scholarly journals Hydrology-driven seasonal changes in the phytoplankton of a subtropical river (Riacho Formosa, Argentina).

2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-193
Author(s):  
Gabriela Mataloni ◽  
Luciana Burdman ◽  
Valeria Casa ◽  
Daniela Gonzalez ◽  
María Clara Masetti

The Riacho Formosa is one of many autochtonous watercourses running along the subtropical region of the Wet Chaco Plains and draining into Paraguay River. Their typical hydrological cycle is characterized by a late winter low phase and a high phase throughout the warm season. As part of a baseline characterization, the composition and structure of the phytoplankton were studied in relation to river depth, water temperature, pH, conductivity and transparency through 4 seasonal samplings between June 2015 and March 2016. A rich phytoplankton community (338 taxa) was revealed in this study. A few species of Cryptophyceae and Euglenophyceae dominated the community, especially during low waters. A cluster analysis showed that community compositions were more dissimilar over time than along the watercourse, and were spatially more homogeneous during high waters. A canonical correspondence analysis showed that environmental features significantly explained 42.6% of the total variance of species data (p= 0.004). We conclude that phytoplankton responds to hydrological changes through a high species turnover, with dominance peaks of euryhaline, shadow adapted and organic matter exploiting taxa during low waters.

2011 ◽  
Vol 71 (1 suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 241-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
HC Gonçalves ◽  
MA Mercante ◽  
ET Santos

The Pantanal hydrological cycle holds an important meaning in the Alto Paraguay Basin, comprising two areas with considerably diverse conditions regarding natural and water resources: the Plateau and the Plains. From the perspective of the ecosystem function, the hydrological flow in the relationship between plateau and plains is important for the creation of reproductive and feeding niches for the regional biodiversity. In general, river declivity in the plateau is 0.6 m/km while declivity on the plains varies from 0.1 to 0.3 m/km. The environment in the plains is characteristically seasonal and is home to an exuberant and abundant diversity of species, including some animals threatened with extinction. When the flat surface meets the plains there is a diminished water flow on the riverbeds and, during the rainy season the rivers overflow their banks, flooding the lowlands. Average annual precipitation in the Basin is 1,396 mm, ranging from 800 mm to 1,600 mm, and the heaviest rainfall occurs in the plateau region. The low drainage capacity of the rivers and lakes that shape the Pantanal, coupled with the climate in the region, produce very high evaporation: approximately 60% of all the waters coming from the plateau are lost through evaporation. The Alto Paraguay Basin, including the Pantanal, while boasting an abundant availability of water resources, also has some spots with water scarcity in some sub-basins, at different times of the year. Climate conditions alone are not enough to explain the differences observed in the Paraguay River regime and some of its tributaries. The complexity of the hydrologic regime of the Paraguay River is due to the low declivity of the lands that comprise the Mato Grosso plains and plateau (50 to 30 cm/km from east to west and 3 to 1.5 cm/km from north to south) as well as the area's dimension, which remains periodically flooded with a large volume of water.


2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 95
Author(s):  
G. Verdugo-Díaz ◽  
A. Martínez-López ◽  
I. Gárate-Lizárraga

Se presentan los cambios en la distribución espacial de la comunidad fitoplanctónica en Bahía Concepción, B.C.S. de 1991 a 1993. Se estimó la abundancia total, la variación espacio-temporal por fracciones de tamaño (nano y microfitoplancton) y se describe su estructura. Se determinaron 235 taxa, en donde las diatomeas fueron el grupo con mayor riqueza de especies (131). Los géneros más importantes fueron Chaetoceros, Rhizosolenia y Nitzschia. El segundo grupo en importancia fue el de los dinoflagelados (92 especies), representados principalmente por Protoperidinium, Ceratium y Prorocentrum; el tercer grupo fueron los silicoflagelados (9 especies), principalmente del genero Dictyocha. Las diatomeas dominaron en la temporada fría cuando la columna de agua se mantiene homogénea, en tanto que los dinoflagelados prosperaron durante la temporada cálida cuando la columna de agua estuvo estratificada. De este último grupo, 10 especies son tóxicas o potencialmente tóxicas. La abundancia fitoplanctónica total no mostró un comportamiento estacional definido, sin embargo, las variaciones interanuales mostraron un decremento de aproximadamente 25% durante 1992 y 1993, asociado con anomalías positivas de temperatura. A pesar de que las abundancias totales disminuyeron, la contribución porcentual de la fracción nanofitoplanctónica se mantuvo. Ecological indicators of the phytoplankton community structure in Bahía Concepción, Gulf of California, Mexico Seasonal changes in the spatial distribution of the phytoplankton community were determined in Bahía Concepción, B.C.S., from 1991 to 1993. The total abundance and the seasonal variations of phytoplankton size fractions (nanno and microphytoplankton) as well as its structure were determined. A total of 235 taxa were identified. Diatoms were the best represented group due to their high species richness (131). The most important genera were Chaetoceros, Rhizosolenia and Nitzschia. The second important group were dinoflagellates (92 species), represented mainly by Protoperidinium, Ceratium and Prorocentrum. The third numerically important group were the silicoflagellates (9 species). The most representative genus of this group was Dictyocha. A major presence of the diatoms was observed during the cold months with a homogeneous water-column. Major presence of dinoflagellates was recorded during the warm season when the water-column appeared stratified. Ten species of dinoflagellates were considered as toxic or potentially toxic. Total phytoplankton abundance did not show a clear seasonal pattern; nevertheless, the interannual variations exhibited an important decline of about 25 % during 1992 and 1993. These changes were related to positive anomalies of temperature. Altough phytoplankton abundance diminished, the percentage contribution of nannophytoplankton was stable.


1981 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 121 ◽  
Author(s):  
GM Lodge

Emergence and survival of the seedlings of warm-season native perennial grasses Aristida ramosa R.Br., Bothriochloa macra (Steud.) S . T. Blake, Dichanthium sericeum (R.Br.) Camus, Sporobolus elongatus R.Br., Eragvostis leptostachya Steud. and Chloris truncata R.Br. and the cool-season species Stipa variabilis Hughes and Danthonia linkii Kunth were studied in both native pastures and sown monospecific plots on the north- west slopes of New South Wales. The most favourable period for the successful emergence and establishment of warm-season grasses was from mid summer to early autumn. Cool-season native perennial grasses established best from seedlings that appeared from mid autumn to late winter. Few seedlings were observed to germinate in spring, probably as a result of large variations in temperature, low minimum temperatures or intra and interspecific competition. Seedlings growing in native pasture spent long periods in the vegetative phase compared to the early flowering of seedlings in the sown plots. In the pasture studied only two seedlings flowered over 700 days after emergence, and many others after persisting for up to 2 years died without producing seed. These findings indicate that the seedlings in these native pastures were under considerable stress and that the adult populations of the species examined were relatively stable and little recruitment occurred.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabio Di Sante ◽  
Erika Coppola ◽  
Filippo Giorgi

<p>In a sick world with fever caused by global warming, the hydrological cycle will experience most certainly large changes in intensity and variability. One of the most intense phenomena that will probably be affected by the climate change is the flood hazard. For a long time the stakeholders have been dedicated resources to assess the risk linked to the floods magnitude and frequencies and shaping the public infrastructures based on the assumption of their immutability. Under the effect of the climate change this assumption can be broken and a different approach should be followed to avoid large disasters and threaten to the population health. In this study the biggest ever ensemble of hydroclimatic  simulations has been used to simulate the river floods over the European regions. A river routing model derived from a distributed hydrological model (CHyM) has been forced with 44 EURO-CORDEX, 5 CMIP5 and 7 CMIP6 simulations to assess the effects of the climate change on the floods magnitude under two different scenarios (RCP2.6 and RCP8.5 for EURO-CORDEX and CMIP5, SSP126 and SSP585 for CMIP6). The impact of the climate change has been evaluated using a 100 year return period discharge indicator (Q100) obtained fitting a Gumbel distribution on the yearly peak discharge values. Results show a decrease of magnitude of flood events over the Mediterranean, Scandinavia and the North Eastern European regions. Over these two last regions the signal appear particularly robust and in contrast to the projected mean flow signal that is shown to increase by the end of the century mainly driven by the related increase of mean precipitations. The reduction of snow accumulation during winter time linked to a large increase of late winter temperatures is the main reason behind the decrease of floods over the North Eastern regions. An opposite signal is projected  instead over Great Britain, Ireland, Northern Italy and Western Europe where a robust signal of floods magnitude increase is evident driven by e the increase of extreme precipitations. All these simulation are meant to feed the impact community and to shade the light on the use of climate information for impact assessment studies.</p>


2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandrine Pannard ◽  
Myriam Bormans ◽  
Yvan Lagadeuc

Changes in the physical and chemical environment induced by forcing events such as wind and rain can control the short-term dynamics of the phytoplankton community of inland waters. In two temperate reservoirs, species composition, diversity index, and species dynamics were characterized over periods of 3 weeks during different seasons, in parallel with changes in the physical and chemical structure of the water column. Dominant species and diversity index were shown to be controlled by environmental factors fluctuating on a seasonal and weekly time scale, whereas some rarer species responded to wind events and were indicators of a very short-term environmental change. As a consequence of the response of indicator species, the rate of change in species composition increased following meteorological events. Shifts in species composition were observed during each sampling period, except during the strongest stratification period. The shifts were associated with a modification of resource availability or intensity of stratification. We found that the resistance of the phytoplankton community to short-term physical forcing by wind increased with intensity of stratification. After the forcing event, the community did not return to its original structure because of modifications of the physical and chemical conditions induced by meteorological forcing on a weekly time scale.


2006 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 741-751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenn A. Hodgkins ◽  
Robert W. Dudley
Keyword(s):  

2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 230-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filippo Rimi ◽  
Stefano Macolino ◽  
Bernd Leinauer ◽  
Umberto Ziliotto

Winter dormancy is the main impediment to a wide acceptance of warm-season turfgrasses in the Mediterranean countries of Europe due to a loss of color during the winter months. Scalping during late winter or early spring has been recommended anecdotally to enhance spring green-up of bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon); however, information is lacking on the effectiveness of this practice. A study was conducted to investigate the effects of spring scalping on spring green-up of eight bermudagrass cultivars (Barbados, Contessa, La Paloma, Mohawk, NuMex Sahara, Princess-77, SR 9554, and Yukon) grown in a transition zone environment. The trial was carried out in Spring of 2009 and 2010 on plots established in July 2005 at the experimental farm of the University of Padova (northeastern Italy). Half of the plots for each cultivar were subjected to spring scalping, which was applied in both years on 13 Mar. with a rotary mower set at a height of 28 mm. Soil temperatures were recorded hourly during the research period at a depth of 2.5 cm. The percentage of green cover was estimated weekly from 0 to 98 days after spring scalping (DASS). Soil temperatures in scalped plots were greater than in unscalped plots. Among the cultivars tested, ‘Yukon’ showed earliest spring green-up, with no difference between the scalping treatments, reaching 80% green cover by the end of April. For all other cultivars, scalped plots reached 80% green cover 10 to 18 days earlier than unscalped plots. Results showed that scalping enhanced spring green-up, primarily for cultivars that recover slowly from winter dormancy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 111-125
Author(s):  
Rafaella Ferreira Neres de Queiroz ◽  
Breno Dias Vitorino ◽  
Angélica Vilas Boas da Frota ◽  
Carolina Joana da Silva ◽  
Solange Kimie Ikeda Castrillon ◽  
...  

Studies with bird communities related to the hydrogeomorphological characteristics of climatic rivers associated with flood areas are important to identify short and long term temporal space changes. In this perspective, this research aims to evaluate the structure of the bird community of the Paraguay River, through the richness of descriptors, the quantity and the diversity and equability index over an interval of 10 years, 2008 / 9-2018 / 19 , considering the economies of the hydrological cycle, floods, floods, emptiness and drought and sampled macrohabitats. The study was developed addressing a connected hydrology of the Paraguay River, in the longitudinal and lateral dimensions. A study area comprised of three functional sectors of the Paraguay River, meandering, rectilinear and transitional, beginning in the urban period of the municipality of Cáceres-MT, up to a Descalvada Farm, with a 134 km course of the river, with 13 points in total. Each functional sector of the river, had a sampling point and 10 parental bays, with different degrees of lateral connectivity, were sampled. A survey analyzed and compared two hydrological sampling cycles, the first between June 2008 and March 2009, and the second between August 2018 and April 2019. The protocol for the sampling consisted of four campaigns corresponding to the hydrological drought studies, flood, full and ebb. The results pointed to a distinction in the community structure between the two cycles 2008/2009 - 2018/2019 show a difference in the relative scope and in the composition of the species in the sampled locations. The main change registered between the two cycles (2008/2009 and 2018/2019) was the disappearance of three nests - habitat for feeding and reproduction of colonial birds, identified in the first and without registration in the second cycle. The dominance of Mycteria americana is highlighted, a species sensitive to environmental changes, not observed in the first cycle of studies. The absence of nests in 2018/2019, coupled with the dominance of Pitangus sulphuratus, a generalist species, may indicate anthropic changes that occurred along the Paraguay River in this time interval. It is hoped that the results of this comparison will be able to subsidize or influence the effective decision-making for the conservation of the biodiversity of birds and the Paraguay and Pantanal river itself.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angélica Vilas Boas da Frota ◽  
Breno Dias Vitorino ◽  
Sara Miranda Almeida ◽  
Josué Ribeiro da Silva Nunes ◽  
Carolina Joana Da Silva

Abstract Hydrological dynamics of the Pantanal wetland drive the availability of resources and niche for aquatic and terrestrial fauna. We consider that changes in the hydrological regime of this floodplain can affect species richness, abundance and functional structure of waterbirds, wetland birds and non-wetland birds. Our study aimed to assess whether the degree of wetland dependence influences the response of bird groups to the flood pulse. We conducted the bird survey in the Paraguay River floodplain system, in five sampling sites, covering the periods of drought, flooding, full flood and ebb of the 2017–2018 hydrological cycle. Species richness and abundance were higher for non-wetland birds than waterbirds and wetland birds. On the other hand, we found that the higher the degree of wetland dependence by birds, the higher the differences in the functional-trait values. Species richness, abundance and all metrics of functional diversity varied significantly when there was an interaction between the degree of wetland dependence and the hydrological period. In all hydrological periods, bird groups occupied distinct niches. Traits such as foraging around or below the water surface were among the dominant functional traits in all hydrological periods. We emphasize the need to consider the functional traits of species in ecological studies of wetlands since measuring only species richness may not reflect the characteristics inherent to this type of ecosystem. In addition, the conservation of wetlands directly implies the maintenance of various niches throughout the hydrological periods, either for dependent or non-dependent bird species in wetlands.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 343-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federica Cerino ◽  
Daniela Fornasaro ◽  
Martina Kralj ◽  
Michele Giani ◽  
Marina Cabrini

Phytoplankton community structure was analysed from 2010 to 2017 at C1-LTER, the coastal Long-Term Ecological Research station located in the Gulf of Trieste, which is the northernmost part of the Mediterranean Sea. Phytoplankton abundance and relevant oceanographic parameters were measured monthly in order to describe the seasonal cycle and interannual variability of the main phytoplankton taxa (diatoms, dinoflagellates, coccolithophores and flagellates) and to analyse their relationship with environmental conditions. Overall, phytoplankton abundances showed a marked seasonal cycle characterised by a bloom in spring, with the peak in May. During the summer, phytoplankton abundances gradually decreased until September, then slightly increased again in October and reached their minima in winter. In general, the phytoplankton community was dominated by flagellates (generally <10 µm) and diatoms co-occurring in the spring bloom. In this period, diatoms were also represented by nano-sized species, gradually replaced by larger species in summer and autumn. Phytoplankton assemblages differed significantly between seasons (Pseudo-F = 9.59; p < 0.01) and temperature and salinity were the best predictor variables explaining the distribution of the multivariate data cloud. At the interannual scale, a strong decrease of the late-winter bloom was observed in recent years with the spring bloom being the main phytoplankton increase of the year.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document