Microhabitat size distribution affects local difference in community structure: Metazoan communities in treeholes

I studied the effect of treehole (microhabitat) size distribution in local habitats on geographic difference in aquatic metazoan community structure by comparing differences between two sites on Iriomote Island, and between Iriomote Island (subtropical) and Tsushima Island (temperate), in southwestern Japan. In treeholes at each local site, the amount of litter, the species richness and total biomass of metazoa were positively correlated with treehole capacity. Between the two sites on Iriomote Island (Shirahama and Komi), the amount of litter, biomass and species number per treehole was greater at Komi where the mean and variance of treehole size were greater, while the dependencies of these parameters on treehole capacity were common to both sites. Total species number was larger at Komi (2 predators and 20 saprophages) than at Shirahama (1 predator and 19 saprophages). Most of the dominant taxa colonized larger treeholes with higher probabilities, although one taxa showed the opposite trend. Treeholes on Tsushima were smaller than those on Iriomote. The metazoan fauna in treeholes consisted of 15 saprophages on Tsushima, being less richer than that on Iriomote Island which had 2 predators and 21 saprophages. However, the dependencies of litter amount and biomass on treehole capacity did not differ significantly between the islands, although treeholes on Iriomote harbored a greater number of species per treehole than those on Tsushima. This study indicated that there are general correlates between community structure within individual treeholes (infracommunity structure) and treehole capacity (microhabitat size). Therefore, microhabitat-size distribution is potentially a significant constraint of local community structure, and its variation may contribute to the variation in local and regional species richness.     

Predation risk and the structure of freshwater zooplankton communities

Summary Many predators inflict substantial mortality on their prey. The prey respond to these selective pressures with changes in their spatial and temporal overlap with the predator (density risk responses), or with changes in their vulnerability to the predator (prey vulnerability responses). Here we develop a simple predation model that permits quantification of the basic response types of the prey in nature. We then test the hypothesis that prey response will be proportional to the intensity of the predation mortality relative to all other sources of mortality and decreased natality acting on the prey. A significant regression relationship is obtained for the prey vulnerability response but not for any of the density risk responses. The individual response values and regression statistics are used to interpret the relative importance of the different response types and to assess the predator's influence on prey community structure.Supported by Lehigh University Environmental Studies Center     

Zooplankton community composition and copepod grazing on the West Florida Shelf in relation to blooms of Karenia brevis

Blooms of the toxin producing dinoflagellate Karenia brevis occur routinely on the West Florida Shelf of the Gulf of Mexico. Nutrient supplies are thought to play a large role in the formation and maintenance of these blooms. The role of top-down control has been less well studied, but grazing, or the lack thereof, on these toxic species may also enhance the formation of large biomass blooms in this region. Zooplankton community structure and copepod species composition were analyzed from samples collected on the West Florida Shelf (WFS) during a NOAA funded ECOHAB regional Karenia Nutrient Dynamics project during October 2007–2010. In 2008 there was no statistical difference in the abundance of zooplankton at bloom and non-bloom stations, however in 2009 there was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) between the abundance of zooplankton at stations with Karenia present. To investigate copepod ingestion rates in relation to K. brevis, shipboard and laboratory experiments of the single label method of ¹⁴C labeled phytoplankton culture, and time course ingestion experiments with isolated copepods were performed. Calculated ingestion rates suggest that the copepod species Centropages velificatus, and Acartia tonsa ingested K. brevis, however rates were variable among collection sites and K. brevis strains. Parvocalanus crassirostris did not ingest K. brevis in any of the experiments.     

鄱阳湖浮游动物群落结构及其与环境因子的关系

数量庞大、体积微小、高度多样化的浮游生物对淡水生态系统功能具有重要影响。为探究中国第一大淡水湖——鄱阳湖浮游动物（包括轮虫、枝角类和桡足类）群落特征及其与环境因子之间的关系,本研究在鄱阳湖设置50个采样点,分别于2017年8月（夏季）、11月（秋季）、2018年2月（冬季）和5月（春季）进行浮游动物群落与生境调查,统计分析结果表明：鄱阳湖浮游动物共记录43属99种,其中轮虫31属83种,枝角类8属11种,桡足类4属5种,春夏季节种类较为丰富。浮游动物平均丰度为1155.29 ind./L,具有极显著的季节差异（P< 0.01）,夏季（3150.37 ind./L）显著高于其他三季。四季共确定优势种14种,轮虫中优势度最高的为广布多肢轮虫（Polyarthra vulgaris）,浮游甲壳动物中仅有简弧象鼻溞（Bosmina coregoni）在秋季形成优势。优势种的季节更替明显,夏秋季节间的更替率（86.00%）高于其他季节（77.00%,66.67%）。优势种、多样性和均匀度的结果均显示鄱阳湖浮游动物群落结构较复杂,具有较好的稳定性。聚类分析（Cluster analysis）和分类回归树分析（Classification and regression trees, CART）表明,每个季节均有多种群落类型,其中春夏两季中浮游动物群落类型的划分与叶绿素a（Chlorophyll a,Chla）密切相关,化学需氧量（Chemical Oxygen Demand,COD）是影响秋季群落划分的关键环境因子。非度量多维尺度分析（Non-metric multidimensional scaling,NMDS）结果表明,温度（Water Temperature,WT）、Chla、电导率（Conductivity,Cond）是造成四季浮游动物群落显著差异的最主要环境因子。冗余分析（Redundancy analysis,RDA）显示,除Chla外,总氮（Total Nitrogen,TN）、总固体悬浮物（Total Suspended Solids,TSS）和酸碱度（Hydrogen ion concentration,pH）也是影响浮游动物群落结构和优势种分布的重要因素。     

Zooplankton community structure driven by vertebrate and invertebrate predators

Summary A zooplankton community was established in outdoor experimental ponds, into which a vertebrate predator (topmouth gudgeon: Pseudorasbora parva) and/or an invertebrate predator (phantom midge larva: Chaoborus flavicans) were introduced and their predation effects on the zooplankton community structure were evaluated. In the ponds which had Chaoborus but not fish, small- and medium-sized cladocerans and calanoid copepods were eliminated while rotifers became abundant. A large-sized cladoceran Daphnia longispina, whose juveniles had high helmets and long tailspines as anti-predator devices, escaped from Chaoborus predation and increased. In the ponds which had fish but not Chaoborus, the large-sized Daphnia was selectively predated by the fish while small-and medium-sized cladocerans and calanoid copepods predominated. In the ponds containing both Chaoborus and fish, the fish reduced the late instar larvae (III and IV) of Chaoborus but increased the early instar larvae (I and II). Small- and large-sized cladocerans were scarcely found. The former might have been eliminated by predation of the early instar larvae of Chaoborus, while the latter was probably predated by fish. Consequently, the medium-sized cladocerans, which may have succeeded in escaping from both types of predator, appeared abundantly. The results suggest that various combinations of vertebrate and invertebrate predators are able to drive various kinds of zooplankton community structure.     

Zooplankton distribution and dynamics in a temperate shallow estuary

The spatial, temporal and tidal dynamics of the zooplanktonic community of the Mondego estuary was studied from January 2003 to 2004. The monthly sampling procedure included the measurement of hydrological parameters (salinity, temperature, Secchi transparency, chlorophyll a and nutrients) and the collection of zooplankton with a Bongo net of 335 μm mesh size. Zooplankton composition, distribution, density, biomass and diversity were determined. The principal component analysis (PCA) revealed the existence of a spatial gradient with the upstream sampling stations, associated to high values of nutrients, in opposition to the downstream stations characterized by higher salinity and transparency values. The Copepoda was the main dominant group and Acartia tonsa revealed to be the more abundant taxon. The spatial and temporal dynamics of zooplanktonic communities analysed by non-metric MDS showed the existence of four assemblages of species-sites, reflecting differences in zooplankton composition between both branches of the estuary. The results suggest that abundance, biomass and diversity of the zooplanktonic community are strongly influenced by the hydrological circulation pattern and by direct or indirect human impacts that occur in each branch. The northern branch is dominated by the river flow suffering from regular dredging activities and the southern branch is dominated by tidal circulation suffering from an ongoing eutrophication process.     

四明湖水库浮游动物群落演替

于2012年8月至2013年7月对四明湖水库水体理化特性以及浮游动物的种类、数量和生物量进行逐月采样调查,分析了水库的浮游动物群落特征及其影响因子。调查期间共检测到浮游动物150种,丰度198.0~7 258.0 ind/L,年平均3 795.2 ind/L,生物量0.28~5.64 mg/L,年均值为1.11 mg/L,浮游动物丰度和生物量空间差异不显著,但季节变化明显。对应分析(CA)和后续拟合表明,水温、叶绿素a、总磷、真光层深度、氨氮以及水位是驱动浮游动物结构变化的主要环境因子,各点的影响因子间存在空间差异性。对比24年前历史资料,发现四明湖水库浮游动物数量和生物量均减少,浮游动物出现小型化,推测认为是鱼类捕食的下行效应、蓝藻密度增加及蓝藻产生藻毒素增加影响浮游动物繁殖力所致。水质评价结果表明,四明湖水库目前处于中营养水平,但有向富营养型发展的趋势。     

Biotic relations affecting species structure in zooplankton communities

Mathematical modelling and laboratory experiments were used to study how exploitative competition and predation influence the species structure in cladoceran community. For five species of Cladocera (Sida crystallina, Daphnia magna, Simocephalus vetulus, Daphnia longispina, and Diaphanosoma brachyurum), representing a gradient of body size, population characteristics were described as functions of food concentration. Abundance dynamics were simulated in mixed species cultures and invasion experiments under different levels of food supply corresponding to oligo-, meso-, and eutrophic conditions. Separate simulations were also run including and excluding (fish) predation. The competitive ability of each species was estimated as the values of the population equilibrium food concentration. Simulation results showed that for the no-predator scenario, increases in the level of food supply promoted species coexistence while under lower food concentrations only one species remained at the end of the simulation runs. When predation was allowed, the number of species that coexisted at the end of the simulations increased up to four species, indicating that predator pressure facilitated species coexistence because it shortened periods of food depletion. Simulation results were verified in laboratory experiments which suggested that population equilibrium food concentration can be used as an estimate of competitive ability. Finally, species structure and relative abundance in Lake Naroch (Belarus) during the summer of 2004 was found to be consistent with our results from computer simulation and laboratory experiments with regard to competition and predation impacts on zooplankton community. Handling editor: S. I. Dodson     

淀山湖浮游动物的群落结构及动态

为帮助利用生物操纵技术进行淀山湖水体富营养化治理,2004年1月至2005年12月对淀山湖浮游动物群落结构,包括种类组成、种群动态、现存量进行了2周年的系统调查.淀山湖浮游动物有128种,其中浮游原生动物23属29种、轮虫23属51种、枝角类15属33种、桡足类15种.年均密度6 965ind/L,原生动物和轮虫分别占62.19%和36.77%,密度高峰出现在春季;生物量年均为6.00mg/L,以轮虫和枝角类占优势,分别占51.65%和38.38%,生物量高峰出现在夏季.4个类群浮游动物多样性指数H'与其均匀度指数J呈显著正相关,原生动物群落多样性指数H'与其密度呈显著负相关.根据浮游动物密度及优势种组成特征判断,淀山湖水质为富营养型.原生动物多样性指数具有较好的水质指示作用.     

Calanoid copepod grazing on phytoplankton: seasonal experiments on natural communities

Calanoid copepods are major components of most lacustrine ecosystems and their grazing activities may influence both phytoplankton biomass and species composition. To assess this we conducted four seasonal, in situ, grazing experiments in eutrophic Lake Rotomanuka, New Zealand. Ambient concentrations of late stage copepodites and adults of calanoid copepods (predominantly Calamoecia lucasi, but with small numbers of Boeckella delicata) were allowed to feed for nine days on natural phytoplankton assemblages suspended in the lake within 1160 litre polyethylene enclosures. The copepods reduced the total phytoplankton biomass of the dominant species in all experiments but were most effective in summer (the time of highest grazer biomass) followed by spring and autumn. In response to grazing pressure the density of individual algal species showed either no change or a decline. There were no taxa which increased in density in the presence of the copepods. The calanoid copepods suppressed the smallest phytoplankton species (especially those with GALD (Greatest Axial Linear Dimension) < µm) and there appeared to be no selection of algae on the basis of biovolume. Algal taxa which showed strong declines in abundance in the presence of the copepods include Cyclotella stelligera, Coelastrum spp., Trachelomonas spp., Cryptomonas spp., and Mallomonas akrokomos. Calanoid copepods are considered important grazers of phytoplankton biomass in this lake. The study supports the view that high phytoplankton:zooplankton biomass ratios and large average algal sizes characteristic of New Zealand lake plankton may, at least partly, be caused by year round grazing pressure on small algae shifting the competitive balance in favour of larger algal species.     

伊乐藻对浮游动物群落结构的影响

浮游动物是淡水生态系统的重要组成部分,一方面浮游动物主要以浮游植物作为食物^[1],同时又能摄食细菌^[2、3]、原生动物^[4、5];另一方面浮游动物又是一些鱼类优良的食物^[6、7]。国内外一些研究发现,有大量沉水植物存在的湖区,浮游动物的种类数、数量、生物量和多样性都比存在少量或没有沉水植物的湖区要高^[8-13]。     

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi alter plant community composition along a grazing gradient in Inner Mongolia Steppe

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have a significant influence on plant productivity and diversity in non-grazing grassland. However, the interactive effects between grazing intensity and AMF on plant community composition in natural grassland communities are not well known. We conducted a field experiment that manipulated AMF colonization and grazing intensity to study the impact of AMF suppression on plant community composition and nutrient status over 2 years (2015–2016) with contrasting rainfall levels. We found that AMF root colonization was significantly reduced by the application of the fungicide benomyl as a soil drench. Grazing intensity regulated plant community composition and aboveground biomass mainly by reducing the growth of Leymus chinensis over 2 years. AMF suppression increased the growth of Chenopodium glaucum, but it did not alter other plant species across all grazing intensities. The effects of AMF suppression on plant community composition changed along a grazing gradient considerably between years: AMF suppression increased the biomass of C. glaucum across all grazing intensities in 2015, but slightly increased it in 2016. Interactions between AMF suppression and grazing intensity altered the phosphorus concentration of Stipa grandis and Cleistogenes squarrosa in 2015 but not in 2016. AMF suppression decreased the shoot phosphorus content of L. chinensis but increased that of C. glaucum across all grazing intensities. Our results indicate that grazing intensity substantially alters aboveground community biomass and affects growth of dominant species; AMF by itself have limited effects on plant communities along a grazing gradient in typical steppe.     

夏、秋季长江口及毗邻海域浮游动物的分布与变化

浮游动物在整个海洋生态系统中起着非常重要的调控作用,它通过摄食控制浮游植物的数量和分布,同时又是许多经济鱼类的主要饵料,因而其分布与变化可以直接影响渔业资源状况[1,2].     

Effects of grazing,competition, disturbance and fire on species composition and diversity in grassland communities

Abstract. The effects of grazing, physical disturbance, interspecific competition, and fire on populations of individual species and on the structure and diversity of grassland communities were investigated in short-, mid-, and tall-grasslands in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. The treatments included deep and shallow artificial disturbances, early dry-season burning, and removal of dominant grass species from 2m² plots located inside and outside of large-mammal-proof exclosures. Species-cover data were collected for five years and analyzed by analysis of variance and diversity indices. In all three communities, protection from grazing and physical disturbance had greater impacts on species cover and diversity than removal of dominant species or fire. More species were significantly affected (positively and negatively) by disturbance and protection from grazing (50 - 100%) than by species removals and fire (< 41%). In most cases, the cover of tall, perennial species increased following protection from grazing while the cover of annual and short, perennial species decreased. Over the five years of the study, vegetatively reproducing species benefited more than sexually reproducing species from protection from grazing, and tall rhizomatous species benefited more than tall stoloniferous species. Disturbance caused annual and short perennial species to increase and tall perennials to decrease in cover. Following species removals, tall species were either unaffected or they increased in cover while some short species increased and others decreased in cover. Species diversity in two of the three communities decreased when the communities were protected from grazing but increased when disturbed, when dominant species were removed, and when burned.     

巢湖及其支流浮游动物群落结构特征及水质评价

2013年9月至2014年6月对巢湖及柘皋河、杭埠河、南淝河3条支流的浮游动物进行了调查,共检出浮游动物297种,其中,原生动物124种,轮虫135种,枝角类29种,桡足类9种。南淝河浮游动物物种数最多,为203种,巢湖最少,为130种;巢湖及3条支流均以原生动物和轮虫物种数最多。浮游动物总密度为644 223 ind/L,柘皋河浮游动物密度最高,巢湖浮游动物密度最低,巢湖及3条支流原生动物密度占浮游动物总密度的比例均为最高;四个季节柘皋河浮游动物密度均为最高。浮游动物总生物量为253.14 mg/L,南淝河浮游动物生物量最高,杭埠河和巢湖浮游动物生物量较低;春季和冬季柘皋河浮游动物生物量最高,夏季和秋季南淝河浮游动物生物量最高。相较3条支流,巢湖浮游动物优势种数最少。依据理化指标,巢湖及3条支流为富营养或超富营养水平,营养水平为:南淝河巢湖柘皋河杭埠河。浮游动物群落结构和环境因子的冗余分析(RDA)表明,巢湖及3条支流浮游动物群落结构在四个季节均未能明显区分开,浮游动物群落和环境理化因子的相关性较小。     

Mesozooplankton biomass and indices of grazing and metabolic activity in Antarctic waters

Mesozooplankton abundance, body area spectrum, biomass, gut fluorescence and electron transfer system (ETS) activity were studied in the Antarctic Peninsula during the post-bloom scenario in these waters. Values of abundance and biomass were rather low and decreased sharply from the slope waters to the coastal area. In contrast, specific gut fluorescence and ETS activity were high in the coastal area and decreased through the shelf-break. Large copepods were very scarce, similarly to the post-bloom conditions in phytoplankton where large cells are not abundant and small cells such as flagellates dominate the water column. The vertical distribution showed two well defined layers by day, one at the surface which corresponded to krill organisms and a second at depth (>300 m) formed mainly by the large copepod Metridia gerlachei. During the short night, this layer ascended at the time that krill at the surface migrated to deeper waters as observed from acoustics and net sampling. This observation and the absence of large copepods over the shelf suggest that krill consumption on large phytoplankton cells during the bloom is followed by an increase in predation upon mesozooplankton. It also suggests that krill decrease the abundance and biomass of mesozooplankton over the shelf and continues their predation upon mesopelagic copepods during the post-bloom in Antarctic waters. This behaviour could explain the long ago described impoverishment in mesozooplankton south of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.     

武汉东湖浮游动物群落结构的研究

对１９９１年武汉东湖不同湖区浮游动物群落结构的研究表明,Ⅰ、Ⅱ、Ⅲ站浮游动物的数量为１２２７８２、７０４１５和１８１８４个·Ｌ（－１）,并随水体富营养化程度增加而增加．生物量分别为８．６３９、５．８７２和２．０８２ｍｇ·Ｌ（－１）。大于１ｍｍ的甲壳动物个体频度为０．１５、０．３０、０．４１．其体长随鱼产量的增加而缩小．最后,对影响东湖浮游动物群落结构的主要生态因子进行了讨论．     

Flagellate predation on a bacterial model community: interplay of size-selective grazing, specific bacterial cell size, and bacterial community composition.

The influence of grazing by the bacterivorous nanoflagellate Ochromonas sp. strain DS on the taxonomic and morphological structures of a complex bacterial community was studied in one-stage chemostat experiments. A bacterial community, consisting of at least 30 different strains, was fed with a complex carbon source under conditions of low growth rate (0.5 day(-1) when nongrazed) and low substrate concentration (9 mg liter(-1)). Before and after the introduction of the predator, the bacterial community composition was studied by in situ techniques (immunofluorescence microscopy and fluorescent in situ hybridization), as well as by cultivation on agar media. The cell sizes of nonspecifically stained and immunofluorescently labeled bacteria were measured by image analysis. Grazing by the flagellate caused a bidirectional change in the morphological structure of the community. Medium-size bacterial cells, which dominated the nongrazed community, were largely replaced by smaller cells, as well as by cells contained in large multicellular flocs. Cell morphological changes were combined with community taxonomic changes. After introduction of the flagellate, the dominating strains with medium-size cells were largely replaced by single-celled strains with smaller cells on the one hand and, on the other hand, by Pseudomonas sp. strain MWH1, which formed the large, floc-like forms. We assume that size-selective grazing was the major force controlling both the morphological and the taxonomic structures of the model community.     

The plankton community of Lake Matano: factors regulating plankton composition and relative abundance in an ancient,tropical lake of Indonesia

Recent evidence reveals that food webs within the Malili Lakes, Sulawesi, Indonesia, support community assemblages that are made up primarily of endemic species. It has been suggested that many of the species radiations, as well as the paucity of cosmopolitan species in the lakes, are related to resource limitation. In order to substantiate the possibility that resource limitation is playing such an important role, a study of the phytoplankton and zooplankton communities of Lake Matano was implemented between 2000 and 2004. We determined species diversity, relative abundances, size ranges, and total biomass for the phytoplankton and zooplankton, including the distribution of ovigerous individuals throughout the epilimnion of Lake Matano in three field seasons. The phytoplankton community exhibited very low biomass (<15 μg l^?1) and species richness was depressed. The zooplankton assemblage was also limited in biomass (2.5 mg l^?1) and consisted only of three taxa including the endemic calanoid Eodiaptomus wolterecki var. matanensis, the endemic cyclopoid, Tropocyclops matanensis and the rotifer Horaella brehmi. Zooplankton were very small (<600 μm body length), and spatial habitat partitioning was observed, with Tropocylops being confined to below 80 m, while rotifer and calanoid species were consistently observed above 80 m. Less than 0.1% of the calanoid copepods in each year were egg-bearing, suggesting very low population turnover rates. It was concluded that chemical factors as opposed to physical or biological processes were regulating the observed very low standing crops of phytoplankton which in turn supports a very minimal zooplankton community restricted in both species composition and abundance. As chemical factors are a function of the catchment basin of Lake Matano, it is predicted that resource limitation has long played an important role in shaping the unique endemic assemblages currently observed in the food web of the lake.