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Rotifer community structure in fish‐farming systems associated with a Neotropical semiarid reservoir in north‐eastern Brazil
Author(s) -
Arruda Gilmar de Aguiar,
Diniz Leidiane Pereira,
Almeida Viviane Lúcia dos Santos,
NeumannLeitão Sigrid,
Melo Júnior Mauro
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
aquaculture research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.646
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1365-2109
pISSN - 1355-557X
DOI - 10.1111/are.13310
Subject(s) - biology , brachionus , rotifer , aquaculture , ecology , dominance (genetics) , plankton , species richness , bioindicator , cichlid , tilapia , oreochromis , fish farming , fishery , fish <actinopterygii> , biochemistry , gene
The study was conducted to assess the community structure of planktonic rotifers and their relation to the environmental impact of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (Linaeus, 1758), aquaculture activities (ponds and net‐tanks), associated with a Neotropical semiarid reservoir in Brazil. Our hypothesis was that the ecological attributes of the rotifer community were different when considering the influence of fish aquaculture activities. We identified 28 species, with 10 species from the Brachionidae family. The average density and diversity index of rotifers were higher in reservoir stations, with mean values in the ponds approximately 50% lower than those of the reservoir. The microphagous species dominated during all the time, while the raptorial species were accidental in all studied environments. The ponds were represented by four significant indicator species: Brachionus caudatus, B. leydigi, Dicranophoroides caudatus and Testudinella patina and the reservoir by three: B. falcatus, B. havanaensis and Conochilus dossuarius . In general, nine species were significantly associated with some categories of environmental conditions, such as high or low turbidity and low values of conductivity and TDS. Four of the five best bioindicator species belonged to the microphagous genus Brachionus. B. havanaensis indicated five environmental conditions (IndVal > 93.1%), and it appeared to be a key species in this Neotropical semiarid reservoir influenced by aquaculture activities. The dominance of microphagous rotifers suggests a functional redundancy of species in the studied environments. We found that these systems and their management affected the planktonic rotifer community in this region of Brazil by increasing the species richness.