Ecologia da comunidade de algas planctônicas em reservatórios de Pernambuco (Nordeste, Brasil)

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to analyze the richness, diversity and biomass of the phytoplankton community, relating the behavior of the species and algal associations with the seasonal and spatial variations presented by abiotic factors in five reservoirs in the state of Pernambuco (Duas Unas, Tapacurá, Jucazinho, Arcoverde and Pedra) northeastern Brazil. Samplings began in March 2007 and were carried out at three-month intervals during a year at two depths (0.1 m and near the sediment), with five collections at each reservoir. The phytoplankton samples were collected with a van Dorn bottle and preserved in Lugol‟s solution. The richness, diversity and biomass of the phytoplankton community were examined under a Zeiss microscope. The abiotic variables obtained in field and laboratory were water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, water transparency, total phosphorus, total dissolved phosphorus, orthophosphate and total nitrogen. A greater number of taxa were recorded in the rainy season (103 spp.). However, the reservoirs located near the coast (with its greater amount of rainfall) had less algal diversity (82 spp.) than those located in the semi-arid interior (94 spp.). Biomassvalues were higher in the semi-arid interior (18.6 mm3.L-1) than the coastal region (3.6 mm3.L-1); this difference was more evident in the dry season. Precipitation was the main controlling factor of phytoplankton in the ecosystems of northeastern Brazil, exhibiting an inverse relationship with phytoplankton richness and biomass. However, the influence of seasonality on the dynamics of the phytoplankton community was lesser in deeper reservoirs, which affected the behavior of the algal associations. Variations in light availability were determinants in the change in phytoplankton structure in the reservoirs studied. There was a predominance of cyanobacteria in the Tapacurá, Jucazinho, Arcoverde and Pedra reservoirs throughout the year. The lowest phytoplankton biomass values occurred at Duas Unas (1.5 mm3.L-1), with a thermal mixture pattern observed throughout the sampling period that favored the establishment of diatoms associations, such as Aulacoseira granulata (Ehrenberg) Simonsen, Cyclotella meneghiniana Kützing, Melosira varians C. Agardh and Urosolenia eriensis (H.L. Smith) F.E. Round. The limited light in the epilimnion in the Tapacurá reservoir was related for the maintenance of coccoidcyanobacteria, such as Microcystis aeruginosa (Kützing) Kützing, throughout the year. M. aeruginosa blooms (71.8 mm3.L-1) were recorded in the Jucazinho reservoir during the period of reduced light availability in the epilimnion, associated to an increase in phosphorus content. In most of the months studied, however, the phytoplankton structure was formed by filamentous cyanobacteria (< 8.0 mm3.L-1) and centric diatoms (< 2.0 mm3.L-1). At the Arcoverde and Pedra reservoirs, Cylindrospermopsis raciboskii (Woloszynska) Seenaya and Subba Raju blooms (> 30.0 mm3.L-1) occurred during the period of thermal stratification. The thermal mixture in these two ecosystems led to the establishment of cyanobacteria [Planktothrix agardhii (Gomont) Anagnostidis and Komárek, Geitlerinema amphibium (C. Agardh) Anagnostidis, M. aeruginosa and Merismopedia tenuissima Lemmermann], diatom [Aulacoseira granulata (Ehrenberg) Simonsen and Cyclotella meneghiniana Kützing], euglenoid [Phacus longicauda (Ehrenberg) Dujardin and Trachelomonas volvocina Ehrenberg] and a dinoflagellate (Peridinium sp.). The factors such as thermal mixture and competition among algae hindered the establishment of blooms in all the ecosystems studied and led to greater algal diversity in shallow ecosystems whencompared to those with greater depths. The thermal pattern and light availability were the main attributes related to the change in the structure of planktonic algae in the ecosystems studied.