Fatores determinantes da biomassa, diversidade funcional e ácidos graxos da comunidade zooplanctônica em dois estuários tropicais

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the drivers factors of biomass, functional diversity and fatty acids of the zooplankton community in two tropical estuaries with different trophic states (Mamanguape and Paraíba do Norte), located in Northeastern Brazil. The study was divided into two manuscripts which were sampled in dry and rainy season, as follows: Nov/2013 to Jul/2014, for the first manuscript and Dec/2014 and Jul/2014 to the second manuscript, respectively. Four sample zones were selected along each estuary and in each one were selected three sites where at each site three biotic samples (zooplankton community) and abiotic (environmental variables) were sampled. The fatty acid profiles were obtained from gas chromatography techniques from selected copepod species. In the first study, we tested whether the estuarine connectivity, the phylogenetic relationships and the local environmental conditions are the main drivers of the pattern of distribution of biomass and functional diversity of the zooplankton community. It was observed that these three components are sufficient to explain the variation in Mamanguape estuary that is located in a conservation area, and different than is commonly expected, the connectivity can provide greater explicability for the community distribution, when compared to the environmental conditions. However, the three components used were not sufficient to explain the variation in Paraíba do Norte estuary which is influenced by anthropogenic impacts. The study shows the importance of spatial variable to assess the drivers factors of biomass and functional diversity of the zooplankton community, as this part of the analysis the effects of dispersal ability of species and the physical forces acting on the system. Moreover, a thorough investigation is needed to clarify the factors that determine and shape the zooplankton communities in high impacted tropical systems. In the second study, we tested whether the profiles of fatty acids can reveal spatial and temporal changes in diet of copepods, and therefore can be used as indicators of the trophic status of estuaries. It was observed that the fatty acid composition of zooplanktonic organisms revealed seasonal and temporal variations in trophic ecology of copepods in both tropical estuaries. In addition, the profiles of fatty acids were able to reveal differences in the quality of potential food sources in the two estuaries with different levels of anthropogenic impact, with a lower quality of food sources in the most impacted system (Paraíba do Norte estuary). In this study the profiles of fatty acids were sensitive to natural and anthropogenic stresses, being a fast tool to assess the trophic status of tropical estuaries.