Evidence of the Anthropic Impact on a Crustacean Zooplankton Community in Two North Patagonian Lakes

Juan-Alejandro Norambuena, Patricia Poblete-Grant, Jorge F. Beltrán, Patricio De Los Ríos-Escalante and Jorge G. Farías
Additional contact information
Juan-Alejandro Norambuena: Doctoral Program on Natural Resources Sciences, Universidad de La Frontera, Avenida Francisco Salazar, 01145, P.O. Box 54-D, Temuco 4780000, Chile
Patricia Poblete-Grant: Centre of Plants, Soil Interaction and Natural Resources Biotechnology, Scientific and Biotechnological Nucleus (BIOREN), Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco 4780000, Chile
Jorge F. Beltrán: Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Science, Universidad de La Frontera, Avenida Francisco Salazar, 01145, P.O. Box 54-D, Temuco 4780000, Chile
Patricio De Los Ríos-Escalante: Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas y Químicas, Facultad de Recursos Naturales, Universidad Católica de Temuco, Casilla 15-D, Temuco 4780000, Chile
Jorge G. Farías: Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Science, Universidad de La Frontera, Avenida Francisco Salazar, 01145, P.O. Box 54-D, Temuco 4780000, Chile

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-18

Abstract: Lately, agriculture, livestock, forestry, and aquaculture activities have been greatly developed in Chilean North Patagonia, negatively impacting the balance of the environmental conditions in lakes and affecting the development and survival of several native species. The aim of this study was to assess the anthropic impact on a zooplankton community in two North Patagonian lakes. We collected samples from four sites belonging to Lake Icalma and Lake Llanquihue, including four replicates per site. Water samples were analyzed for physicochemical characteristics and zooplankton communities. We focused on the presence of Daphnia pulex , a species of zooplanktonic crustacean that performs a key role in capturing energy from primary producers to deliver it to final consumers such as fish. We found that Llanquihue showed higher total phosphorus, nitrogen, copper, iron, manganese, total dissolved solids (TDS), and conductivity (EC) than Icalma. Furthermore, ecological variables were greatly decreased due to total P, total N, manganese, copper, total dissolved solids, and conductivity, which changed the species dominance of the zooplankton community in Llanquihue, indicating some degree of anthropization. This study provides fundamental information on the anthropogenic impact on water quality, as well as on zooplankton diversity, highlighting the importance of monitoring the health of these North Patagonia freshwater ecosystems.

Keywords: impact assessment; water quality; North Patagonian lakes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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