A comunidade zooplanctônica de diferentes biótopos de um riacho costeiro em área de Mata Atlântica, Maricá, Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

Although studies related to the ecology of streams in the area of Atlantic Forest come from long dates, in the aspect referring to the knowledge of zooplankton fauna, this happens to be one of the most neglected environments. However, lotic environments constitute a special habitat, which aggregates a large number of zooplankton species, since it has peculiarities that favor the development of these organisms. The fauna knowledge of zooplankton in coastal streams of the Atlantic Forest is of fundamental importance for the scientific understanding of the processes and mechanisms that operate in this ecosystem, as well as being possible to infer the degree of conservation not only of streams, but of aquatic ecosystems in general. In association, different limnological characteristics favor the formation of biotopes along the extension of streams, composing microhabitats favorable to the development of zooplanktonic species. In this way, the relationship between the stream and the zooplankton community is direct, that is, any structural modification in the lotic system that changes its environmental aspects, may possibly affect the development of zooplankton. The objective of this work was to portray the ecology of the zooplankton community in a coastal stream of the Atlantic Forest, describing its species and their characteristics, and verifying the relationship of limnological factors with these organisms and how they influence their spatial and temporal variation.