Hatching of Cladocera (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) resting eggs from permanently hydrated and temporarily dehydrated sediments of an Amazon lake

Abstract

Aim i) to characterize the composition of the Cladocera species hatched from the resting eggs of permanently hydrated and temporarily dehydrated sediments; ii) to test whether periodic dehydration reduces the hatching of the resting eggs. Methods Cladocera resting eggs were collected from the sediment of Tupé lake, Amazonas, Brazil. Sampling was performed in the dry season, when the sediment was found in two conditions: Permanently Hydrated Sediment (PHS) in the lake main channel and Temporarily Dehydrated Sediment (TDS) on the margin. Hatching was experimented through a temperature of 24 °C (± 2 °C) and a photoperiod of 12h light: 12h dark, for 20 days. Results Eight Cladocera taxa were counted among the two sediments. In PHS five taxa (one exclusive) were identified and seven taxa (three exclusive) occurred in TDS. The comparison of the hatching rate of Cladocera eggs between TDS (0.36 ± 0.48%) and PHS (0.32 ± 0.49%) was not significant (GLM: χ21= 0.012; P > 0.05; Pseudo-R2M= 0.0006). Conclusions The hypothesis that periodic dehydration of Cladocera resting eggs reduces egg hatching has been refuted. This leads us to conclude that natural periodic dehydration does not affect the hatching of resistance eggs, therefore, resistance eggs, as already reported in the literature are an important mechanism for the maintenance and success of organisms in environments, even undergoing profound changes caused due to the large variation in water levels that occur in Amazon rivers and associated environments.