Zooplankton Community and Trophic State in Lake Chapala

Authors

Cristian Alberto Espinosa-Rodríguez
National Autonomous University of Mexico
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3951-3618
Lizbeth Cano-Parra
Universidad Autónoma Chapingo
https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3024-6531
Omar Alfredo Barrera-Moreno
National Autonomous University of Mexico
https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9207-030X

Synopsis

Lake Chapala is the largest lake in Mexico, it supplies water for the city of Guadalajara and suffers a serious eutrophication problem. In the last 40 years, many indices related to trophic state, based on zooplankton abundance, have been developed for monitoring programs. In this study, we compared different trophic state indices (TSI) based on rotifers, cladocerans, and copepods at the end of the cold season during March 2023 at Lake Chapala, Mexico. We selected four sampling sites where limnological variables such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, depth, Secchi transparency, and zooplankton samples were obtained. The temperature was 25.6±1.6°C, dissolved oxygen 7.3±0.4 mg/l, oxygen saturation around 90 %, pH 9.1±0.06, conductivity 1012±5.3 μS/cm with a depth of 4.23±0.13 m and Secchi transparency of 0.46 m. The zooplankton community was composed of 19 species; 10 rotifers, 7 cladocerans, and 2 copepods. The dominant species were both copepods as well as Ceriodaphnia spp., Diaphanosoma cf. birgei, Chydorus brevilabris, Filinia opoliensis, F. longiseta, and Horaella thomassoni. Around 75 % of the total zooplankton abundance was represented by copepods, 13 % by rotifers, and 12 % by cladocerans. Carlson TSI based on Secchi transparency and TSIROT (BAC) indicate hypertrophic conditions, while TSIROT based on rotifer abundance results in mesotrophic conditions; for most TSI based on crustacean density, the eutrophic state was determined. The implications of calculations of TSI for zooplankton developed in temperate conditions may not completely match with observed conditions for Lake Chapala where heterotrophic bacteria and cyanobacteria dominance play a key factor in the zooplankton community structuration. Formulation of indices in tropical conditions is important for monitoring water assessment.

Author Biographies

Cristian Alberto Espinosa-Rodríguez, National Autonomous University of Mexico

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3951-3618

PhD in Sciences, assigned to the Division of Research and Graduate Studies as Associate Professor C, UNAM, FES Iztacala, specialized on the ecology of epicontinental zooplankton with emphasis on cladocerans. Member of SNII, level I and secretary of the Mexican Society of Planctology. A. C. Professor of Biology who has collaborated in PAPIME and PAPIIT projects with 13 indexed publications and four book chapters.

Lizbeth Cano-Parra, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3024-6531

Degree student of Engineering in Renewable Natural Resources, at the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo. She is currently doing a professional internship at the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, where she develops her passion for the conservation and preservation of natural resources through research, public administration and scientific dissemination in favor of the environment.

Omar Alfredo Barrera-Moreno, National Autonomous University of Mexico

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9207-030X

He has studied the biological diversification patterns of populations of different copepod species in lakes of central Mexico. His research focuses on the limnology of maar and playa lakes, as well as the evolutionary biology and integrative taxonomy of zooplankton from epicontinental waters, mainly copepods, using reproductive, molecular biology, ecophysiology and comparative morphology tools and analyses. He is a Professor at FES Iztacala and at the Faculty of Sciences, UNAM.

The cover features a photograph of a river surrounded by lush trees at sunset, with sunlight piercing through the branches to create glints of light. Overlaying the image is the title 'Topics of limnological research in Mexico' and the coordinator's name, Alfredo Pérez Morales. The University of Colima editorial seal is displayed at the bottom.

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Charpter 12

Volume

Topics of Limnological Research in Mexico

Pages

234-254

Published

December 8, 2025

Series

In Good Plan

Categories

Copyright (c) 2025 Copyright will be automatically assigned to Alfredo Pérez-Morales (Author); Gerardo Hernández-Flores, Martha Angélica Gutiérrez-Aguirre, Adrián Cervantes-Martínez, Martín López-Hernández, Fernando González-Farías, María Guadalupe Ramos-Espinosa, Fernando Córdova-Tapia, Mario Alejandro Gómez-Ponce, José Antolín Aké-Castillo, Miriam Guadalupe Ramos-Escobedo, Eduardo Aranda-Delgado, Blanca Esther Raya-Cruz, José Luis Alanís-Méndez, Carlos Francisco Rodríguez-Gómez, Karla Cirila Garcés-García, Juan Alfredo Gómez-Figueroa, Carlos Antonio Poot-Delgado, Jaime Rendón-von Osten, Yuri Okolodkov, Patricia Margarita Valdespino-Castillo, Jorge Alberto Ramírez-Zierold, Rocío Jetzabel Alcántara-Hernández, Mariel Barjau-Aguilar, Mario Alberto Neri-Guzmán, Paola Julieta Cortés-Cruz, Oscar Alejandro Gerardo-Nieto, Martín Merino-Ibarra, Gabriela Vázquez, Angeles Rosseth Cruz-Ramírez, Gloria Garduño-Solórzano, José Manuel González-Fernández, Valeria Naomi Barranco-Vargas, Karla De la Luz-Vázquez, Cristian Alberto Espinosa-Rodríguez, Laura Valdés-Santiago, José Luis Castro-Guillén, Jorge Noé García-Chávez, Cynthia Paola Rangel-Chávez, Rosalba Alonso-Rodríguez, Alejandra Sarahí Ramírez-Segovia, Juan Gualberto Colli-Mull, Rafael Vargas-Bernal, Rosaura Mayén-Estrada, Carlos Alberto Durán-Ramírez, Fernando Olvera-Bautista, Francisco José Torner-Morales, Cesar Alejandro Zamora-Barrios, Araceli Adabache-Ortiz, Mario Joshue Espinosa-Hernández, Manuel Castillo-Rivera, Lorena Violeta León-Deniz, Juan Juárez-Flores, Frida Sabine Álvarez-Solís, José Francisco Miranda-Vidal, Víctor Manuel Romero-Niembro, José María Ahuatzin-Hernández, Michael Anai Figueroa-Sánchez, Brenda Rodríguez-Cortés, Karina E. Ruíz-Venegas, Rosa Martha Moreno-Gutiérrez, Gerardo Guerrero-Jiménez, Uriel Arreguín-Rebolledo, Marco Antonio Jiménez-Santos, Omar Alfredo Barrera-Moreno, Lizbeth Cano-Parra, Everardo Barba-Macías, José Cristóbal Román-Reyes, Elaine Aguilar-Nazare, Marcelo Silva-Briano, Cinthia Trinidad-Ocaña, and Rocío Natalia Armas-Chávez (Chapter Author) upon publication.

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How to Cite

Espinosa-Rodríguez, C. A. ., Cano-Parra, L. ., & Barrera-Moreno, O. A. (2025). Zooplankton Community and Trophic State in Lake Chapala. In A. . Pérez-Morales, Topics of Limnological Research in Mexico (pp. 234-254). University of Colima. https://www.libros.ucol.mx/index.php/dgp/catalog/book/175/chapter/250