Inicio  /  Water  /  Vol: 8 Par: 10 (2016)  /  Artículo
ARTÍCULO
TITULO

Plankton Community Stability and Its Relationship with Phytoplankton Species Richness in Lake Nansihu, China

Wang Tian    
Huayong Zhang    
Lei Zhao    
Xiang Xu and Hai Huang    

Resumen

The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is a central issue in ecology. The insurance hypothesis suggests that biodiversity could improve community productivity and reduce the temporal variability of main ecosystem processes. In the present study, we used a plankton community that was investigated from 2011 to 2014 in Lake Nansihu to test this hypothesis and explore the mechanisms involved. As a result, 138 phytoplankton and 76 zooplankton species were identified in the lake, and their biomasses showed apparent seasonal variations. The average temporal stability index of zooplankton taxa was significantly higher than that of phytoplankton. Complex relationships were observed between the species richness and temporal stability of different phytoplankton taxa: a unimodal relationship for both Cyanophyta and Bacillariophyta; a strong concave relationship for Euglenophyta; and no apparent relationship for both Chlorophyta and total phytoplankton. These relationships were primarily controlled by the portfolio effect; while the effects of overyielding and species asynchrony were relatively weak. Phytoplankton species richness had a significant positive influence on the temporal stability indices of protozoa, Rotifera and total zooplankton, while its influence on Cladocera and copepods was not significant. The dominant mechanisms were found to be ?trophic overyielding? and a weak ?trophic portfolio effect?; however, ?trophic species asynchrony? played a minor role. These results demonstrated that the effects of diversity on community stability can be complex in natural ecosystems. In addition, the diversity of phytoplankton not only influenced its own temporal stability, but also affected the stability of zooplankton through trophic interactions.

 Artículos similares

       
 
Anglu Shen, Wenwen Chen, Yongjiu Xu and Kin-Chung Ho    
Blooms of the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum donghaiense have had adverse impacts on marine ecosystems. However, ecological details, particularly the impacts and processes of the P. donghaiense bloom on the zooplankton community structure are poorly known. ... ver más

 
Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens, Tammy Lee, Vanessa Rose and Stephen M. Bollens    
Eutrophication of lakes and reservoirs has contributed to an increase in the magnitude and frequency of harmful cyanobacterial blooms; however, the interactive effects of nutrient availability (eutrophication) and other abiotic and biotic drivers have ra... ver más
Revista: Water

 
Janina Rahlff, Christian Stolle and Oliver Wurl    
The sea-surface microlayer (SML) forms the uppermost boundary layer between atmosphere and ocean, and has distinctive physico-chemical and biological features compared to the underlying water. First findings on metabolic contributions of microorganisms t... ver más

 
Wang Tian, Huayong Zhang, Lei Zhao, Xiang Xu, Hai Huang     Pág. 1 - 16
The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is a central issue in ecology. The insurance hypothesis suggests that biodiversity could improve community productivity and reduce the temporal variability of main ecosystem processes. In th... ver más
Revista: Water