Abstract
AIMS: We evaluated the potential of aquatic macrophyte communities as bioindicators in six small shallow lakes. METHODS: The sampling was conducted monthly for one year, during which all macrophytes were surveyed, and the water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, total alkalinity, chlorophyll-a, suspended matter, total nitrogen (Nt) and total phosphorus (Pt) were measured. RESULTS: In total, forty-three species were recorded, and there were significant differences in the species richness and limnological conditions among the lakes studied. A canonical correspondence analysis showed that the concentration of nutrients (Nt and Pt), chlorophyll-a, suspended matter, dissolved oxygen and pH were the most important predictors of the distribution of macrophytes. Some emergents were related to the high concentration of nutrients, chlorophyll-a, and suspended matter. Moreover, the most submersed species were associated with environments with low nutrient concentrations and the lowest values chlorophyll-a and suspended matter. In addition, some species submerged and floating were related to low values pH, alkalinity and dissolved oxygen. Limnological differences between lakes may be cited as the main causes of the observed heterogeneous distribution of macrophytes. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate the importance of limnological characteristics of the different environments in the macrophyte community composition and the potential role of this community as a bioindicator in shallow lakes in southern Brazil.
Highlights
Aquatic macrophytes compose an important community in limnic ecosystems because, in most cases, they are the main primary producers, they produce high biomass, and they contribute to biodiversity (Wetzel, 1993; Esteves, 1998)
The distribution of macrophytes in lakes has been related by many authors with the a b c d e f limnological characteristics of the environments, such pH (Vestergaard and Sand-Jensen, 2000; Catling et al, 1986; Jackson and Charles, 1988), and concentrations of chlorophyll and nutrients (Rørslett, 1991: Murphy, 2002; Bini, 1999)
Our results showed that the different limnological characteristics of each environment seem to influence the success of the species
Summary
Aquatic macrophytes compose an important community in limnic ecosystems because, in most cases, they are the main primary producers, they produce high biomass, and they contribute to biodiversity (Wetzel, 1993; Esteves, 1998). Macrophytes in shallow lakes are involved in various feedback mechanisms that tend to maintain a clear water state (Scheffer, 1998). This community has a large ecological amplitude (Esteves, 1998; Thomaz, 2002) and may colonize environments with different ecological characteristics (Thomaz and Bini, 1998) and withstand sudden environmental changes (Menezes et al, 1993; Esteves, 1998). It is clear that macrophytes are limited to a set of characteristics of a specific habitat (Murphy, 2002) and that they respond differently to environmental conditions (e.g., trophic status) (Barko et al, 1986; Van Geest, 2005). Many efforts have been made in developing a biotic index based on macrophytes and predictive models that can be used as management tools in monitoring the quality of water bodies (Camargo et al, 2003; Ciecierska, 2006; Clayton and Edwards, 2006; Joye et al, 2006; Beck et al, 2010; Kocic et al, 2008; Penning et al, 2008a, b; Søndergaard, 2010)
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