Acessibilidade / Reportar erro
• Rev. Ambient. Água 8 (2) • Aug 2013 • https://doi.org/10.4136/ambi-agua.1129   copy

Spatial and temporal distribution of free-living protozoa in aquatic environments of a Brazilian semi-arid region

Distribuição espacial e temporal de protozoários de vida livre em ambientes aquáticos de uma região semiárida brasileira

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstracts

Free-living protozoa organisms are distributed in aquatic environments and vary widely in both qualitative and quantitative terms. The unique ecological functions they exhibit in their habitats help to maintain the dynamic balance of these environments. Despite their wide range and abundance, studies on geographical distribution and ecology, when compared to other groups, are still scarce. This study aimed to identify and record the occurrence of free-living protozoa at three points in Piancó-Piranhas-Açu basin, in a semi-arid area of Rio Grande do Norte (RN) state, and to relate the occurrence of taxa with variations in chlorophyll a, pH and temperature in the environments. Samples were collected in the Armando Ribeiro Gonçalves Dam, from two lentic environments upstream and a lotic ecosystem downstream. Sixty-five taxa of free-living protozoa were found. The Student's t-test showed significant inter-variable differences (p <0.05). Similar protozoan species were recorded under different degrees of trophic status according to chlorophyll a concentrations, suggesting the organisms identified are not ideal for indicating trophic level. We hypothesize that food availability, the influence of lentic and lotic systems and the presence of aquatic macrophytes influenced protozoan dynamics during the study period.

Planktonic microorganisms; reservoirs; biodiversity

Os protozoários de vida livre são organismos amplamente distribuídos em ambientes aquáticos tanto em termos qualitativos como quantitativos. Eles possuem funções ecológicas únicas em seus habitats e ajudam a manter, através delas, o equilíbrio na dinâmica desses ambientes. Apesar do seu variado leque funcional e sua abundância, os estudos que abordam sua ecologia e distribuição geográfica, quando comparados a outros grupos, ainda são escassos. Diante disso o presente trabalho teve por objetivo registrar a ocorrência e identificar os protozoários de vida livre de três pontos da Bacia Hidrográfica Piancó-Piranhas-Açu, localizada no semiárido potiguar, bem como relacionar a ocorrência dos táxons catalogados com as variações de clorofila a, pH e temperatura dos ambientes em questão. As amostras foram coletadas em dois ambientes lênticos à montante e um ambiente lótico à jusante da Barragem Armando Ribeiro Gonçalves. Registrou-se a presença de 65 táxons de protozoários de vida livre, dos quais 29 foram identificados em nível de espécie. O teste-t de Student aplicado no estudo demonstrou diferenças significativas (p < 0,05) entre as variáveis. Foram encontradas espécies semelhantes de protozoários sob diferentes graus de trofia, de acordo com as concentrações de clorofila a, sugerindo que os organismos identificados não podem ser considerados bons indicadores de nível trófico. Sugere-se que a disponibilidade de nutrientes, a influência dos regimes lótico e lêntico e a presença de macrófitas aquáticas influenciaram a dinâmica dos protozoários no período estudado.

Microrganismos planctônicos; reservatórios; biodiversidade

  • ALGARTE, V. M.; MORESCO, C.; RODRIGUES, L. Algas do perifíton de distintos ambientes na planície de inundação do alto rio Paraná. Acta Scientiarum Biological Sciences, Maringá, v. 28, n. 3, p. 243-251, 2006. http://dx.doi.org/10.4025/actascibiolsci.v28i3.216
  • ARAÚJO, M. F. F.; GODINHO, M. Spatial and Seasonal variations of plantonick protists (Mastigophora, Sarcodina and Ciliophora) in a river-lacustrine system in northeast Brazil. Acta Limnologica Brasilie, v. 20, n. 3, p. 235-244, 2008.
  • AZAM, F.; FENCHEL, T.; FIELD, J. G.; GRAY, J. S.; MEYER-REIL, L. A.; THINGSTAD, F. The ecological role of water-column microbes in the sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series, v. 10, p. 257-263, 1983.
  • BEAVER J. R.; CRISMAN T. L. Analysis of the community structure of planktonic ciliated protozoa relative to trophic state in Florida lakes. Hydrobiologia, v. 174, p. 177-184, 1989. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00008155
  • BERNINGER, U. G.; FINLAY, B. J.; KUUPPO, L. P. Protozoan control of bacterial abundances in freshwater. Limnology and Oceanography, v. 36, p. 139-147, 1991. http://dx.doi.org/10.4319/lo.1991.36.1.0139
  • BIUDES, J. F. V.; CAMARGO, A. F. M. Changes in biomass, chemical composition and nutritive value of Spartina alterniflora due to organic pollution in the Itanhaém river basin (SP, Brazil). Brazilian Journal of Biology, v. 66, n. 3, p. 781789, 2006. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1519-69842006000500003
  • CORLISS, J. O. Biodiversity and biocomplexity of the Protists and an overview of their significant roles in maintenance of our biosphere. Acta Protozoologica, v. 41, p. 199-219, 2002.
  • CUNHA S. R. S.; PANOSSO, R.; ARAÚJO, M. F. F.; MELO, J. L. S.; ESKINAZI-SANT'ANNA, E. M. Dinâmica de cianobactérias em reservatórios eutróficos do semi-árido do Rio Grande do Norte. Oecologia Australis, v. 13, n. 2, p. 382-401, 2009.
  • EKHATOR, O. Composition, occurrences and checklist of Periphyton Algae of some water bodies around Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management, v. 3, n. 2, p. 1-10, 2010.
  • ESKINAZI-SANT'ANNA, E. M.; MENEZES, R.; COSTA, I. S.; PANOSSO, R. F.; ARAÚJO, M. F. F.; ATTAYDE, J. L. Composição da comunidade zooplanctônica em reservatórios eutróficos do semi-árido do Rio Grande do Norte. Oecologia Brasiliensis, v. 11, p. 410-421, 2007.
  • FENCHEL, T. The ecology of heterotrophic microflagellates. Advances in Microbial Ecology, v. 9, p. 57-97, 1986.
  • FINLAY, B. J.; ESTEBAN, G. F. Freshwater protozoa: biodiversity and ecological function. Biodiversity and Conservation, v. 7, n. 9, p. 1163-1186, 1998.
  • FOISSNER, W.; BERGER, H. A user-friendly guide to the ciliates (Protozoa, Ciliophora) commonly used by hydrobiologists as bioindicators in rivers, lakes, and waste waters, with notes on their ecology. Freshwater Biology, Oxford, v. 35, n. 2, p. 375-482, 1996.
  • GALVEZ-CLOUTIER, R.; SANCHEZ, M. Trophic status evaluation for 154 lakes in Quebec, Canada: monitoring and recommendations. Water Quality Research Journal, v. 42, n. 4, p. 252-268, 2007.
  • IRIGOIEN, X.; FLYN, K. J.; HARRIS, R. P. Phytoplankton blooms: a 'loophole' in microzooplankton grazing impact. Journal of Plankton Research, Oxford, v. 27, p. 313-321, 2005. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbi011
  • JESPERSEN, A. M.; CHRISTOFFERSEN, K. Measurements of chlorophyll-a from phytoplankton using ethanol as extraction solvent. Archiv für Hydrobiologie, v. 109, p. 445-454, 1988.
  • LANSAC-TÔHA, F. A.; VELHO, L. F. M.; ZIMMERMANN-CALLEGARI, M. C.; BONECKER, C. C. On the occurrence of testate amoebae (Protozoa, Rhizopoda) in Brazilian inland waters. I. Family Arcellidae. Acta Scientiarum, v. 22, n. 2, p. 355-363, 2000.
  • LAYBOURN-PARRY, J.; MELL E. M.; ROBERTS, E. C. Protozoan growth rates in Antarctic lakes. Polar Biology, v. 23, p. 445-451, 2000. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s003009900103
  • LEONOV, M. M. Heliozoans (Heliozoa, Sarcodina, Protista) of fresh and marine waters of the European part of Russia: species composition, morphology and distribution. Inland Water Biology, v. 3, n. 4, p. 344-355, 2010. http://dx.doi.org/10.1134/S1995082910040073
  • LEHRTER, J. C.; PENNOCK, J. R.; MCMANUS, G. B. Microzooplankton grazing and nitrogen excretion across a surface estuarine-coastal interface. Estuaries, v. 22, n. 1, p. 113-125, 1999. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1352932
  • LIU, J.; LEFF, L. G. Temporal changes in the bacterioplankton of a northeast Ohio (USA) river. Hydrobiologia, v. 489, n. 1-3, p. 151-159, 2002. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1023228703738
  • MITCHELL, E. Identification key to the Euglypha species living in Sphagnum. International Society for testate Amoeba research, 2003. Available in: <http://istar.wdfiles.com/local--files/id-keys/Euglypha_key.doc>. Access in: 24 June 2013.
  • NÜRNBERG, G. Trophic state of clear and colored, soft- and hardwater with special consideration of nutrients, anoxia, phytoplankton and fish. Journal of Lake and Reservoir Management, v. 12, n. 4, p. 432-447, 1996. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07438149609354283
  • PATTERSON, D. J. Free-living freshwater protozoa: a color guide. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1996. 223p.
  • PATTERSON, D. J.; LEE, W. J. Geographic distribution and diversity of free living heterotrophic flagellates. In: LEADBETTER, B. S. C.; GREEN, J. C. (Eds.). The flagellates: unity, diversity and evolution. London: Taylor & Francis, 2000. p. 269 - 287.
  • PERNTHALER, J. Short-term changes of protozoan control on autotrophic picoplankton in an oligomesotrophic lake. Journal of Plankton Research, Oxford, v. 18, p. 443-462, 1996. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/plankt/18.3.443
  • RODRIGUES, L.; BICUDO, D. C. Periphytic algae. In: AGOSTINHO, A. A.; THOMAZ, S. M.; HAHN, N. S. (Eds.). The upper Paraná River and its floodplain: physical aspects, ecology and conservation. Kluwer: Backhuys, 2004. p. 125-143
  • SHERR E. B.; SHERR, B. F. Significance of predation by protists in aquatic microbial food webs. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, v. 81, p. 293-308, 2002. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1020591307260
  • SODRÉ-NETO, L.; ARAÚJO, M. F. F. Spatial and temporal fluctuations in bacterioplankton and correlated abiotic variables in eutrophic environments of the Brazilian semi-arid region. Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia, v. 20, n. 4, p. 325-331, 2008.
  • TAKAMURA, G. M.; NAKANISHI, Y.; URABE, J. Seasonal and vertical difference in negative and positive effects of grazers on heterotrophic bacteria in lake Biwa. Limnology and Oceanography, v. 45, n. 8, p. 1689-1696, 2000.
  • TUNDISI, J. G.; MATSUMURA-TUNDISI, T.; TUNDISI, J. E. M. Reservoirs and human well being: new challenges for evaluating impacts and benefits in the neotropics. Brazilian Journal of Biology, São Carlos,  v. 68,  n. 4, 2008. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1519-69842008000500020
  • XU, M.; CAO, H.; XIE, P.; DENG, D.; FENG, W.; XU, J. Use of PFU protozoan community structural and functional characteristics in assessment of water quality in a large, highly polluted freshwater lake in China. Journal of Environmental Monitoring, v. 7, p. 670-674, 2005. http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/B504396B
  • XU, H.; SONG, W.; WARREN, A.; KHALED, A.; AL-RASHEID, S.; SALEH, A. et al. Planktonic protist communities in a semi-enclosed mariculture pond: structural variation and correlation with environmental conditions. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK, v. 88, p. 1353-1362, 2008. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0025315408002129
  • WEITERE, M.; ARNDT, H. Structure of the heterotrophic flagellate community in the water column of the River Rhine (Germany). European Journal of Protistology, v. 39, p. 287-300, 2003. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/help/doi.htm

Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    08 Oct 2013
  • Date of issue
    Aug 2013
Creative Common - by 4.0
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Instituto de Pesquisas Ambientais em Bacias Hidrográficas Instituto de Pesquisas Ambientais em Bacias Hidrográficas (IPABHi), Estrada Mun. Dr. José Luis Cembranelli, 5000, Taubaté, SP, Brasil, CEP 12081-010 - Taubaté - SP - Brazil
E-mail: ambi.agua@gmail.com
Acompanhe os números deste periódico no seu leitor de RSS