Zooplankton in littoral waters of a tropical lake: a revisited biodiversity

The present study was carried out in Lake Dom Helvécio, in the state of Minas Gerais, with two main objectives: to demonstrate the contribution of the littoral zone, in order to better characterize zooplankton fauna; and to assess the distribution of zooplankton species in different habitats, i.e., the littoral zone with and without aquatic vegetation. The samples were collected in February and July 2006, throughout the littoral zone of the lake, in areas with and without aquatic vegetation. We identified a total of 188 species, of which 130 are new records for Lake Dom Helvécio. One hundred and eighty-four species were identified in the littoral zone with aquatic vegetation, and 117 in the zone with no vegetation. The higher zooplankton richness in areas of the littoral zone with aquatic vegetation can be related to the greater environmental heterogeneity. Compared to previous studies on the littoral zones of lakes along the middle River Doce, the present study expended greater sampling effort, and identified many more species. In relation to biological conservation, this study demonstrated the importance of the littoral zone for better characterization and conservation of the zooplankton fauna, especially when it is colonized by aquatic vegetation. Underestimating the richness of species may provide inaccurate data on the biota, as well as on the ecological conditions in an environment.