Despite the importance of aquatic ecosystem dynamics, aquatic macrophytes can form dense and extensive populations in water bodies whose ecological balance was disrupted. Under these conditions, these plants promote an array of problems that make them a target for control practices. To elaborate management plans for this vegetation, knowledge on the population dynamics of the species forming these communities is necessary. Thereby, monthly surveys were carried out to evaluate the species composition of this community colonizing the Santana eservoir (Piraí, RJ), by monitoring 97 geo-referenced points covering most of the water surface. Forty-one species were identified as belonging to 21 different botanical families. The families Poaceae, Pontederiacea and Cyperaceae presented the largest number of species over the year. Salvinia herzogii and Egeria densa presented the highest colonization rates. The populations of Eichhornia azurea, Brachiaria arrecta and Paspalum repens completed the group of species numerically most relevant. The floating plants tended to present populations with randomized distribution patterns, while species that were fixed to the sediment presented populations with aggregated patterns. There were no expressive variations in diversity (H') and equitability (E') indexes of the macrophyte community over the year. The dendrogram, built with the Odum similarity coefficient, showed a logic sequence of the months, highlighting a well-defined succession of the populations divided into two similarity groups separated by the month of June. During this month, the reservoir water level was low and the sediment was exposed, creating an ideal condition for the emerging habitat species.
aquatic plants; assessment; populations; multivariate
