Composição e distribuição de Darwinulidae (Crustacea, Ostracoda) no vale aluvial do alto rio Paraná, Brasil

The occurrence and abundance of darwinulid ostracods, as well as environmental factors influencing these patterns, were investigated in the alluvial valley of the upper Paraná River. Ostracods were sampled from several substrates, like littoral sediments and pleuston, which included several aquatic macrophytes species, from 31 localities (lentic and lotic) belonging to different riverine systems. Eight darwinulid species were found, representing all genera from this family. Alicenula serricaudata, Vestalenula pagliolii, and Penthesilenula brasiliensis were the most common species. Cluster analysis based on the composition and abundance of darwinulid communities revealed the presence of five associations. Darwinula stevensoni, Vestalenula botocuda, and Penthesilenula aotearoa were almost exclusive to lotic environments. A Mantel multiple test showed that the occurrence and distribution of darwinulid ostracods were significantly related to types of habitat and systems, but not to abiotic variables. It thus seems that the hydrodynamic fluctuations of these environments are probably more important to darwinulid distribution than the limnological characteristics.A ocorrência e abundância de ostrácodes darwinulídeos, bem como os fatores ambientais que influenciam estes padrões, foram investigadas no vale aluvial do alto rio Paraná. Os ostrácodes foram coletados em vários substratos, como sedimentos litorâneos e plêuston, o qual incluiu várias espécies de macrófitas aquáticas, de 31 ambientes (lênticos e lóticos) pertencentes a diferentes sistemas fluviais. Oito espécies de darwinulídeos foram encontradas, representando todos os gêneros desta família. Alicenula serricaudata, Vestalenula pagliolii e Penthesilenula brasiliensis foram as espécies mais comuns. A análise de agrupamento, baseada na composição e abundância das comunidades de darwinulídeos, revelou a presença de cinco associações. Darwinula stevensoni, Vestalenula botocuda e Penthesilenula aotearoa foram praticamente exclusivas de ambientes lóticos. O teste de Mantel múltiplo evidenciou que a ocorrência e distribuição de ostrácodes estiveram significantemente relacionadas aos tipos de hábitat e sistema, mas não às variáveis abióticas. Desta forma, parece que as flutuações hidrodinâmicas destes ambientes atuam mais fortemente na distribuição de darwinulídeos que as características limnológicas

Composition and distribution of Darwinulidae (Crustacea, Ostracoda) in the alluvial valley of the upper Paraná River, Brazil

The occurrence and abundance of darwinulid ostracods, as well as environmental factors influencing these patterns, were investigated in the alluvial valley of the upper Paraná River. Ostracods were sampled from several substrates, like littoral sediments and pleuston, which included several aquatic macrophytes species, from 31 localities (lentic and lotic) belonging to different riverine systems. Eight darwinulid species were found, representing all genera from this family. Alicenula serricaudata, Vestalenula pagliolii, and Penthesilenula brasiliensis were the most common species. Cluster analysis based on the composition and abundance of darwinulid communities revealed the presence of five associations. Darwinula stevensoni, Vestalenula botocuda, and Penthesilenula aotearoa were almost exclusive to lotic environments. A Mantel multiple test showed that the occurrence and distribution of darwinulid ostracods were significantly related to types of habitat and systems, but not to abiotic variables. It thus seems that the hydrodynamic fluctuations of these environments are probably more important to darwinulid distribution than the limnological characteristics

Potential impacts of climate change on biogeochemical functioning of Cerrado ecosystems

The Cerrado Domain comprises one of the most diverse savannas in the world and is undergoing a rapid loss of habitats due to changes in fire regimes and intense conversion of native areas to agriculture. We reviewed data on the biogeochemical functioning of Cerrado ecosystems and evaluated the potential impacts of regional climate changes. Variation in temperature extremes and in total amount of rainfall and altitude throughout the Cerrado determines marked differences in the composition of species. Cerrado ecosystems are controlled by interactions between water and nutrient availability. In general, nutrient cycles (N, P and base cations) are very conservative, while litter, microbial and plant biomass are important stocks. In terms of C cycling, root systems and especially the soil organic matter are the most important stocks. Typical cerrado ecosystems function as C sinks on an annual basis, although they work as source of C to the atmosphere close to the end of the dry season. Fire is an important factor altering stocks and fluxes of C and nutrients. Predicted changes in temperature, amount and distribution of precipitation vary according to Cerrado sub-regions with more marked changes in the northeastern part of the domain. Higher temperatures, decreases in rainfall with increase in length of the dry season could shift net ecosystem exchanges from C sink to source of C and might intensify burning, reducing nutrient stocks. Interactions between the heterogeneity in the composition and abundance of biological communities throughout the Cerrado Domain and current and future changes in land use make it difficult to project the impacts of future climate scenarios at different temporal and spatial scales and new modeling approaches are needed