The Freshwater Ecosystems of Suriname

317 Pages·1993·6.095 MB·English

by  Paul E. Ouboter (auth.), Paul E. Ouboter (eds.)

THE FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS OF SURINAME
MONOGRAPHIAE
BIOLOGICAE
VOLUME 70
Series Editors
H.J. Dumont and M.J .A. Werger
The titles published in this series are listed at the end of this volume.
The Freshwater Ecosystems of Suriname
Edited by
PAUL E. OUBOTER
SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The Freshwater ecosystems of Suriname / edited by Paul E. Quboter.
p. cm. -- (Monographiae biologicae : v. 70>
Includes indexes.
ISBN 978-94-010-4918-4 ISBN 978-94-011-2070-8 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-011-2070-8
1. Freshwater ecology--Surinam. 2. Freshwater biology--Surinam.
3. Limnology--Surinam. I. Quboter, Paul E. II. Series.
QH125.6.F73 1993
574.5'2632·09883--dc20 93-5180
ISBN 978-94-010-4918-4
printed on acid-free paper
AH Rights Reserved
@ 1993 by Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
Originally pub1ished by KIuwer Academic Pub1ishers in 1993
Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover lst edition 1993
No part ofthe material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, induding photocopying, recording or by any information
storage and retrieva1 system, without written permission from the copyright owner.
Contents
Preface
Vll
List of contributors
IX
1. Introduction
P.E. Ouboter
PART I: Basic features 7
2. The geographical outline 13
D. Noordam
3. Climate and surface water hydrology 29
M. Amatali
4. Limnology: physico-chemical parameters and phytoplankton
composition 53
A. Haripersad-Makhanlal & P.E. Ouboter
5. Vegetation and vegetation succession of the freshwater wetlands 77
P.A. Teunissen
6. Aquatic macrophytes 99
M.e. Werkhoven & G.M. Peeters
7. Aquatic invertebrates of the Coastal Plain 113
J.H. Mol
8. The fish fauna of Suriname 133
P.E. Ouboter & J.H. Mol
PART II: Case studies 155
9. Dragonflies of a black-water creeksystem 157
M. Wasscher
10. Structure and function of floating bubble nests of three
armoured catfishes (Callichthyidae) in relation to the aquatic
environment 167
J.H. Mol
11. The herpetofauna of floating meadows 199
M.S. Hoogmoed
12. The annual cycle of the spectacled caiman 215
P.E. Ouboter & G.M. Peeters
VI Contents
PART III: The human impact 223
13. The man-made Brokopondo Lake 227
P. Leentvaar
14. Changes in a polluted swamp 239
P.E. Ouboter & B. De Dijn
15. Water and health 261
B.F. Oostburg
16. Conservation of freshwater ecosystems in Suriname 275
K. Mohadin
Subject index 285
Index scientific names 299
Swamp forest destroyed by a peal fire. Cuscwijne area (Photo P.E. Ouboler).
Preface
This book on the freshwater ecosystems of Suriname is first and foremost a
compilation of the knowledge on the subject. It is, however, also a celebration.
A celebration of the birthday of the largest scientific institute of Suriname. On
the first of November 1968 the University of Suriname was born with the
inception of the faculty of Law; afterwards a faculty of Medicine, a faculty of
Social and Economic Sciences, a faculty of Natural Resources, and finally a
faculty of Engineering were established. On 1 November 1993 the University of
Suriname will celebrate its 25th anniversary. There will be a comprehensive
jubilee programme, yet the Board of the University expressed the desire to have
a book published showing the results of scientific research done in Suriname.
During the 25 years of its existence, the University of Suriname has played an
important role in educating technicians and scientists, in conducting research,
and providing services to the Surinamese community. Notwithstanding the
limited resources, scientists in Suriname did research, and published articles in
local and international journals. In order to single out their work and our
university, we initiated the publication of a book on a subject which is important
for Suriname, our geographical region, and the rest of the world.
Compared to other fields of biology, relatively much research has been done
on aquatic ecosystems in Suriname. Part of the knowledge on this subject has
been published in scattered publications, part remains hidden in the minds of
individual researchers or in internal reports. The aim of this book is to provide
a survey of this knowledge in a form which is easily accessible to all scientists
interested.
We realize that this publication is far from being complete. Undoubtedly,
some very important topics on the Surinamese freshwater ecosystems will be
missing. We therefore hope that this publication will also be an incentive for
scientists to continue research in this field, and to publish as a follow-up, a
supplement to this publication. Hopefully, we will be able to fill some of the
remaining gaps in knowledge in this field in the coming years.
We would like to thank the chairman of the Publishing Commission, Ine
Tsai-Meu-Chong, for her support of this project. Wilma Shewnaik typed up and
corrected many of the manuscripts. Mia Quik-Stregels provided bibliographic
Paul E. Ouboter (ed.), Freshwater Ecosystems of Suriname, vii-viii.
© 1993 Kluwer Academic Publishers.
viii Preface
assistance. Shamita Sahdew contributed some fine drawings for the Chapters 4,
9, 12, 13, 15 and 16. The Translation Department of the Ministry of Education
transformed the English writing in a seemingly acceptable product. The project
was supported by a grant from the Beyerinck-Popping Fonds. The editor was
inspired by several people to fulfil his task, of whom I especially wish to mention
Shamita Sahdew, who incited me to start the project of this book, and Jan Mol,
who from the beginning discussed almost all aspects with me. We also would
like to thank the publisher of this book, who made the book look like a work of
art.
Finally, we like to express our hope, that the publication of this book will
urge scientists, both local and foreign, to conduct more research in Suriname.
Paramaribo, Suriname, April 1993
The president of the Board The editor
of the University of Suriname Paul E. Ouboter
Prof. Dr. Baltus F.J. Oostburg.
List of contributors
AMATALI, M., Hydraulic Research Division, Ministry of Public Works,
Duisburglaan, Paramaribo
DE DUN, B.P.E., National Zoological Collection, University of Suriname,
P.O.B. 9212, Paramaribo, Suriname
HARIPERSAD-MAKHANLAL, A., Hydraulic Research Division, Ministry
of Public Works, Duisburglaan, Paramaribo
HOOGMOED, M.S., National Museum of Natural History, P.O.B. 9517, 2300
RA Leiden, The Netherlands
LEENTVAAR, P., Swee1incklaan 10, 3723 JE Bilthoven, the Netherlands
MOHADIN, K., Department of Nature Preservation, Suriname Forest Service,
P.O.B. 436, Paramaribo, Suriname
MOL, l.H.A., CELOS, University of Suriname, P.O.B. 9212, Paramaribo,
Suriname
NOORDAM, D., Stichting voor een Schoon Suriname, Naarstraat 4,
Paramaribo
OOSTBURG, B.F.l., University of Suriname, P.O.B. 9212, Paramaribo,
Suriname
OUBOTER, P.E., National Zoological Collection, University of Suriname,
P.O.B. 9212, Paramaribo, Suriname
PEETERS, G.M.T., National Zoological Collection, University of Suriname,
P.O.B. 9212, Paramaribo, Suriname
TEUNISSEN, P.A., Laan v. Louiseshof 47, Paramaribo, Suriname
WASSCHER, M., National Museum of Natural History, P.O.B. 9517,2300 RA
Leiden, the Netherlands
WERKHOVEN, M.C.M., National Herbarium, University of Suriname,
P.O.B. 9212, Paramaribo, Suriname
Introduction
PAUL E. OUBOTER
Since the arrival of the Spanish and Portuguese explorers and conquerors in the
15th and 16th century, Suriname has been a colony of various European
nations. The Dutch, who were at first mainly traders (especially in negro-slaves),
started to found trading-stations and plantations at several locations along the
Guianan coast at the end of the 16th century. During most of the period between
1667 and 1975, Suriname was a Dutch colony. Consequently, most of the
explorations were carried out by the Dutch. However, the first naturalists to
study Suriname were all German and French, among whom Maria Sybilla
Merian who arrived in 1699. In those days most naturalists collected plants and
animals as a hobby, not professionally, and the focus was on taxonomy. The
exploration of Suriname was taken up seriously in the 20th century, and more
than 42 expeditions to the interior were organized (see reviews in Holthuis,
1959, Hoogmoed, 1973 and Ouboter et al. in press). Applied biological and
ecological research was also begun in the early 20th century. Before World War
II the focus was mainly on agricultural and medical entomology. Most of the
studies of vegetation science, animal ecology and ecosystem functioning were
only initiated after 1960. This is certainly true for aquatic ecological research
which was significantly stimulated by the Brokopondo Research Project
(1963-1967).
The following survey of research carried out on the components and ecology
of freshwater ecosystems is merely a summary (Table 1). More detailed
information will be presented in the chapters concerned.
"The Freshwater Ecosystems of Suriname" is a compilation of the research
findings listed in the table. Some chapters are of a more general nature, while
others will give a more detailed insight into selected topics. Part I: Basic features
deals with the more general and basic chapters, whereas the more detailed
chapters on specific subjects are treated in Part II: Case studies. Part III
concerns the human impact on freshwater ecosystems.
Although much of the research carried out on aquatic ecosystems is, to a
greater or lesser extent, touched upon in this book, many topics could not be
covered, because no authors could be found to deal with the subject, or because
there are no data available. The most serious gap in knowledge concerns
Paul E. Ouboter (ed.), Freshwater Ecosystems of Suriname, 1-6.
© 1993 Kluwer Academic Publishers.