Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Structure and dynamics of zooplankton in a semi-arid wetland, the National Park Las Tablas de Daimiel (Spain)

  • Published:
Wetlands Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Zooplankton structure and dynamics were studied in a freshwater wetland subject to strong hydrologic fluctuations. This wetland underwent a six-year drought that terminated at the end of 1996. At that time, inundation area and water level increased, diminishing macrophyte cover in some cases and enhancing a continuing eutrophication problem. Sampling was performed monthly from January 1996 to December 1998 in five shallow water sites. Zooplankton were a mixture of limnetic and littoral species (66 rotifer, 15 cladoceran, and 10 copepod taxa, plus unidentified oligotrichid and peritrichid ciliates), the composition of which changed coincident with the shift of the hydrologic conditions. The most common taxa were bdelloid rotifers and Lecane closterocerca. The microcrustancean Ceriodaphnia dubia, Daphnia curvirostris, and Acanthocyclops robustus were frequent. Ciliates were the most important component of zooplankton in terms of biomass, except in spring when cladocerans were dominant. Rotifer biomass was the lowest fraction of zooplankton. When community structure was described by taxonomic classes, mean biomass, or time biomass trajectories, only weak spatial patterns were found following the flux of water in the wetland. Each zooplankton group was distinctly affected by flood. Ciliates and rotifers increased biomass after the flooding, possibly as a result of the enhancement of eutrophication; cladoceran populations decreased after the flooding likely due to macrophyte loss that facilitated planktivorous fish control. Copepods increased biomass consequent to the stabilized water level. There was a clear seasonal trend of zooplankton biomass seemingly unaffected by flood. Ciliates and rotifers had fluctuating low biomass in winter-spring, with maximum biomass in summer-autumn; cladocerans appeared and peaked only in spring; copepods peaked in late winter and spring.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Literature Cited

  • Alonso, M. 1986. Crustacea, Branchiopoda. Fauna Ibérica Volumen 7. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales. CSIC, Madrid, España.

    Google Scholar 

  • Álvarez-Cobelas, M., and S. Cirujano (eds.). 1996. Las Tablas de Daimiel. Ecología, Acuática y Sociedad. Ministerio Español de Medio Ambiente. Madrid, España.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bays, J. S. and T. L. Crisman. 1983. Zooplankton and trophic state relationships in Florida lakes. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 40:1813–1819.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beaver, J. R., A. M. Miller-Lemke, and J. K. Acton. 1999. Midsummer zooplankton assemblages in four types of wetlands in the Upper Midwest, USA. Hydrobiologia 380:209–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beklioglu, M. and B. Moss. 1996. Mesocosm experiments on the interaction of sediment influence, fish predation and aquatic plants with the structure of phytoplankton and zooplankton communities. Freshwater Biology 36:315–325.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bledzki, L. A. 1991. Zooplankton under stress caused by sediment resuspension. Verhandlungen der Internationalen Vereinigung der Limnologie 24:1349–1350.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonecker, C. C. and F. A. Lansac-Tôha. 1996. Community structure of rotifers in two environments of the upper River Paraná flood-plain (MS)-Brazil. Hydrobiologia 325:37–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter, S. R., J. F. Kitchell, and H. R. Hodgson. 1985. Cascading trophic interactions and lake productivity. BioScience 35:634–639.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chatfield, C. 1984. The Analysis of Time Series. An Introduction. Chapman and Hall, London, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chow-Fraser, P. 1998. A conceptual ecological model to aid restoration, of Cootes Paradise Marsh, a degraded coastal wetland of Lake Ontario, Canada. Wetlands Ecology and Management 6:43–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chow-Fraser, P., V. Lougheed, V. Le Thiec, B. Crosbie, L. Simser, and J. Lord. 1998. Long-term response of the biotic community to fluctuating water levels and changes in water quality in Cootes Paradise Marsh, a degraded coastal wetland of Lake Ontario. Wetlands Ecology and Management 6:19–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connell, J. H. 1978. Diversity in tropical rainforests and coral reefs. Science 109:1304–1310.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Groot, C. J. and H. L. Golterman. 1994. Nutrient processes in Mediterranean wetland systems. Part 2. The influence of desiccation. Verhandlungen der Internationalen Vereinigung der Limnologie 25:1328.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dumont, H. J., I. van de Velde, and S. Dumont. 1975. The dry weight estimate of biomass in a selection of Cladocera, Copepoda and Rotifera from the plankton, periphyton and benthos of continental waters. Oecologia 19:75–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eckert, B. and N. Walz. 1998. Zooplankton succession and thermal stratification in the polymictic shallow Mügelsee (Berlin, Germany): a case for the intermediate disturbance hypothesis? Hydrobiologia 387/388:199–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Einsle, U. 1993. Crustacea: Copepoda: Calanoida und Cyclopoida. Süsswaserfauna von Mitteleuropa 8/4-1. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart, Germany.

    Google Scholar 

  • García Sánchez-Colomer, M. R. 1996. Crustáceos. p. 153–158. In M. Álvarez-Cobelas and S. Cirujano (eds.) Las Tablas de Daimiel. Ecología Acuática y Sociedad. Ministerio Español de Medio Ambiente, Madrid, España.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hann, B. J. and L. Zrum. 1997. Littoral microcrustaceans (Cladocera, Copepoda) in a prairie coastal wetland: seasonal abundance and community structure. Hydrobiologia 357:37–52.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Havens, K. E. and J. R. Beaver. 1997. Consumer vs. resource control of ciliate protozoa in a copepod-dominated subtropical lake. Archiv für Hydrobiologie 140:491–511.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jack, J. D. and J. J. Gilbert. 1997. Effects of metazoan predators on ciliates in freshwater plankton communities. Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology 44:194–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koste, W. 1978. Die Rädertiere Mitteleuropas, bergründet von Max Voigt. Gebrüder Borntraeger, Berlin, Germany.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lampert, W. and U. Sommer. 1997. Limnoecology: the Ecology of Lakes and Streams. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Legendre, L. and P. Legendre. 1979. Ecologie Numerique 1: Le Traitament Multiple des Données Ecologiques. Masson, Paris, France.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCauley, E. 1984. The estimation of the abundance and biomass of zooplankton in samples. p. 228–265. In J. A. Downing and F. H. Rigler (eds.) A Manual on Methods for the Assessment of Secondary Productivity in Fresh Waters. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitsch, W. J. and J. G. Gosselink. 1993. Wetlands. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, New York, NY, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neumann-Leitão, S. and T. Matsumura-Tundisi. 1998. Dynamics of a perturbed estuarine zooplanktonic community: Port Suape, PE, Brazil. Verhandlungen der Internationalen Vereinigung der Limnologie 26:1981–1988.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oltra, R. and X. Armengol-Díaz. 1999. Limnología de los humedales valencianos susceptibles de albergar Samaruc y Fartet: (II) Zooplancton. [Limnology of the Valencian wetlands susceptible of shelter endemic planktivorous fish Samaruc and Fartet]. p. 79–97. In M. Planelles-Gomis (ed.) Monografía Sobre los Peces Ciprinodóntidos Ibéricos Fartet y Samaruc. Generalitat Valenciana, Conselleria de Medio Ambiente. Valencia, España.

    Google Scholar 

  • Palacios-Cáceres, M. and E. Zoppi de Roa. 1998. Variations in zooplankton richness in a flooding savanna of Venezuela. Verhandlungen der Internationalen Vereinigung der Limnologie 26:1989–1993.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pejler, B. 1995. Relation to habitat in rotifers. Hydrobiologia 313/314:267–278.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pettigrew, C. T., B. J. Hann, and L. G. Goldsborough. 1998. Waterfowl feces as a resource of nutrients to prairie wetland: responses of microin vertebrates to experimental additions. Hydrobiologia 362:55–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pollard, A. I., M. J. González, M. J. Vanni, and J. L. Headworth. 1998. Effects of turbidity and biotic factors on the rotifer community in an Ohio reservior. Hydrobiologia 387:215–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quintana, X. D., F. A. Comín, and R. Moreno-Amich. 1998. Nutrient and plankton dynamics in a Mediterranean salt marsh dominated by incidents of flooding. Part 2: Response of the zooplankton community to disturbances. Journal of Plankton Research 20:2109–2127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rojo, C., E. Ortega-Mayagoitia, and M. Álvarez Cobelas. 2000a. Lack of pattern among phytoplankton assemblages. Or, what does the exception to the rule mean? Hydrobiologia 424:133–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rojo, C., E. Ortega-Mayagoitia, M. A. Rodrigo, and M. Álvarez Cobelas. 2000b. Phytoplankton structure and dynamics in a semiarid wetland, the National Park Las Tablas de Daimiel (Spain). Archiv für Hydrobiologie 148:397–419.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ronnenberger, D., P. Kasprzak, and L. Krienitz. 1993. Long-term changes in the rotifer fauna after biomanipulation in Hausee (Feldberg, Germany, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) and its relationship to the crustacean and phytoplankton communities. Hydrobiologia 255/256:297–304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruttner-Kolisko, A. 1977. Suggestions for biomass calculations of plankton rotifers. Archiv für Hydrobiologie Beihefte Ergebnisse Limnologie 8:71–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez-Carrillo, S. and M. Álvarez-Cobelas. 2000. Nutrient dynamics and eutrophication patterns in a semi-arid wetland: the effects of fluctuating hydrology. Water, Air and Soil Pollution (in press).

  • Shiel, R. J., J. D. Green, and D. L. Nielsen. 1998. Floodplain biodiversity: why are there so many species? Hydrobiologia 387/388:39–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sládecek, V. 1983. Rotifers as indicators of water quality. Hydrobiologia 100:169–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sneath, P. H. A. and R. R. Sokal. 1973. Numerical Taxonomy. W. H. Freeman and Co., San Francisco, CA, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sokal, R. R. and F. J. Rohlf. 1969. Biometry. W.H. Freeman and Co., San Francisco, CA, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sommer, U., M. Z. Gliwicz, W. Lampert, and A. Duncan. 1986. The PEG-model of seasonal succession of planktonic events in fresh waters. Archiv für Hydrobiologie 106:433–471.

    Google Scholar 

  • SPSS. 1999. SPSS para Windows ver. 9.0.1. SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tan, L.-W. and R. J. Shiel. 1993. Responses of billabong rotifer communities to inundation. Hydrobiologia 255/256:361–369.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Telesh, I. V. 1995. Rotifer assemblages in the Neva Bary, Russia: principles of formation, present state and perspectives. Hydrobiologia 313/314:57–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Velasco, J. L. 1996. Rotíferos. p. 147–152. In M. Álvarez-Cobelas and S. Cirujano (eds.) Las Tablas de Daimiel. Ecología Acuática y Sociedad. Ministerio Español de Medio Ambiente. Madrid. España.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wetzel, R. G. 1983. Limnology. Saunders, Philadelphia, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitman, R. L., A. V. Gochee, and P. L. Ruckman. 1988. Biological assemblages of Miller Woods ponds, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Gary, Indiana. Verhandlungen der Internationalen Vereinigung der Limnologie 23:1041–1048.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Limnology Institute “Cavanilles” of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, Apdo. Oficial 2085, E-46071, Valencia, Spain

    Elizabeth Ortega-Mayagoitia, Xavier Armengol & Carmen Rojo

Authors
  1. Elizabeth Ortega-Mayagoitia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Xavier Armengol
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Carmen Rojo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elizabeth Ortega-Mayagoitia.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ortega-Mayagoitia, E., Armengol, X. & Rojo, C. Structure and dynamics of zooplankton in a semi-arid wetland, the National Park Las Tablas de Daimiel (Spain). Wetlands 20, 629–638 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1672/0277-5212(2000)020[0629:SADOZI]2.0.CO;2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1672/0277-5212(2000)020[0629:SADOZI]2.0.CO;2

Key Words

Search

Navigation