The relative importance of regional and local factors in shaping zooplankton diversity in high-altitude tropical shallow lakes

Abstract

In Brazil, although, high-altitude shallow lakes comprise large parts of conservation units and are considered highly important environments for biodiversity studies, little is known about the factors that regulate the zooplankton community. In the present study, we sought to identify the effect of regional (hydroperiod and altitude) and local (lake area and macrophyte cover) factors on the zooplankton communities in eight shallow high-altitude lakes (from 1080 m a.s.l. to lakes above 1200 m a.s.l.) in the Espinhaço Mountain Range (Brazil). Of the 116 zooplankton species identified, 66 (56%) showed a high degree of spatial aggregation, occurring in only a few lakes. Accessory species occurred predominantly in small lakes, while rare species were better represented in the larger lakes, suggesting species sorting associated with the niche effect. Zooplankton richness was strongly influenced by hydroperiod, indicating that temporary lakes can congregate species resistant to the environmental filter of the drought, playing an important role in the diversification of the zooplankton community. We identified environmental heterogeneity (macrophyte cover) as the factor that most influenced the species diversity: zooplankton responded positively to increased macrophyte cover, confirming that the presence of aquatic plants constitutes a strong environmental filter to explain the variation of the zooplankton community. Zooplankton species composition and abundance differed among lakes, indicating a certain degree of heterogeneity in assemblage structure, but no influence on zooplankton diversity was observed. Our results provide evidences that altitude did not influence zooplankton diversity and this may affect the regional diversity (ß diversity) of tropical high-altitude lakes, and merits further study.