Estrutura da comunidade zooplanctônica em lagos de grande altitude com ênfase nas alterações das populações de Bosmina freyi (Cladocera, Bosminidae) (ocorrência de macho e ovos de resistência)

Abstract

The Serra da Mantiqueira is considered a priority conservation area and is a region rich in ponds and streams, which their headwaters are in the Sierra, with good water quality. Besides of, these water bodies are located at high altitude and are exposed to great physical and chemical changes, such as, temperature differences and other weather events throughout the year, which can result in changes in zooplankton. Samples were collected in eight water bodies in February and June 2010 and five in February and July 2014. The physical and chemical parameters were measured by a Horiba U-22 multi-sensor. Nutrients and suspended material concentrations were determined in the laboratory. Zooplankton samples for qualitative and quantitative analyzes, and also, sediment samples for analyzes of resting eggs and hatching tests, were collected. For the phylogenetic diversity (PD), a phylogenetic tree with Cladocera species (phylogeny of the regional species pool) was built by the BLADJ command of Phylocom software, version 4.2. The PD was estimated using three indices: Phylogenetic Diversity (PD), Mean Pairwise Distance (MPD) and Mean Nearest Taxon Distance (MNTD). The studied water bodies were shallow, oligotrophic, with water temperature ranging from 22 up to 27 °C; pH ranging between 5 and 7.9. The water was well oxygenated (5.3 to 7.2 mg.L-¹) and low conductivity (21.5 to 52.5 μS.cm-¹). A hundred species of zooplankton community (40 Cladocerans, 53 rotifers and 8 copepods) were identified. For phylogenetic analyzes were used 34 species of Cladocera identified in the 2010 sampling and it was observed that the species richness followed the phylogenetic diversity. The community of all sampled water bodies had no phylogenetic structure and, therefore, the competition was the most probable structural factor. The greatest richness was recorded for Chydoridae Family (23) while the Bosminidae show only two species. However B. freyi occurred in high densities in all environments, besides of the males occurred in four environments, in 2010. The highest number of hatchings from the resistance eggs, present in the sediment, occurred to cladocerans followed by rotifers. The B. freyi species represented 65% of the hatchings. The bank eggs observed in these environments shows the species ability to maintain its diversity over time. The high species richness of this zooplankton community and its importance in the food chain become indispensable the conservation this environment.