Crustacean zooplankton dynamics in a natural riverine lake, Upper Mississippi River

Zooplankton communities in riverine systems are typically thought to be driven by abiotic forces. However, recent studies have shown that biological controls are capable of structuring these communities in large rivers and may become more influential as a river system becomes more lentic during low...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of freshwater ecology 2017-01, Vol.32 (1), p.247-265
Main Authors: Burdis, Robert M., Hirsch, Jodene K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic crustaceans
Aquatic ecosystems
Community structure
Correlation analysis
Crustaceans
Dynamics
Ecosystems
Forces (mechanics)
Lakes
Mississippi River
Multidimensional scaling
NMDS
Plankton
Residence time
riverine lake
Rivers
Scaling
Spatial analysis
water residence time
Zooplankton
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Summary:Zooplankton communities in riverine systems are typically thought to be driven by abiotic forces. However, recent studies have shown that biological controls are capable of structuring these communities in large rivers and may become more influential as a river system becomes more lentic during low discharge. This study uses a long-term data set to examine several environmental variables as potential drivers of zooplankton community structure in a natural riverine lake. We hypothesized that water residence time would be the most important variable influencing zooplankton community structure. To test this, we used non-metric multidimensional scaling and correlation analysis to examine spatial and temporal patterns in zooplankton community structure. Analysis revealed that water residence time was the single most important environmental variable driving zooplankton abundance and community structure. The relationship between water residence time and taxa groups varied indicating that other taxa specific drivers had some influence on zooplankton community structure as well. Continued insight into the mechanisms driving zooplankton community structure will provide a basis for understanding zooplankton dynamics in large river ecosystems.
ISSN:0270-5060
2156-6941
DOI:10.1080/02705060.2017.1279080