Phytoplankton community response to hydrological variations in oxbow lakes with different levels of connection to a tropical river

Changes to the structure of the phytoplankton community and to the physical and chemical variables of the water were investigated in oxbow lakes with different levels of connection to a tropical river and subject to annual hydrological pulse variations. The selected lentic environments are located at the mouth region of the main tributary in a reservoir built for water storage and electric power generation. The temporal variation of phytoplankton in the studied lentic environments can be attributed mainly to the hydrological level of the river. A similar variation pattern of the ecological attributes was observed in the structure of the phytoplankton community in the connected lakes and Paranapanema River, evidencing the high degree of association that the lacustrine systems maintain with the river. The highest values of richness and diversity for connected environments were observed at the end of the emptying period and in the drought. However, considering the isolated lake, the highest values of these attributes were recorded during the flooding period. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

Fitoplâncton em três lagoas marginais ao Rio Paranapanema e em sua desembocadura no Reservatório de Jurumirim (São Paulo, Brasil) durante um período prolongado de seca

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Composição e abundância da ictiofauna na zona litorânea de um tributário, na zona de sua desembocadura no reservatório de Jurumirim, Estado de São Paulo, Brasil

Monthly collections of fishes using a trawl net were carried out from August 1996 to December 1997 with the objective of evaluating the composition and diversity of fish species in the littoral area of the transition zone between Veados Stream and Jurumirim Dam (Upper Paranapanema River, São Paulo State). Diversity and similarity indices of ichthyofauna at the sites were determined and correlated with abiotic factors such as dissolved oxygen, temperature, pluviometric precipitation and hydrological level. Twenty-six (26) fish species (the majority small-sized) of the family Characidae (Tetragonopterinae and Cheirodontinae) were registered. Representatives of the orders Siluformes, Gymnotiformes, Perciformes and Synbranchiformes occurred in lower abundance. Significant differences were found in the site diversity indices, but not in the abiotic factors. Significant correlations between the abundance of the ichthyofauna and the variations in the abiotic factors were not detected. The presence of fish larvae in the samples indicates the importance of the transition zone as a reproduction area of the fish species registered in this study.

Plankton richness and abundance in several different hydrological situations in lakes lateral to a river: a case study in the mouth zone of a tributary into a tropical reservoir.

A descriptive analysis of the responses of plankton from lakes lateral to a river in its mouth zone into a tropical reservoir to water level variations is presented. Three situations were reported: 1) a comparison of species richness and diversity and of algae population abundance in prolonged drought and in periods of connection of lakes to the river, 2) the spatial distribution of abundance and richness of Rotifera species in four isolated water bodies formed by fragmentation of a lateral lake during a period of prolonged drought and in the same areas during a period of integrity as an ecosystem, 3) the variability of total zooplankton and Cladocera densities at the end of the isolation period of a lateral lake and after the recovery of connection with the river and in a year of continuous connection with the lotic ecosystem. Various idiosyncrasies were observed in connected lateral lakes, like the surface hydrologic connectivity, a primary factor in species richness modifcations and a secondary controlling factor of plankton abundance. Underground hydrologic connectivity, through the river[forward arrow] lake water fux during the high-water period and lake [forward arrow] river during drought period, appears to have an important role in richness and abundance variations of planktonic populations in the lake isolated from the river.