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Ecological status assessment of tropical reservoirs through the assemblage index of phytoplankton functional groups

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Abstract

The study assessed the ecological status of water supply reservoirs with different trophic states through the phytoplankton assemblage index (Q index). Integrated water and phytoplankton sampling were collected in euphotic zone of five tropical reservoirs (Upper Tietê river basin, São Paulo, Brazil) in the summer and winter (2010). Biovolume of functional groups was determined, and the Q index was applied at each site of the reservoirs. The composition of functional groups and biomass changed between the reservoirs and between the climatic periods. From upstream to downstream of the basin, the reservoirs showed the following qualification: Ribeirão do Campo (ultra-oligotrophic—excellent to good), Ponte Nova (oligotrophic—good), Paraitinga (mesotrophic—medium), Jundiaí (meso-eutrophic—medium to tolerable), Taiaçupeba (mesotrophic—tolerable to bad). Q index was significantly correlated with trophic state index (r = −0.81). Linear regression showed that Q index tended to decrease with the increasing in TP concentration. We conclude that the phytoplankton assemblage index showed consistently the spatial and temporal variation of the ecological status of different reservoirs in the study period. Our results evidenced that this biotic index can be a useful tool for monitoring and assessment of the ecological conditions of tropical reservoirs.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge FAPESP (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo) for a doctoral fellowship granted for LMS (Grant No. 2011/24000-4). This work was carried out within the framework of the AcquaSed project (Baseline diagnosis and reconstruction of anthropogenic impacts in the Guarapiranga Reservoir, focusing on sustainability in water supply and water quality management in reservoirs of the Upper Tietê and surrounding basins) also supported by funds from FAPESP (AcquaSed Project No. 2009/53898–9). We deeply thank Dra. Angélica C. Righetti da Rocha for her help and efforts in the limnological and diatom database. Authors appreciate the assistance of personnel from the agency in charge São Paulo’s public water supply—SABESP/RHMS (Companhia de Saneamento do Estado de São Paulo, Divisão de Recursos Hídricos Metropolitanos Sudoeste) for their valuable logistical support during the fieldwork. Acknowledgment to Prof. William de Queiroz (Universidade de Guarulhos, Laboratório de Geoprocessamento) for the map of the study area. We thank all students and technicians from the Department of Ecology, Instituto de Botânica, involved in the field and laboratory work.

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  1. Núcleo de Pesquisa em Ecologia, Instituto de Botânica, Av. Miguel Stéfano 3687, Água Funda, São Paulo, SP, 04301-902, Brazil

    Lucineide Maria Santana & Carla Ferragut

  2. Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves 9500, Agronomia, Porto Alegre, RS, 91501-940, Brazil

    Luciane Oliveira Crossetti

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  1. Lucineide Maria Santana
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  2. Luciane Oliveira Crossetti
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Correspondence to Lucineide Maria Santana.

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Santana, L.M., Crossetti, L.O. & Ferragut, C. Ecological status assessment of tropical reservoirs through the assemblage index of phytoplankton functional groups. Braz. J. Bot 40, 695–704 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-017-0373-4

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