Abstract
AbstractSeasonal variations of zooplankton communities and their interactions with phytoplankton and environmental parameters were studied over a twelve‐month period in Lake Guiers (Senegal, West Africa). Zooplankton was most abundant during the warm and rainy season corresponding to the flood event (July to October) with peaks for rotifers and cyclopoid copepods in July–August and September–October, respectively. Filamentous cyanobacteria were the dominant phytoplankton during the warm season (August to November), while diatoms were dominant during the cool season (December to April). Temperature increase and river flooding both played an important role in these successions, favoring intense development of cyanobacteria and cyclopoid copepods. Trophic interactions also seem to be an important factor in structuring of the plankton community. Overall, the plankton composition displayed a trend toward a eutrophication state. Our study confirms the existence of seasonality in zooplankton communities and the importance of using biological indicators such as phyto‐ and zooplankton to monitor water quality, in particular in tropical freshwater ecosystems. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
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