Spatial and temporal variation of Cladocera in a tropical shallow lake

Abstract

We studied cladoceran species richness, community composition, habitat preference and density in three spatial habitats over 1 year at Thale-Noi, a large shallow tropical lake in southern Thailand. Monthly sampling conducted with activity traps deployed overnight in littoral (Hydrilla and Ceratophyllum beds), open water (Hydrilla beds) and marginal zone (Utricularia beds), revealed that the macrophyte beds support similar cladoceran diversities regardless of the habitat. Total species richness in all studied habitats ranged between 30 and 34 species, supporting up to 22 species in a trapping area of 0.09 m 2 at peak times, the majority belonging to the Chydoridae. In total, 40 species were recorded over the year, half of which were chydorids. Mixed cladoceran densities reached maxima of 160 333 ind.m x2 for a single habitat at a given moment. The dominant species included Chydoridae (Anthalona, Kurzia, Dunhevedia and Ephemeroporus), Daphniidae (Ceriodaphnia), Macrothricidae (Macrothrix) and Ctenopoda (Latonopsis). Monthly variation in species richness was most obvious in the littoral zone, whereas monthly variation in densities occurred at all sites. Community composition and habitat preference were mainly structured by depth and pH, resulting in different assemblages per habitat, but with uniform communities in the littoral (Hydrilla and Ceratophyllum) beds in a single area. This study presents the first ecological survey of Cladocera using activity traps in a shallow tropical lake.

Composition and diversity of phytophilous cladocerans of oxbow lakes of Southwest Amazonian, Acre state, Brazil

“…Although the Buião Lake had a higher correlation with temperature by the RDA, the lake with the highest average temperature was Mascote (Buião X = 25.5ºC; Mascote X = 26.3ºC). Choedchim et al (2017), when working on a lake, noticed that the shallower regions concentrated a larger abundance of phytophilous cladocerans, which were also the most acidic waters, thus corroborating with our theory. Melão (1999) pointed to temperature as one of the two main factors for the development and reproduction of cladocerans (food being the second factor).…”

The influence of flood frequency and duration on microcrustacean egg bank composition in dryland river floodplain sediments

“…Another possibility is the habitat preference of taxa. For example, non‐ostracods such as cladocerans, in general, prefer littoral areas with more aquatic vegetation (Choedchim et al., 2017). Thus, while the mechanisms described above may drive a pattern of higher numbers of ostracods hatching from deeper areas, these mechanisms may be counteracted among cladoceran by strong habitat preferences for shallow littoral areas, which itself is partly driven by increased grazing pressure in open water areas.…”

Cladocera (Crustacea, Branchiopoda) of a temporary shallow pond from northern Colombia

“…In the surveyed area, the littoral zone with vegetation showed a higher species richness (11 species) than the limnetic area (9 species). The littoral vegetation represents a wide variety of microhabitats for microcrustaceans, providing food and shelter (Choedchim et al 2017).…”