RESUMO
Testate amoebae have a great potential for use in scientific researches due to their ecological characteristics such as abundance, wealth, and generation time. In this way, this study aimed to present a scientometric analysis to describe the evolution of the different advances in researches on testate amoebae and identify a temporal pattern in this evolution. The literature review was based on papers indexed by Thomson Reuters (www.isiwebofknowledge.com) and SciVerse Scopus (www.scopus.com). In total 562 papers were examined. Results showed a pattern of evolution in scientific studies, most with ecological approach with descriptive and predictive designs. At the global level, researches on testate amoebae progressed in both the number of articles published as well as in the areas studied, especially in Europe and North America. The low number of experimental studies and review articles can characterize the lack of more knowledge to be acquired, both from particular observations (descriptive studies) as well as the observations noted sufficiently predictive of work. In Brazil, studies with testate amoebae are still developing, concentrated in only some regions, but the increased number of studies in recent years allows the prediction of the same overall patterns of advance for Brazilian researches. Thus, we conclude that these organisms are being increasingly used as a tool resp
RESUMO
The upper Paraná river floodplain possesses a great diversity of rotifers, with 288 planktonic taxa recorded. Surveys performed in this ecosystem since 1992 have shown that Lecanidae is the most abundant family, with 45 registered taxa. The main goal of the present study was to investigate the occurrence of this family in environments that have not yet been studied. Seven new occurrences of Lecane were recorded in plankton samples: L. bifurca, L. rhytida, L. subtilis, L. crepida, L. bulla styrax, L. obtusa, and L. thienemanne. Although the described taxa were found in plankton, this family is characterized by being typically non-planktonic. As such, exclusively taxonomic studies must explore the great habitat heterogeneity in this floodplain, e.g., the littoral region and the extensive areas colonized by aquatic macrophytes, aiming to expand knowledge on the diversity of this family in the upper Paraná river floodplain.
planície de inundação do alto rio Paraná possui grande diversidade de rotíferos, com 288 táxons planctônicos registrados. Estudos realizados, nesse ecossistema, desde 1992, mostram que Lecanidae é a família mais especiosa, com 45 táxons registrados. Este trabalho teve como objetivo investigar a ocorrência dessa família em ambientes ainda não-estudados e consequentemente contribuir para a diversidade de rotíferos nessa planície de inundação. Foram registradas sete novas ocorrências de Lecane em amostras do plâncton: L. bifurca, L. rhytida, L. subtilis, L. crepida, L. bulla styrax, L. obtusa, e L. thienemanne. Embora os táxons descritos fossem encontrados no plâncton, essa família caracteriza-se por ser tipicamente não-planctônica. Dessa forma, visando ampliar o conhecimento sobre a diversidade dessa família na planície de inundação do alto rio Paraná, estudos exclusivamente taxonômicos devem explorar a grande heterogeneidade de hábitats presente nessa planície, como, por exemplo, a região marginal e as extensas áreas colonizadas por macrófitas aquáticas.
