Cyanobacteria dominance drives zooplankton functional dispersion

Accelerated eutrophication reduces water quality and shifts plankton communities. However, its effects on the aquatic food web and ecosystem functions remain poorly understood. Within this context, functional ecology can provide valuable links relating community traits to ecosystem functioning. In t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Hydrobiologia 2019-03, Vol.831 (1), p.149-161
Main Authors: Josué, Iollanda I. P., Cardoso, Simone J., Miranda, Marcela, Mucci, Maíra, Ger, Kemal Ali, Roland, Fabio, Marinho, Marcelo Manzi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic ecosystems
Biodiversity
Biomass
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Blooms
Boreal ecosystems
Chlorophyll
Chlorophyll a
Communities
Composition
Cyanobacteria
Dispersion
Dominance
Ecological function
Ecology
Ecosystem assessment
Ecosystems
Eutrophication
Food chains
Food chains (Ecology)
Food webs
Freshwater
Freshwater & Marine Ecology
Indicators
Interactions
Lakes
Life Sciences
Mathematical analysis
Microbial food quality
Niche overlap
Niches
Phosphorus
Phytoplankton
Phytoplankton & Biotic Interactions
Plankton
Trophic relationships
Tropical climate
Water quality
Zoology
Zooplankton
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Summary:Accelerated eutrophication reduces water quality and shifts plankton communities. However, its effects on the aquatic food web and ecosystem functions remain poorly understood. Within this context, functional ecology can provide valuable links relating community traits to ecosystem functioning. In this study, we assessed the effects of eutrophication and cyanobacteria blooms on zooplankton functional diversity in a tropical hypereutrophic lake. Phytoplankton and zooplankton communities and limnological characteristics of a tropical Brazilian Lake (Southeast, Brazil) were monitored monthly from April 2013 to October 2014. Lake eutrophication indicators were total phosphorus, total chlorophyll-a, and chlorophyll-a per group (blue, green, and brown). The variation of major phytoplankton taxonomic group biomass was calculated and used as a proxy for changes in phytoplankton composition. Zooplankton functional diversity was assessed through functional dispersion and the community-weighted mean trait value. Regressions were performed between the lake eutrophication indicators, the phytoplankton biomass variation, and zooplankton functional dispersion. Our results suggest that eutrophication and cyanobacterial dominance change the composition of zooplankton traits and reduce functional dispersion, leading to zooplankton niche overlap. These findings are important because they provide a meaningful view of phytoplankton-zooplankton trophic interactions and contribute to an improved understanding their functional effects on aquatic ecosystems.
ISSN:0018-8158
1573-5117
DOI:10.1007/s10750-018-3710-0