Phytoplankton diversity and functional traits in aquatic ecosystems in a conservation area in the Brazilian Savanna

Abstract

Conservation areas plays a major role to contain the habitat’s loss and biodiversity. However, it’s barely known about the influence of these areas on aquatic ecosystems, and especially on the phytoplankton community. Here, we explore phytoplankton richness, abundance and functional traits in different aquatic ecosystems in a protected area in Niquelândia, Goiás (in the Brazilian Savana). We sampled four lagoons, six streams and one river, during the rainy season and recorded 78 taxa. In the lagoons, green algae, mixotrophic flagellates and desmids predominated, while in the streams and rivers, diatoms, green algae and mixotrophic flagellates predominated. Differences between lotic and lentic environments were evidenced, for richness and density, both for taxa and functional traits. The most frequent functional traits in the lagoons were flagella and mixotrophy, while in the streams and river, the presence of silica was also important. Most of the algae recorded were unicellular, nanoplanktonic and with ovoid and spherical cells. Thus, assessing phytoplankton diversity is the first step for monitoring aquatic ecosystems in conservation areas and for evaluating their effects on these environments. So, with these results it will be possible to compare ecosystems in protected areas with similar ecosystems in unprotected areas.