Abstract

TORRES-BEJARANO, ANGÉLICA M.; DUQUE, SANTIAGO R.  and  CARABALLO, PEDRO. The trophic role of zooplankton in a floodplain lake of Colombian amazon, through stable isotopes analysis. Caldasia [online]. 2014, vol.36, n.2, pp.331-344. ISSN 0366-5232.  https://doi.org/10.15446/caldasia/v36n2.47488.

In order to characterize the primary sources of carbon for zooplankton and its flow in the food web in a lake of flooding near the town of Leticia (Amazonas, Colombia), collections of bacteria, detritus, phytoplankton, periphyton and zooplankton were conducted between May 2010 and February 2011. Zooplankton was used as an integrator for its central position in the food web and was analyzed in terms of δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N the organisms collected in 60μm mesh, represented by Cladocera, Copepoda Ciclopoida and Rotifera. The samples were concentrated with GF/F pre burned filters for laboratory analysis of stable isotopes in the UNESP in Botucatu (SP). δ¹³C values show a poor trophic relationship between zooplankton (-37.99‰ ± 2.14) and its potential sources such as phytoplankton (-32.53‰ ± 1.97), periphyton (-32.56‰ ± 1 55) and detritus (-32.27 ‰ ± 0,81). Moreover, although zooplankton δ¹⁵N values (6.12‰ ± 0.59) complement the assessment of phytoplankton (7.38‰ ± 1.1), they suggest depleted periphyton consumption (1.15 ‰ ± 0.07) and detritus (5.23‰ ± 4,76). δ¹³C impoverished values are associated with the consumption of a methanogenic carbon fraction, which has been demonstrated in the hypolimnion of floodplain lakes in the same way as their contribution to the upper layers of the water column during mixing events. This specialization of zooplankton in consuming a fraction of several trophic guilds can be the result of the intrinsic variability of resources as a result of biogeochemical changes associated with the hydrology of the lake.

Keywords : Zooplankton; Amazon; stable isotopes; methanogenic carbon.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )