Rotifera, Cladocera and Copepoda species in six urban ponds of Aguascalientes, Mexico

Abstract A range of studies have reported that urban ponds can support substantial numbers of species despite being near human habitats. Therefore, it is important to know the species that are found in urban ponds, as well as to identify the environmental variables that influence the communities and the differences between sites in terms of species composition. In the present study, four samplings were carried out during a one-year period, collected in the months of November 2020 (autumn), January (winter), April (spring) and July (summer) of 2021 in six urban ponds found in recreational parks in the city of Aguascalientes, Mexico. Taxonomic studies revealed the presence of 61 zooplankton species of which Rotifera represented 40 species, Cladocera with 16 species and Copepoda five species. The study yielded nine new records for the state, six species belonging to Rotifera 1) Collotheca ornata, 2) Lecane arcula, 3) Lecane decipiens, 4) Lophocharis salpina, 5) Lepadella ehrenbergii, 6) Proalides tentaculatus, and three species of Cladocera 7) Leydigia cf. striata, 8) Sida crystallina, and 9) Simocephalus mixtus. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was applied to elucidate the relationship between environmental variables: temperature, pH, total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, nitrate, phosphate chloride and total hardness and observed genera. CCA suggested chloride, phosphate, and total hardness to be the major factors in structuring the zooplankton community. Alpha diversity (α) and beta diversity (β) between localities were analyzed, determining that the species composition is different between the sampling sites.