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Zooplankton community of Parnaíba River, Northeastern Brazil

Comunidade zooplanctônica do Rio Parnaíba, Nordeste, Brasil

Abstracts

Aim:

The objective of the present work is to present a list of species of zooplankton (Rotifera, Cladocera and Copepoda) from the Parnaíba River. Additionally, we provide comments on their distribution along the river, and between dry and wet seasons.

Methods

Zooplankton was collected with a plankton net (60 µm mesh) and concentrated into a volume of 80 mL for further analysis, during the dry (October 2010) and wet (April 2011) seasons. Sampling was restricted to the marginal areas at depths between 80 and 150 cm.

Results

A total of 132 species was recorded among the three zooplankton groups studied. During the dry season a total of 82 species was registered and 102 species was registered for the wet season. Rotifera contributed with 66.7% of the species, followed by Cladocera (26.5%) and Copepoda (6.8%).

Conclusions

The richness of species observed was high compared to other large rivers in Brazil. In the context of current policies for water management and river diversions in northeastern Brazil, the present study highlights the importance of this river system for biodiversity conservation.

semiarid; large rivers; biodiversity; zooplankton; seasonality


Resumo

Objetivo: O objetivo do presente estudo é apresentar uma lista de espécies de zooplâncton (Rotifera, Cladocera e Copepoda) do Rio Parnaíba, NE, Brasil, com comentários sobre a sua distribuição ao longo do rio e entre estações do ano.

Métodos

O zooplâncton foi amostrado usando uma rede de plâncton (60 µm) e concentrado em um volume de 80 mL para ser levado ao laboratório. As amostragens ocorreram durante o período seco (Outubro 2010) e chuvoso (Abril 2011) e foram restritas a áreas marginais com profundidades entre 80 e 150 cm.

Resultados

Um total de 132 espécies foi registrado, sendo que durante a estação seca foram registradas 82 espécies e durante a estação chuvosa foram registradas 102 espécies. Rotifera representou 66,7% das espécies coletadas, seguido por Cladocera com 26,5% e Copepoda com 6,8%.

Conclusões

A riqueza de espécies coletada foi alta quando comparada com outros sistemas lóticos brasileiros. No contexto atual de transposição de águas e manejo de fluxo hidrológico nos rios do Nordeste, o presente estudo ressalta a importância do Rio Parnaíba e sua variação sazonal para a conservação da biodiversidade do semiárido brasileiro.

semiárido; grandes rios; biodiversidade; zooplâncton; sazonalidade


1 Introduction

Large rivers support an important portion of the world´s diversity, in some cases surpassing traditionally diverse systems such as coral reefs (Arthington et al., 2004Arthington, A.H., Lorenzen, K., Pusey, B.J., Abell, R., Halls, A.S. Winemiller, K.O., ARRINGTON, D.A. and BARAN, E. River Fisheries: ecological basis for management and conservation. In R. WELCOMME and T. PETR, eds. Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on the Management of Large Rivers for Fisheries. Bangkok, Thailand: FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, 2004. pp. 21-60. vol. 1.). A range of characteristics are used to define large rivers, such as drainage basin size, river length, volume of sediment transported and water discharge (Potter, 1978Potter, P.E. Significance and origin of big rivers. The Journal of Geology, 1978, 86(1), 13-33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/649653.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/649653...
). In South America, the Amazon River (catchment size of 6112000 km2 and 6868 km in length) and the Paraná River (2600000 km2 basin area and some 5000 km in length) are the most studied large rivers. Other less studied large rivers are the São Francisco River (drainage area of 640000 km2 and 2700 km in length) and the Parnaíba River (344112 km2 drainage area and 1432 km in length). The latter systems (São Francisco and Parnaiba) partially flow through the Brazilian Caatinga and Cerrado; drylands that present complex climatic patterns that lead to scarce and irregularly distributed rainfall, as well as low thermal amplitudes mostly in the Caatinga (monthly air temperatures between 25 and 30 °C). As a consequence, many of the tributaries of the São Francisco and Parnaiba rivers present intermittent water flow, which contributes to a high degree of spatial and temporal flow variability (see Medeiros et al., 2011Medeiros, E.S.F., Noia, N.P., ANTUNES, L.C. and MELO, T.X. Zooplankton composition in aquatic systems of semi-arid Brazil: spatial variation and implications of water management. Pan-American Journal of Aquatic Sciences, 2011, 6, 290-302.).

In large river systems, flooding usually extends to the floodplain dispersing sediment laterally, booming production and increasing organic matter and nutrient inputs (Arthington et al., 2004Arthington, A.H., Lorenzen, K., Pusey, B.J., Abell, R., Halls, A.S. Winemiller, K.O., ARRINGTON, D.A. and BARAN, E. River Fisheries: ecological basis for management and conservation. In R. WELCOMME and T. PETR, eds. Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on the Management of Large Rivers for Fisheries. Bangkok, Thailand: FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, 2004. pp. 21-60. vol. 1.). The annual cycle of pulse inundation connects the range of lateral habitats to the main river channel enhancing diversity of organisms and ecological processes (Schiemer et al., 2004Schiemer, F., Guti, G., Keckeis, H. and Staras, M. Ecological status and problems of the Danube River and its fish fauna: a review. In R.L. WELCOMME and T. PETR, eds. Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on the Management of Large Rivers for Fisheries. Bangkok, Thailand: FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, 2004, pp. 273-300. vol. 1.).

Zooplankton communities in large rivers show marked spatial and temporal variation in association with physical and chemical variables and river hierarchy (Latrubesse & Stevaux, 2002LATRUBESSE, E.M. and STEVAUX, J.C. Geomorphology and environmental aspects of the Araguaia fluvial basin, Brazil. Zeitschrift fur Geomorphologie, 2002, 129, 109-127.; Bonecker et al., 2005Bonecker, C.C., Costa, C.L., VELHO, L.F.M. and LANSAC-TÔHA, F.A. Diversity and abundance of the planktonic rotifers in different environments of the upper Paraná river floodplain (Paraná State - Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil). Hydrobiologia, 2005, 546(1), 405-414. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10750-005-4283-2.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10750-005-428...
). Furthermore, these organisms contribute with significant biomass to consumers, linking primary production to higher trophic levels (Cardoso et al., 2008Cardoso, L.S., RAMOS, J.D. and MELLO, H.O.O. Composição, densidade e abundância das populações de cladocera, copepoda e rotífera de áreas de proteção permanente do Rio Uberabinha. Em Extensão, 2008, 7, 95-106.; Medeiros & Arthington, 2011MEDEIROS, E.S.F. and ARTHINGTON, A.H. Allochthonous and autochthonous carbon sources for fish in floodplain lagoons of an Australian dryland river. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 2011, 90(1), 1-17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10641-010-9706-x.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10641-010-970...
). Another important role of the zooplankton in large rivers is their ability to recycle nutrients which in turn makes them sensitive to environmental changes that affect production and decomposition. This makes the group an important biological indicator of environmental change.

Despite the high diversity of other groups of organisms (Ramos, et al., 2014RAMOS, T.P.A., RAMOS, R.T.C. and RAMOS, S.A.Q.A. Ichthyofauna of the Parnaíba river Basin, Northeastern Brazil. Biota Neotropica, 2014, 14(1), 1-8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1676-06020140039.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1676-06020140...
), surveys and ecological studies on the plankton fauna along the entire channel of the Parnaíba River are scarce. The survey across several spatial scales has been argued to increase efficiency in estimates of species richness (Magurran, 1996MAGURRAN, A.E. Ecological diversity and its measurement. London: Chapman & Hall, 1996.), most importantly so in large river systems. Species list generated from such sampling schemes contribute to the understanding on geographical distribution and macro-ecological traits along large river systems (see Ramos et al., 2014RAMOS, T.P.A., RAMOS, R.T.C. and RAMOS, S.A.Q.A. Ichthyofauna of the Parnaíba river Basin, Northeastern Brazil. Biota Neotropica, 2014, 14(1), 1-8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1676-06020140039.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1676-06020140...
) and helps decision-makers on conservation efforts. In this context, a species list of zooplankton is an important tool in impact assessments, given the present state of knowledge on northeastern Brazil large rivers.

The objective of the present work is, therefore, to present a list of species of zooplankton (Rotifera, Cladocera and Copepoda) from the Parnaíba River. Additionally, we provide comments on their distribution along the river, and between dry and wet seasons.

2 Material and Methods

2.1 Study area

The Parnaíba River is located in the border between the states of Maranhão and Piauí (NE Brazil) (Figure 1). It has 1432 km in length and drains an area of approximately 344112 km2. Its location in a transitional area between the semi-arid (BSh) and tropical (Aw) climates (classification of Köeppen-Geiger modified by Peel et al., 2007Peel, M.C., FINLAYSON, B.L. and MCMAHON, T.A. Updated world map of the Koppen-Geiger climate classification. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 2007, 11(5), 1633-1644. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/hess-11-1633-2...
) makes this river an important divisor between the perennial (to the west) and intermittent (to the east) water courses (CODEVASF, 2010COMPANHIA DE DESENVOLVIMENTO DOS VALES DO SÃO FRANCISCO E DO PARNAÍBA – CODEVASF. Rio Parnaíba: aspectos geográficos e recursos naturais [online]. Brasília, DF, 2010. [viewed 1 Jan. 2014]. Available from: http://www.codevasf.gov.br/
http://www.codevasf.gov.br/...
; EPE, 2005EMPRESA DE PESQUISA ENERGÉTICA – EPE. Termo de referência da Avaliação Ambiental Integrada - AAI dos aproveitamentos hidrelétricos da bacia do rio Parnaíba [online]. 2005. [viewed 1 Jan. 2014]. Available from: http://www.epe.gov.br
http://www.epe.gov.br...
). Most of the affluents on the middle and lower portions of the river are perennial, whereas the small rivers and streams in the upper Parnaíba River are intermittent (Rosa et al., 2003Rosa, R.S., Menezes, N.A., Britski, H.A., COSTA, W.J.E.M. and GROTH, F. Diversidade, padrões de distribuição e conservação dos peixes da Caatinga. In I.R. LEAL, J.M.C., SILVA and M. TABARELLI, eds. Ecologia e conservação da caatinga. Recife: EDUFPE, 2003, pp. 135-181.; EPE, 2005EMPRESA DE PESQUISA ENERGÉTICA – EPE. Termo de referência da Avaliação Ambiental Integrada - AAI dos aproveitamentos hidrelétricos da bacia do rio Parnaíba [online]. 2005. [viewed 1 Jan. 2014]. Available from: http://www.epe.gov.br
http://www.epe.gov.br...
). Precipitation in the area ranges from 600 to 1800 mm per year and temperature varies from 24 to 38º C (CODEVASF, 2010COMPANHIA DE DESENVOLVIMENTO DOS VALES DO SÃO FRANCISCO E DO PARNAÍBA – CODEVASF. Rio Parnaíba: aspectos geográficos e recursos naturais [online]. Brasília, DF, 2010. [viewed 1 Jan. 2014]. Available from: http://www.codevasf.gov.br/
http://www.codevasf.gov.br/...
).

Figure 1
Study area in the Parnaíba River and location of each sampling site along the three stretches (upper, middle and lower). R1. 09°08'04.2''S 045°55'45.2''W; R2. 07°33'24.6''S 045°14'58.2''W; R3. 07°14'43.5''S 044°34'16.4''W; R4. 06°47'44.1''S 043°16'39.5''W; R5. 06°15'55.90''S 042°51'21.5''W; R6. 05°41'12.8''S 043°05'01.9''W; R7. 04°34'52.3''S 042°52'31.3''W; R8. 03°54'06.9''S 042°43'27.8''W; R9. 03°18'24.8''S 042°05'36.0''W.

The Parnaíba River is divided into the upper, middle and lower portion, the former being characterized by accentuated declivity and deeper valleys, the middle portion presents uneven terrain with some waterfalls and the lower portion shows more gradual declivity and wider valleys (Brasil, 2006BRASIL. MINISTÉRIO DO MEIO AMBIENTE. SECRETARIA DE RECURSOS HÍDRICOS. Caderno da região hidrográfica do Parnaíba. Brasília, 2006.; EPE, 2005EMPRESA DE PESQUISA ENERGÉTICA – EPE. Termo de referência da Avaliação Ambiental Integrada - AAI dos aproveitamentos hidrelétricos da bacia do rio Parnaíba [online]. 2005. [viewed 1 Jan. 2014]. Available from: http://www.epe.gov.br
http://www.epe.gov.br...
). Vegetal cover in the basin is diverse, consisting of dense and sparse vegetal formations, associated with the Caatinga and Cerrado (CODEVASF, 2010COMPANHIA DE DESENVOLVIMENTO DOS VALES DO SÃO FRANCISCO E DO PARNAÍBA – CODEVASF. Rio Parnaíba: aspectos geográficos e recursos naturais [online]. Brasília, DF, 2010. [viewed 1 Jan. 2014]. Available from: http://www.codevasf.gov.br/
http://www.codevasf.gov.br/...
).

2.2 Sampling design and data collection

Nine river reaches were surveyed along the three study portions of the Parnaíba River. In each river reach, collections were performed in three sampling points. At each sampling point three samples were performed, resulting in a total of 81 samples. This design allowed for the calculation of the curves of accumulation of species for this study. Distance between sampling points were approximately 1 km and distances between reaches varied between 92 and 217 km (Figure 1). This design was performed once during the dry season (October 2010) and once during the wet season (April 2011) in order to account for temporal variation in species occurrence. Species accumulation curves and Bray-Curtis distance curves (and their standard deviation) were calculated on PC-ORD 4.2 (McCune & Mefford, 1999Mccune, B. and MEFFORD, M.J. PC-ORD. Multivariate analysis of ecological data. Version 4. 27th ed. Oregon, USA: MjM Software Design, Gleneden Beach, 1999.) to evaluate the adequacy of sample size for the present study. The distance curve represents the distance between the centroid of a sample and the centroid of the data set. That means that the more representative is a sample the lower the distance between it and the dataset (McCune & Grace, 2002Mccune, B. and GRACE, J.B. Analysis of ecological communities. Oregon, USA: MjM Software Design, 2002.).

Each sample consisted of a volume of 120 liters filtered in a plankton net (60 μm mesh) and concentrated into a volume of 80 mL for posterior analysis. Sampling was restricted to the marginal areas at depths between 80 and 150 cm. The zooplankton samples were anesthetized with commercial sparkling water before preservation in 4% formalin and sucrose was added to the preserved sample. This procedure prevents female cladocerans from losing eggs and minimizes zooplankton carapace distortion (Haney & Hall, 1973HANEY, J.F. and HALL, D.J. Sugar-coated Daphnia: a preservation technique for Cladocerans. Limnology and Oceanography, 1973, 18(2), 331-333. http://dx.doi.org/10.4319/lo.1973.18.2.0331.
http://dx.doi.org/10.4319/lo.1973.18.2.0...
). In the laboratory, two subsamples of 1.5 mL were taken from the concentrated sample and had their organisms identified. Only adult stages of rotifers, cladocerans and copepods were considered in the present study. Identifications were based on Koste (1978)Koste, W. Rotatoria Die Rodertiere Mitteleuropas begründet von Max Voigt - Monogononta. 2. Auflage neubearbeitet von Walter Koste.Berlin: Gebrüder Borntraeger, 1978. vol. 1., Shiel (1995)SHIEL, R.J. A guide to identification of rotifers, cladocerans and copepods from Australian inland waters. Albury, NSW: Co-operative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology, 1995. Identification guide, 3., Nogrady et al. (1993)Nogrady, T., WALLACE, R.L. and SNELL, T.W. Guide to the identification of the microinvertebrates of the continental waters of the word. The Hague: SPB Academic Publishing, 1993. vol. 1., Segers (1995)Segers, H. Rotifera: The Lecanidae (Monogononta). Guides to the identification of the microinvertebrates of the continental waters of the world. SPB Academics, 1995, 2, 226., Reid (1985)REID, JW. Chave de identificação e lista de referências para as espécies continentais sulamericanas de vida livre da ordem Cyclopoida (Crustácea, Copepoda). Boletim Zool, 1985, 9, 17-143., Suárez-Morales et al. (1996)Suárez-Morales, E., Reid, J.W., Iliffe, T.M. and Fiers, F. Catalogo de los Copepodos (Crustacea) continentales de la Peninsula de Yucatan, Mexico. Mexico: CONABIO, 1996., Rocha & Matsumura-Tundisi (1976)Rocha, O. and Matsumura-Tundisi, T. Atlas do zooplâncton (Represa do Broa, São Carlos). São Carlos: Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 1976. vol. 1. and Elmoor-Loureiro (1997)ELMOOR-LOUREIRO, L.M.A. Manual de identificação dos cladóceros límnicos do Brasil. Brasília, DF: Editora Universa, 1997..

3 Results

During the present study a total of 132 species were recorded among the three zooplankton groups studied (Table 1). Copepoda Harpacticoida were identified only to order and are not referred to henceforth, unless mentioned. Rotifera contributed with 66.7% of the species, followed by Cladocera (26.5%) and Copepoda (6.8%). The same pattern was observed for both seasons, with rotifers dominating in number of species and Copepoda with lower richness (Figure 2).

Table 1
Species list and density (ind./L) of zooplankton in the nine sampled reaches (from R1 to R9) of the Parnaíba River (NE Brazil).
Figure 2
Number of species of Rotifera, Cladocera and Copepoda during the dry and wet seasons in the Parnaíba River.

During the dry season a total of 82 species was registered across the 9 reaches sampled, being 56 of Rotifera, 19 of Cladocera and 7 of Copepoda. The most representative Rotifera were Brachionidae (16 species) and Lecanidae (14 species). The rotifers observed only during the dry season were Asplanchna herrickii, Cephalodella biungulata, Conochilussp., Brachionus bidentatus, B. plicatilis, B. urceolaris, Keratella cochlearis, Filinia saltator, Hexarthra mira, Lecane closterocerca, L. crepida, L. hornemanni, L. imbricata, L. obtusa, L. proiecta, L. signifera, Lepadella donneri, Testudinella tridentata, Trichocerca cylindrica, T. gracilis, T. elongata and T. insignis. Among the Cladocera, Sididae (4 species), Chydoridae (4 species) and Bosminidae (4 species) were the richest families. The Cladocera observed only during the dry season were Daphnia sp., Alona rectangula, Ephemeroporus tridentatus, Bosmina freyi and B. tubicen. Among the Copepoda, the Diaptomidae (4 species) and Cyclopidae (3 species) were the only families observed. The Copepoda present only during the dry season were Notodiaptomus sp., N. iheringi, and N. dubius (Table 1). During the dry season the order Harpacticoida was present only at the R4 reach.

During the wet season, it was registered a total of 102 species, being 66 of Rotifera, 30 of Cladocera and 6 of Copepoda. The most diverse families among the Rotifera were Brachionidae (15 species) and Lecanidae (14 species). The rotiferans recorded only during the wet season were Asplanchna priodonta, Cephalodella sp., C. forficata, C. mucronata, Conochilus dossuarius, Ptygura pectinifera, Dissotrocha macrostyla, Rotaria neptunia, Brachionus dolabratus, B. mirabilis, B. zahniseri, Beauchampiella eudactylota, Filinia camasecla, Lecane clara, L. cornuta, L. decipiens, L. hastata, L. quadridentata, L. rhenana, L. ungulata, Lepadella sp., L. cristata, L. ovalis, Mytilinia acantophora, M. unguipes, Synchaeta pectinata, S. stylata, Trichocerca bicristata, T. collaris, T. tenuior, Macrochaetus altamirai and Trichotria sp. Among the Cladocera, Chydoridae (10 species) and Macrothricidae (7 species) were the richest families. The cladocerans present only during the wet season were Daphnia gessneri, Diaphanosoma brevireme, Acroperus harpae, Alonella clathratula, Alona dentifera, Coronatella sp., Euryalona brasiliensis, Chydorus dentifer, Nicsmirnovius sp., Kurzia polyspina, Moinodaphnia macleari, Grimaldina brazzai, Macrothrix sp., M. laticornis, M. mira and M. superaculeata. Among the Copepoda, the Cyclopidae (5 species) and Diaptomidae (1 species) were the only families observed. Copepoda observed only during the wet season were Mesocyclops sp. and Paracyclops fimbriatus(Table 1). During the wet season the order Harpacticoida was considerably frequent, being observed at all reaches except for the R9 reach.

An increase in number of species was observed from the upper to the lower reaches during both dry and wet seasons (Figure 3). This increase was greater at the reach R4, which is located after the Boa Esperança reservoir (24 and 22 species during the wet and dry seasons, respectively).

Figure 3
Cumulative species richness across study stretches during the dry and wet seasons in the Parnaíba River.

Species accumulation and distance curves (Figure 4) showed that 60 samples will yield over 94 species for the dry season samples (90% of the season), with more samples yielding relatively small increases in the number of species. Similarly, 60 samples will yield a Bray-Curtis distance of 0.08 (<10%), measured between the centroid of the dry season sample and the centroid of the whole dry season dataset. That means that, further increases in samples render the sample only slightly more similar to the whole dry season dataset. The same was observed for the wet season samples, where 60 samples yielded over 77 species (93% of the season) and a Bray-Curtis distance of 0.08 (<10%). These results indicate that sampling effort during the present study was representative, with at least 90% of the species being captured at 74% of the effort employed.

Figure 4
Accumulation and distance curves (±SD) used to assess sample adequacy for the 81 wet and dry season samples in the Parnaíba River.

4 Discussion

Among the zooplankton studied, Rotifera was the richest. This is a common feature in many studies on zooplankton communities (Lansac-Tôha et al., 2009Lansac-Tôha, F.A., Bonecker, C.C., Velho, L.F., Simões, N.R., Dias, J.D., Alves, G.M. and Takahashi, E.M. Biodiversity of zooplankton communities in the Upper Paraná River floodplain: interannual variation from long-term studies. Brazilian Journal of Biology, 2009, 69, 539-549. Supplement. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1519-69842009000300009. PMid:19738961
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1519-69842009...
; Melo et al., 2014MELO, T.X., LOURENÇO, L.J.S. and MEDEIROS, E.S.F. Checklist of zooplankton from the upper Ipanema River (Pernambuco), an intermittent river in semi-arid Brazil. Check List, 2014, 10(3), 524-528. http://dx.doi.org/10.15560/10.3.524.
http://dx.doi.org/10.15560/10.3.524....
) since this group is generally regarded as encompassing opportunistic organisms, with high adaptive capacity, fast colonization and broad niche (Pourriot, 1977Pourriot, R. Food and feeding habits of Rotifera. Archiv Fuer Hydrobiologie, 1977, 8, 213-260.; Medeiros et al., 2011Medeiros, E.S.F., Noia, N.P., ANTUNES, L.C. and MELO, T.X. Zooplankton composition in aquatic systems of semi-arid Brazil: spatial variation and implications of water management. Pan-American Journal of Aquatic Sciences, 2011, 6, 290-302.). These characteristics lead to large numbers of species in most aquatic systems. Furthermore, their large numbers and diverse feeding habits enable this group to participate in the nutrient cycling, contributing to the overall productivity of riverine systems (Rocha et al., 1995Rocha, O., Sendacz, S. and Matsumura-Tundisi, T. Composition, biomass and productivity of zooplâncton in natural lakes and reservoirs of Brazil. In J.G. TUNDISI, C.E.M. BICUDO and T. MATSUMURA-TUNDISI, eds. Limnology in Brazil. São Paulo: Brazilian Academy of Sciences and Brazilian Limnological Society, 1995, pp. 151-165.; Gosselain et al., 1998Gosselain, L.V., VIROUX, L.P. and DESCY, J. Can a community of Small bodied grazers control phytoplankton in rivers? Freshwater Biology, 1998, 39(1), 9-24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2427.1998.00258.x.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2427.19...
; Reckendorfer et al., 1999Reckendorfer, W., Keckeis, H., Winkler, G. and Schiemer, F. Zooplankton abundance in River Danube, Austria: the significance of inshore retention. Freshwater Biology, 1999, 41(3), 583-591. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2427.1999.00412.x.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2427.19...
).

The Rotifera families with most species were Brachionidae and Lecanidae. Brachionidae is considered to be one of the most important taxa of freshwater zooplankton, whose species usually have planktonic habit, while Lecanidae is related to the benthos and periphyton, especially in places rich in vegetation, occurring in plankton only as occasional migrants (Almeida et al., 2009Almeida, V.L.S., Dantas, Ê.W., Melo-Júnior, M., Bittencourt-Oliveira, M.C. and Moura, A.N. Zooplanktonic community of six reservoirs in northeast Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biology, 2009, 69(1), 57-65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1519-69842009000100007. PMid:19347146
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1519-69842009...
). The relatively large numbers of species in some taxa (e.g. Lecanidae, Brachionidade, Chydoridae) is typical for littoral areas, where the presence of aquatic macrophytes and other underwater structures provide refuge from predation (Lansac-Tôha et al., 2004Lansac-Tôha, F.A., Bonecker, C.C., Velho, L.F.M., Takahashi, E.M. and Nagae, M.Y. Zooplankton in the upper Paraná river floodplain: composition, richness, abundance and relationships with the hydrological level and the connectivity. In A.A. AGOSTINHO, L. RODRIGUES, L.C. GOMES, S.M. THOMAZ and L.E. MIRANDA, eds. Structure and functioning of the Paraná river and its floodplain. Maringá: Eduem, 2004, pp. 75-84.).

The increase in species richness during the wet season observed in the present study, despite high water levels and discharges, is likely to be the result of increased organic matter content in the water and consequently greater nutrient availability for the zooplankton (Matsumura-Tundisi et al., 2002Matsumura-Tundisi, T., TUNDISI, J.G. and ROCHA, O. Zooplankton diversity in eutrophic systems and its relation to the occurrence of cyanophycean blooms. Verhandlungen Internationale Vereinigung Limnologie, 2002, 28, 671-674.). Furthermore, the lateral expansion of the river during the wet season increases the degree of connectivity and the exchange of nutrient and species across river and flooded areas. Thus, aquatic organisms including zooplankton would migrate from previously isolated areas and exploit the newly available habitats and their resources.

An increase in species numbers was observed from the upper to the lower reaches during both dry and wet seasons. This increase being greater after the Boa Esperança reservoir. Reservoirs tend to accumulate nutrients which, associated with greater water residence time, is favorable to a greater number of zooplankton species (Almeida et al., 2009Almeida, V.L.S., Dantas, Ê.W., Melo-Júnior, M., Bittencourt-Oliveira, M.C. and Moura, A.N. Zooplanktonic community of six reservoirs in northeast Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biology, 2009, 69(1), 57-65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1519-69842009000100007. PMid:19347146
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1519-69842009...
). Additionally, upper river reaches are generally more running and/or less nutritive, so the plankton communities should be less representative. The greater variations in water flow expected at upper reaches associated with the intermittent stream affluents may also explain the higher paucity of plankton at these reaches (Sedell et al., 1989Sedell, J.R., Richey, J.E. and SWANSON, F.J. The river continuum concept: a basis for the expected ecosystem behavior of very large rivers? In D.P. DODGE, ed. Proceedings of the International Large River Symposium, 1989, pp. 49-55. Canada: Fisheries and Oceans. Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 106.).

The present study provides a list of zooplankton species for the Parnaíba River, a large and relatively unknown river system with regard to the plankton fauna. It takes account for spatio-temporal variation in species occurrence largely improving knowledge on this system. The richness of species observed in the Parnaíba River is high compared to other large rivers in Brazil (e.g. Bonecker et al., 2005Bonecker, C.C., Costa, C.L., VELHO, L.F.M. and LANSAC-TÔHA, F.A. Diversity and abundance of the planktonic rotifers in different environments of the upper Paraná river floodplain (Paraná State - Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil). Hydrobiologia, 2005, 546(1), 405-414. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10750-005-4283-2.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10750-005-428...
). In the context of current policies of water management and river diversions for the northeast of Brazil, the present study highlights the importance of large river systems for biodiversity conservation. This is importantly so in the Parnaíba River, since conservation of dryland rivers is arguably enhanced given the dry nature of the environment.

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Prof. Paulina M. Maia Barbosa (Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais) for confirming the identification of zooplankton. LCAL is grateful to Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação (Universidade Estadual da Paraíba) for scholarship granted. Fieldwork assistance from MSc. Marcio Joaquim da Silva (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte) and Dr. Telton Pedro Anselmo Ramos (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte) is gratefully acknowledged. Elvio Medeiros holds a Brazilian Research Council (CNPq) Research Productivity Grant (312028/2012-1).

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Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    Jan-Mar 2015

History

  • Received
    05 May 2014
  • Accepted
    14 Feb 2015
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