Geology Can Drive the Diversity-Ecosystem Functioning Relationship in River Benthic Diatoms by Selecting for Species Functional Traits

The biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) relationship has been studied extensively for the past 30 years, mainly in terrestrial plant ecosystems using experimental approaches. Field studies in aquatic systems are scarce, and considering primary producers, they mainly focus on phytoplankton assem...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biology (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2023-01, Vol.12 (1), p.81
Main Authors: Smeti, Evangelia, Tsirtsis, George, Skoulikidis, Nikolaos Theodor
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algae
Bacillariophyceae
Biodiversity
biofilm
Biofilms
Biomass
Cell walls
diatoms
Ecosystems
Geology
Greece
Marine microorganisms
model simulations
Nutrient concentrations
Phytoplankton
Plankton
Primary production
River ecology
Rivers
Species
Taxonomy
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) relationship has been studied extensively for the past 30 years, mainly in terrestrial plant ecosystems using experimental approaches. Field studies in aquatic systems are scarce, and considering primary producers, they mainly focus on phytoplankton assemblages, whereas benthic diatoms in rivers are considerably understudied in this regard. We performed a field study across nine rivers in Greece, and we coupled the observed field results with model simulations. We tested the hypothesis that the diversity-biomass (as a surrogate of ecosystem functioning) relationship in benthic diatoms would be affected by abiotic factors and would be time-dependent due to the highly dynamic nature of rivers. Indeed, geology played an important role in the form of the BEF relationship that was positive in siliceous and absent in calcareous substrates. Geology was responsible for nutrient concentrations, which, in turn, were responsible for the dominance of specific functional traits. Furthermore, model simulations showed the time dependence of the BEF form, as less mature assemblages tend to present a positive BEF. This was the first large-scale field study on the BEF relationship of benthic diatom assemblages, offering useful insights into the function and diversity of these overlooked ecosystems and assemblages.
ISSN:2079-7737
2079-7737
DOI:10.3390/biology12010081