ABSTRACT
Human activities have changed most ecosystems through deforestation, land fragmentation, pollution, overexploitation of resources, and introduction of exotic species, resulting in habitat loss and a reduction in biodiversity (Groom et al., 2006). Among these ecosystems, aquatic environments and particularly freshwater systems are among the most affected because of their increasing reduction in recent decades and unprecedented levels of human disturbance (Santamaría and Klaassen, 2002; Saunders et al., 2002). Wetlands are considered among the most threatened environments, with estimates that 87% of the planet’s natural wetlands have been lost since the early eighteenth century (Davison, 2014). Brazil has the largest area of wetlands in South America (Naranjo, 1995), and its current state of conservation is similar to the rest of the world.
