Functional groups of microcrustaceans along a horizontal gradient in a Neotropical lake colonized by macrophytes
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Aquatic Sciences
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Functional groups of microcrustaceans along a horizontal gradient in a Neotropical lake colonized by macrophytes Paula Nunes Coelho1 · Raoul Henry1 Received: 31 July 2020 / Accepted: 28 September 2020 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract Here we analysed the taxonomic and functional diversity of microcrustaceans along a horizontal gradient from the littoral to pelagic zones of a marginal lake. We hypothesized that in the littoral zone, occupied by high density of macrophytes, the taxonomic and functional diversity would be higher because the macrophytes coverage offers greater availability of niches for microcrustaceans. The individuals were collected in 10 sampling stations in a horizontal transect from littoral to pelagic zones of the lake. The community structure was determined by three classic measures: species richness, diversity and abundance of organisms. For the measurement of functional diversity, we identified the functional groups and calculated the functional group richness, the indexes of functional richness (FRic) and functional evenness (FEve). The abundance of microcrustaceans was higher in littoral zone, while the species richness and diversity did not differ between the zones of the lake. Cyclopoid copepod nauplii predominated in the region with macrophytes, while adult forms increased in pelagic zone. For functional diversity, the community was divided in six functional groups, with bosminids dominating the lake. Values of FRic and FEve did not differ between the regions of the lake, but the functional groups were more diverse in the littoral zone. The habitat complexity offered by macrophytes in the littoral zone provides greater diversification of ecological niches for microcrustaceans, resulting in more diverse functional groups. Finally, functional diversity proved to be a more accurate tool in detecting spatial variations in the microcrustacean community when compared to the taxonomic diversity. Keywords Cladocera · Copepoda · Functional diversity · Zooplankton · Littoral and pelagic zones
Introduction Marginal lakes, which are located on the side of the rivers, are complex environments formed by the accumulation of water in terrain depressions (e.g., Henry and Carmo 2014). These environments may originate from the increase of water level of rivers and/or subterranean waters due to precipitation. Some of these lakes can also be formed by sedimentation and erosion processes by rivers, which on the geological scale change their course and end up leaving horseshoe-shaped disconnected “arms” (i.e., meander cutoff) Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-020-00759-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Paula Nunes Coelho [email protected] 1
Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências de Botucatu, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Botucatu, SP CEP 18618‑000, Brazil
(Allen 1965), also known as oxbow lakes (Wetzel 2001).
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