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Floods decrease zooplankton beta diversity and environmental heterogeneity in an Amazonian floodplain system

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Abstract

Floods are major determinants of ecological patterns and processes in river-floodplain systems. Although some general predictions of the effects of water level changes on ecological attributes have been identified, specific tests using the flood pulse concept are scarce, mainly in tropical areas, where large river-floodplain systems abound. We tested the hypothesis that floods decrease environmental and biological variability using data from a near-pristine floodplain in Central Amazon (Brazil). We recorded nine limnological variables and the zooplankton community structure at eleven sites during one low and one high water period. During the low water period, when the levels of hydrological connectivity were low, asynchronous processes (e.g., sediment disturbance by biota, decomposition, and predation) likely determined the large environmental and biological heterogeneity in the floodplain. On the other hand, environmental variability and zooplankton beta diversity were significantly decreased by the flood. We postulate that floods act as “rubber erasers”, reducing the environmental and ecological idiosyncrasies created during low water periods. Also, we suggest that dilution effects and enhanced connectivity during the high water period, along with species sorting during the low water period, may determine zooplankton beta diversity patterns in river-floodplain systems.

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Acknowledgments

All authors have been continuously supported by grants provided by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and extend sincere thanks to the company Mineração Rio do Norte S/A for supporting field activities. We acknowledge our colleagues of the Laboratório de Limnologia of the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro for hel** with samples and to Felipe Siqueira for preparing the map. We thank Dr. Tadeu Siqueira for helpful suggestions on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP: 21941-540, Brazil

    Reinaldo Luiz Bozelli & Paloma Marinho Lopes

  2. Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Nupelia, PEA-UEM, Av. Colombo, 5790, Maringá, PR, CEP: 87020-900, Brazil

    Sidinei Magela Thomaz

  3. Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal do Paraná, CP 19031, Curitiba, PR, CEP: 81531-990, Brazil

    André Andrian Padial

  4. Laboratório de Ecologia Teórica e Síntese, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Campus Samambaia, Goiânia, GO, CEP 74001-970, Brazil

    Luis Mauricio Bini

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  1. Reinaldo Luiz Bozelli
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Correspondence to Reinaldo Luiz Bozelli.

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Bozelli, R.L., Thomaz, S.M., Padial, A.A. et al. Floods decrease zooplankton beta diversity and environmental heterogeneity in an Amazonian floodplain system. Hydrobiologia 753, 233–241 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2209-1

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