Cladocera (Crustacea, Branchiopoda) of a temporary shallow pond in the Caatinga of Pernambuco, Brazil

Abstract

-The aim of this study was to describe the composition and structure of cladocerans of littoral areas with and without macrophytes from a temporary shallow pond in the Caatinga of Pernambuco state (Brazil). Samples were taken between June 2011 and August 2012. The sampling of cladocerans and environmental variables was performed at four fixed points, using a plankton net (45 μm) and a multiparameter probe. Twenty-two cladoceran species were recorded, with two new occurrences for Pernambuco state: Chydorus cf. brevilabris and Macrothrix superaculeata. The species richness of non-planktonic cladocerans (16) was higher than that of planktonic ones (4). The mean density was 186.7 ± 273.6 ind. L