The effect of connectivity on the relationship between local and regional species richness of testate amoebae (protozoa, rhizopoda) in floodplain lagoons of the Upper Paraná River, Brazil

Abstract

Abstract The effect of connectivity on the relationship between local and regional testate amoebae species richness was investigated in two floodplain lagoons in the Upper Parana River. Regional species pool was positively correlated with local species richness in the lagoon highly connected to the associated river. This result indicates the importance of connectivity and regional processes such as dispersal on the determination of testate amoebae species richness at local scales. We show how regional–local species richness plots can be useful to quantify and test the effects of connectivity on species richness of floodplain assemblages. Based on our results, we postulate that conservation and restoration of fluvial dynamics and connectivity, as concluded by other studies, can maximize the preservation of local richness levels.