Copepod Assemblages at the Base of Mangrove Food Webs during a Severe Drought
Author:
Campos Carolina CoelhoORCID,
de Sousa Barroso Hortência,
Belmonte GenuarioORCID,
Rossi SergioORCID,
Soares Marcelo Oliveira,
Garcia Tatiane Martins
Abstract
The effect of severe drought on the functional groups that sustain the base of the mangrove food webs in semi-arid areas is largely unknown. We therefore analyzed the intra-annual variation in the assemblages and functional groups of copepods in a shallow, low-inflow estuary of the Brazilian semi-arid coast when the most severe drought ever occurred. The lowest density was found in April (upstream region) and the highest in August (downstream region). Three main functional groups were identified, sorted by spawning strategy, and further subdivided according to feeding strategy, trophic regime, and diel vertical migration behavior. The community was significantly influenced by the extreme drought period, presenting a temporal homogenization in terms of composition, and an expressive and unexpected increase in density in the dry period, possibly due to phytoplankton blooms resistant to hypersalinity and the occurrence of copepod species adapted to stressful conditions. The few stress-tolerant species sustaining the food webs with seasonal variations were observed simplifying the trophic variability. The results indicate that hypersalinity can induce changes in the zooplankton community, increasing copepod mortality risk and, so, promoting alteration in the trophic estuarine dynamic.
Funder
Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico—CNPq
PELD Costa Semiárida do Brasil-CSB
CAPES-PRINT, CAPES-PNPD (HSB Fellowship), CAPES-Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation
Fundação Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
Subject
Water Science and Technology,Aquatic Science,Geography, Planning and Development,Biochemistry
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