%0 Journal Article
%T Effects of natural banks of free-floating plants on zooplankton community in a shallow subtropical lake in Southern Brazil
%A Gazulha
%A Vanessa
%A Mont¨²
%A M£¿nica
%A Marques
%A David da Motta
%A Bonecker
%A Cla¨²dia Costa
%J Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology
%D 2011
%I Tecpar
%R 10.1590/S1516-89132011000400014
%X the aim of this study was to test the effects of natural free-floating plants on zooplankton distribution in a shallow subtropical lake. first, the hypothesis that free-floating plants have an effect on physico-chemicals, leading to a decrease on nutrient availability and influencing the phytoplankton biomass and zooplankton community was tested. second, the hypothesis that free-floating plants act as a refuge for zooplankton was tested. three microhabitats were selected: free-floating plants, littoral area and open water. results demonstrated that the effects of different microhabitats on phytoplankton biomass and physico-chemicals were not significant, indicating a weak influence of the plants. zooplankton densities were higher in free-floating plants and littoral area, although the effect of microhabitats was weak for most of the predominant genera. the absence of free-floating plant effects on phytoplankton and physico-chemicals showed that it was not a factor influencing the microcrustacean distribution in the microhabitats. low differences in densities of zooplankton among microhabitats and low abundance of large-bodied cladocerans led to reject the hypothesis that free-floating plants act as a refuge for zooplankton.
%K macrophytes
%K refuge
%K spatial distribution
%K tropical zooplankton.
%U http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S1516-89132011000400014&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en