution patterns and modes of macrophyte utilisation are still unclear, and their abundances are usually underestimated.…”