Zooplankton community in the Upper Parnaíba River (Northeastern, Brazil)

Abstract

The objective of the present work is to evaluate the seasonal patterns of species richness and abundance of the zooplankton community in a semi-arid river, Northeastern of Brazil. Zooplankton samples were taken in four hydrological periods along the Upper Parnaíba River: April (low), August (dry), November (rising) 2013 and January (flood) 2014. The zooplankton community consisted of 125 species; the testate amoebae was the most species-rich (56 species) and the most abundant group (71.5%) of total zooplankton abundance. Season-specific differences were highly significant. The overall zooplankton richness and abundance was significantly higher during the low (71 species) and flood (878.47 ind.m ) period, respectively. The hydrological regime was important in structuring the zooplankton community, emphasising the importance of the Parnaíba River and its seasonal variation for biodiversity conservation in the Brazilian semi-arid region.Keywords: potamoplankton, large rivers, semi-arid, environmental variables, seasonality. Comunidade zooplanctônica do alto rio Parnaíba (Nordeste, Brasil)Resumo O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar os padrões sazonais da riqueza de espécies e abundância da comunidade zooplanctônica em um rio do semi-árido, Nordeste do Brasil. As amostragens do zooplâncton foram realizadas em quatro períodos hidrológicos ao longo do alto rio Parnaíba: Abril (vazante), Agosto (seca), Novembro (enchente) de 2013 e Janeiro (cheia) de 2014. A comunidade zooplanctônica foi constituída por 125 espécies, sendo as amebas testáceas o grupo mais rico em espécies (56 espécies) e o grupo mais abundante (71,5%) do zooplâncton. Diferenças significativas foram registradas entre os períodos. A riqueza e a abundância do zooplâncton foram significativamente maiores durante o período de vazante (71 espécies) e cheia (878,47 ind.m -3 ), respectivamente. Os resultados mostraram ainda, que o regime hidrológico foi importante na estruturação da comunidade zooplanctônica, ressaltando a importância do rio Parnaíba e sua variação sazonal para a conservação da biodiversidade do semi-árido brasileiro.

Structure and ecological aspects of zooplankton (Testate amoebae, Rotifera, Cladocera and Copepoda) in highland streams in southern Brazil

“…The zooplankton of Pelotas River was dominated by Neotropical or cosmopolitan species, with an invasive species, the rotifer Kellicottia bostoniensis, also being found. The low species richness in the zooplankton community compared to other Neotropical rivers (e.g., Lansac-Tôha et al, 2009;Matsumura-Tundisi et al, 2015;Picapedra et al, 2017) is probably related to a number of factors acting simultaneously, with geographic isolation being only of these factors. According to Tavernini et al (2009), there is a linear decrease in species richness Table 3 for abbreviation of zooplankton taxa used in CCA.…”

“…Rotifers constituted the group with the highest species richness and population density in the Pelotas River, a recurrent pattern in tropical freshwater environments (e.g., Lansac-Tôha et al, 2009;Perbiche-Neves et al, 2012;Matsumura-Tundisi et al, 2015;Lucena et al, 2015;Picapedra et al, 2017). The Rotifera families with the most species were Brachionidae and Lecanidae.…”

“…In lotic environments, zooplankton is found at low densities and is dominated by protozoans, small cladocerans, rotifers and copepoda nauplii (Paggi & Paggi, 2007;Perbiche-Neves et al, 2012). The dynamics of river zooplankton are often considered to be controlled by transport of populations (Perbiche-Neves et al, 2012;Lucena et al, 2015;Picapedra et al, 2017), although the factors regulating their spatial occurrence are not completely understood. Factors related to the transport and locomotion of plankton (hydrological factors: discharge, residence time) should be taken into consideration since plankton autumn (May 2014).…”

Beta diversity patterns in zooplankton assemblages from a semiarid river ecosystem

“…In the dry period, the presence of sandbanks and outcrops is common along the Parnaíba and Poti rivers, respectively, which is an important feature of semiarid rivers in Brazil (Medeiros et al, 2011). As in other semiarid rivers, the Parnaíba and Poti rivers present a sharp difference in the regime between droughts and floods, which contributes to a high degree of spatial variation (with reduced connectivity in the dry season) and pronounced spatial heterogeneity (Medeiros et al, 2011; Picapedra et al, 2017). The Parnaíba River had discharges ranging from 267.3 to 677.4 m 3 s −1 during the studied period (Table 1).…”

DISPERSÃO E PRIMEIRO REGISTRO DA ESPÉCIE INVASORA Kellicottia bostoniensis (ROTIFERA: BRACHIONIDAE) EM DOIS RESERVATÓRIOS BRASILEIROS

“…No Brasil, o rotífero foi encontrado pela primeira vez em 1997 no reservatório Segredo, localizado na bacia do rio Iguaçu (Lopes et al 1997). Além desse, K. bostoniensis foi registrada nas regiões Centro-Oeste, Sudeste e Nordeste do Brasil (Bezerra-Neto et al 2004, Peixoto et al 2010, Padovesi-Fonseca et al 2011, Garraffoni & Lourenço 2012, Bomfim et al 2016, Picapedra et al 2016. Na Argentina, a espécie foi identificada em ambientes lênticos e lóticos dos rios Uruguai e Iguaçu (Paggi 2002).…”