Temporal changes in food web structure in semiarid waterholes

High seasonality of semiarid aquatic ecosystems may be due to large-amplitude water level fluctuations. The resulting habitat changes impact aquatic communities and food web structures as a result of species replacement or loss. To study the impact of water level fluctuations on planktonic food web...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Inland waters (Print) 2020-10, Vol.10 (4), p.542-550
Main Authors: Hulot, Florence Delphine, Msiteli-Shumba, Stembile, Bonhomme, Mélodie, Legendre, Stéphane
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Dry season
Ecological associations
Ecology, environment
Ecosystems
food web complexity
Food webs
Freshwater
Hwange National Park
Life Sciences
omnivory
Plankton
planktonic food web
Symbiosis
Temporary ponds
temporary pounds
water level fluctuations
Water levels
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Summary:High seasonality of semiarid aquatic ecosystems may be due to large-amplitude water level fluctuations. The resulting habitat changes impact aquatic communities and food web structures as a result of species replacement or loss. To study the impact of water level fluctuations on planktonic food web structure, we compared food web descriptors in contrasting seasons. We examined the planktonic food webs associated with semiarid natural and artificial waterholes sampled in Hwange National Pak, Zimbabwe, during the hot dry (HDS), wet (WS), and cold dry seasons (CDS). Natural waterholes are filled by rainwater, while underground water is pumped into artificial waterholes to provide drinking water to wildlife during the dry season. We computed the descriptors of 66 food webs. WS food webs tended to be more complex than those of HDS and CDS; the percentage of basal species was lower, whereas the food web connectance, percentage of intermediate species, omnivory index, mean trophic level, and maximum trophic height of species were higher. Pumping water to maintain pans in the dry season had no effect on food web properties. The drying up of waterholes in semiarid environments simplifies planktonic food webs. The dominance of small rotifers may explain the observed low omnivory index and food web connectance in HDS compared to those observed in other studies.
ISSN:2044-2041
2044-205X
DOI:10.1080/20442041.2020.1754112