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Epilithic biofilm metabolism during the high water flow period in an Andean neotropical stream

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Abstract

Tropical rivers show high discharge during the rainy period, and this might limit the epilithic biofilm biomass. While high discharge may limit algal biomass, high light and nutrient availability common in disturbed watersheds may promote high productivity, and even autotrophy. Metabolism may be affected by discharge peaks, but well-adapted algal communities should support quick recovery. These assumptions were analyzed through the patterns of oxygen production and consumption in the Rio Tota, an Andean stream in the north of the Colombian Andes with relevant farming activities. Metabolism was measured for 26 consecutive days with in situ recirculating incubation chambers. The results stressed that these are net autotrophic systems during the high water flow period and that this occurs with algal communities of low biomass and low diversity. The environmental conditions of high light, high but non-catastrophic flow, and moderate temperature favor the algal community performance. However, the stream metabolism was sensitive to the day-by-day variations of environmental conditions, in particular to the above-average hydrological variations.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the University National of Colombia – Bogota and especially The Faculty of Science and the Ecology of Diatom Laboratory. The Castro Rebolledo family provided the best possible conditions for our fieldwork at Tota. SSA contribution benefitted from projects SCARCE (Consolider-Ingenio 2010 Project: CSD2009-00065) and CARBONET (CGL2011-30474-C02-01) of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biología, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, AV (Cra). 30 No. 45-03, Bogotá, Colombia

    Jhon Donato & Yaira Abuhatab

  2. ICRA, Edifici H2O, Emili Grahit, 101, 17003, Girona, Spain

    Sergi Sabater

  3. Institute of Aquatic Ecology, Universitat de Girona, Campus Montilivi 17071, Girona, Spain

    Sergi Sabater

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  1. Jhon Donato
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  2. Yaira Abuhatab
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Correspondence to Sergi Sabater.

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Donato, J., Abuhatab, Y. & Sabater, S. Epilithic biofilm metabolism during the high water flow period in an Andean neotropical stream. Hydrobiologia 728, 41–50 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-014-1804-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-014-1804-x

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