Capacidade preditiva da comunidade fitoplanctônica por meio de grupos funcionais no Pantanal Norte

Abstract

Considering the prediction capacity of the phytoplankton community, this study analyzed the environmental factors that influenced the distribution patterns of species and functional groups of Reynolds (GFR) along the temporal gradient (high and low waters) and spatial (Paraguay river and bays) in the Northern Pantanal (Brazil). Environmental variables and phytoplankton were collected quarterly in 2018 from 18 points. 425 taxa were registered, distributed in 13 taxonomic groups and 20 GFRs, of these, nine groups (D, F, J, G, K, MP, N, S1 and P) represented by green algae, cyanobacteria and diatoms had the highest predictive value , characterizing lentic environments as rich in nutrients and light, and the Paraguay River due to the lower availability of these resources for phytoplankton. The variation in biovolume was strongly related to the phases of the flood pulse, being higher in low waters (14.947 mm3.L-1) and in bays and smaller in high waters (0.0715 mm3.L-1) in the river. Thus, the predictability of the phytoplankton community structure was directly associated with the types of habitats in the Pantanal plain and with the homogenization or isolation of the systems promoted by the flood pulse that acted as drivers of biovolumes, phytoplankton distribution and functional groups.