Abstract
To investigate the dominant species and interspecific association in the phytoplankton community of the Feiyun River basin in Zhejiang Province, East China, the main stream and the Shanxi-Zhaoshandu Reservoir in the downstream were chosen as the study area, for which 22 sampling sites were designated. Sampling was conducted in September 2021, January, May, and July 2022. Phytoplankton species were identified from both quantitative samples and in-vivo observations. Phytoplankton was quantified by direct counting. Results show that there were 98 species belonging to 6 phyla and 78 genera. In addition, to clarify the niches of the dominant phytoplankton species and their interspecific association, the dominance index was calculated, and a comprehensive analysis was conducted including niche width, niche overlap value, ecological response rate, overall association, chi-square test, and the stability. The phytoplankton community exhibited characteristics of a Cyanobacteria-Chlorophyta-Diatom type community, showing higher diversity in spring and lower diversity in summer. Among 11 dominants phytoplankton species from 3 phyla, both frequency and dominance degree varied seasonally, of which Microcystis sp. was the dominant species in Spring, Autumn, and Winter. The niche widths of the dominant species ranged from 0.234 to 0.933, and were categorized into three groups. The niche overlap values of the 11 dominant species ranged from 0.359 to 0.959, exhibiting significant seasonal differences—highest in winter followed by autumn, spring, and summer in turn. The overall correlation among dominant species in all four seasons revealed a non-significant negative association, resulting in an unstable community structure. A significant portion (84.2%) of species pairs displayed positive associations, suggesting a successional pattern where Diatoms dominated while other dominant species shared resources and space. Despite this pattern, stability measurements indicated that the dominant species community remained unstable. Therefore, careful monitoring is recommended for potential water environment issues arising from abnormal proliferation of dominant species in the watershed during winter. This research built a theoretical foundation with a data support to the early warning of eutrophication and provided a reference for water resources management in similar watersheds along the eastern coast of China.
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6 Data Availability Statement
The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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7 Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank Dr. Huihui CHEN and Mr. Tianheng TONG from Laboratory of Lake Biology and Ecology, Nanjing Institute of Geography & Limnology, Chinese Academy Sciences, China, for assistance in field investigation and sample analysis.
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Supported by the National Key Scientific Research Project (No. 2018YFC1508200), the Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province (No. KYCX23_0714), the China Scholarship Council (No. 202206710066), and the Construction Project of Wenzhou Hydrology High-quality Development Pilot Zone (No. WZSW-GZLFZXXQ-202105)
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Zhu, S., Dong, Z., Fu, G. et al. Distribution and dynamics of niche and interspecific association of dominant phytoplankton species in the Feiyun River basin, Zhejiang, China. J. Ocean. Limnol. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-023-3161-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-023-3161-y