Efeitos do gradiente de preservação da mata ciliar sobre a estrutura do potamoplâncton em ecossistemas lóticos subtropicais (Bacia do Rio dos Sinos, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil)

Abstract

Water quality in lotic and lentic systems is greatly influenced by the activities performed at their margins, influencing the structure of biological communities. This study was conducted in order to assess whether different degrees of preservation of riparian forest influence potamplankton community structure in subtropical streams. The study was conducted in three streams in the upper region of Rio dos Sinos Basin. Four sampling sites, distant 1 km from each other, with different degrees of riparian forest width, were considered, from the best (30 m) to the less preserved (5 m). Samplings were gathered for abiotic and biological analyses in summer (january/february 2011) and winter (august 2010). Statistical tests were performed Analysis of Variance ? One-way (One-way ANOVA), Principal Component Analisys (PCA), Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) e Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA). Analysis of environmental and biotic variables indicated that seasonality was the main determinant of biomass patterns, regardless of the degree of preservation of riparian vegetation. Bacillariophyceae, Chlorophyceae and Cyanobacteria constituted the three major taxonomic groups identified, and the class Bacillariophyceae was dominant. Descriptors species and functional groups indicated contamination of these environments by nutrients and organic matter. Potamoplankton community of the studied streams responded satisfactorily to environmental conditions, although lack of significant difference among the different degrees of riparian vegetation preservation has been found. Increasing trends on biomass, richness and diversity of species, and concentrations of total solid dissolved and conductivity, might indicate that the different gradients of preservation of riparian vegetation may influence water quality in subtropical streams and therefore the potamoplankton structure.