Abstract
Dissimilar life features of Rotifera, Cladocera and Copepoda enable these organisms to respond differently to changes in the hydrological regime which influence alterations in environmental characteristics. We investigated the effect of habitat heterogeneity (e.g. eupotamal, parapotamal, palaeopotamal) on individual zooplankton group assemblages and biodiversity indices (α, β and γ diversity) during hydro regime change in floodplain waterbodies. Dissolved oxygen and organic nitrogen concentrations changed significantly among hydrological states while water depth was affected by both site and hydro regime replacement. Each studied site supported different zooplankton assemblage that highly depended on species-specific responses to hydro regime change. Also, individual zooplankton groups exhibited different correlations with specific environmental parameters regarding site change. Throughout the study, rotifers′ local (α) and among-community (β) diversities were susceptible to the site and inundation change while the microcrustacean biodiversity pattern diverged. Copepods highly discriminated different habitat types and hydrological phases at the regional scale (γ diversity), while we found a complete lack of biodiversity dependence on both site and hydrology for Cladocera. Our results show that heterogeneous environments support the development of different zooplankton assemblages that express the within-group dissimilarities. They also point to the importance of identifying processes in hydrologically variable ecosystems that influence biodiversity patterns at an individual zooplankton group level. Our results suggest the use of appropriate zooplankton groups as biological markers in natural habitats and stress the importance of proper management in preserving biodiversity in floodplain areas.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adamczuk, M. (2015). Past, present, and future roles of small cladoceran Bosmina longirostris (O. F. Müller, 1785) in aquatic ecosystems. Hydrobiologia, 767, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2495-7.
Amoros, C. (1984). Crustaces Cladoceres. Introduction Pratique a la Systematique des Organismes des Eaux Continentales Francaises. Lyon: Université Claude Bernard.
Amoros, C., & Bornette, G. (2002). Connectivity and biocomplexity in waterbodies of riverine floodplains. Freshwater Biology, 47, 761–776.
Amoros, C., & Roux, A. L. (1988). Interactions between water bodies within floodplains of large rivers: function and development of connectivity. Münstersche Geografische Arbeiten, 29, 125–130.
Antón-Pardo, M., Armengo, X., & Ortells, R. (2016). Zooplankton biodiversity and community structure vary along spatiotemporal environmental gradients in restored peridunal ponds. Journal of Limnology, 75, 193–203.
APHA (American Public Health Association). (1992). Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association.
Baranyi, C., Hein, T., Holarek, C., Keckeis, S., & Schiemer, F. (2002). Zooplankton biomass and community structure in a Danube River floodplain system: effects of hydrology. Freshwater Biology, 47, 473–482.
Bonacci, O., Tadić, Z., Moržan, A., & Radeljak, I. (2002). Park prirode Kopački rit, Plan upravljanja. Osijek: Sektorska studija Hidrologija i meteorologija.
Bonecker, C. C., & Lansac-Toha, F. A. (1996). Community structure of rotifers in two environments of the upper River Parana floodplain (MS)—Brazil. Hydrobiologia, 325, 137–150.
Bos, D., Cumming, B., & Smol, J. (1999). Cladocera and Anostraca from the Interior Plateau of British Columbia, Canada, as paleolimnological indicators of salinity and lake level. Hydrobiologia, 392, 129–141.
Bozelli, R. L., Thomaz, S. M., Padial, A. A., Lopes, P. M., & Bini, L. M. (2015). Floods decrease zooplankton beta diversity and environmental heterogeneity in an Amazonian floodplain system. Hydrobiologia, 753, 233–241.
Brandl, Z. (2005). Freshwater copepods and rotifers: predators and their prey. Hydrobiologia, 546, 475–489.
Casanova, S. M. C., Panarelli, E. A., & Henry, R. (2009). Rotifer abundance, biomass, and secondary production after the recovery of hydrologic connectivity between a river and two marginal lakes (São Paulo, Brazil). Limnologica, 39, 292–301.
Chaparro, G., Fontanarrosa, M. S., Cataldo, D., & O’Farrell, I. (2014). Hydrology driven factors might weaken fish predation effects on zooplankton structure in a vegetated warm temperate floodplain lake. Hydrobiologia, 752, 187–202. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-014-1993-3.
Chen, W., Liu, H., Zhang, Q., & Dai, S. (2011). Effects of nitrite and toxic Microcystis aeruginosa PCC7806 on the growth of freshwater rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 86, 263–267.
Chisholm, C., Lindo, Z., & Gonzalez, A. (2011). Metacommunity diversity depends on network connectivity and arrangement in heterogeneous landscapes. Ecography, 34, 415–424. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.2010.06588.x.
Choi, J. Y., Jeong, K. S., La, G. H., & Joo, G. J. (2015). Spatio-temporal distribution of Diaphanosoma brachyurum (Cladocera: Sididae) in freshwater reservoir ecosystems: importance of maximum water depth and macrophyte beds for avoidance of fish predation. Journal of Limnology, 74(2), 403–413.
Conde-Porcuna, J. M., Ramos-Rodríguez, E., & Pérez-Martínez, C. (2002). Correlations between nutrient concentrations and zooplankton populations in a mesotrophic reservoir. Freshwater Biology, 47, 1463–1473.
Cottenie, K., Nuytten, N., Michels, E., & De Meester, L. (2001). Zooplankton community structure and environmental conditions in a set of interconnected ponds. Hydrobiologia, 442, 339–350.
Death, R. G. (1995). Spatial patterns in benthic invertebrate community structure: products of habitat stability or are they habitat specific? Freshwater Biology, 33, 455–467.
DeSellas, A. M., Paterson, A. M., Sweetman, J. N., & Smol, J. P. (2008). Cladocera assemblages from the surface sediments of south-central Ontario (Canada) lakes and their relationships to measured environmental variables. Hydrobiologia, 600, 105–119.
Devol, A. H. (1981). Vertical distribution of zooplankton respiration in relation to the intense oxygen minimum zones in two British Columbia fjords. Journal of Plankton Research, 3(4), 593–602.
Dickerson, K. D., Medley, K. A., & Havel, J. E. (2009). Spatial variation in zooplankton community structure is related to hydrologic flow units in the Missouri river, USA. River Research and Applications, 26, 605–618.
Einsle, U. (1993). Crustacea, Copepoda, Calanoida und Cyclopoida. Berlin: Gustav Fischer Verlag.
Forbes, V. E., & Calow, P. (1999). Is the per capita rate of increase a good measure of population-level effects in ecotoxicology? Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 18, 1544–1556.
Forbes, A. E., & Chase, J. M. (2002). The role of habitat connectivity and landscape geometry inexperimental zooplankton metacommunities. Oikos, 96, 433–440.
Freitas, G. T., & Crispim, M. C. (2005). Seasonal effects on zooplanktonic community in a temporary lagoon of northeast Brazil. Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia, 17(4), 385–393.
Frisch, D., Libman, B. S., D’Surney, S. J., & Threlkeld, S. T. (2005). Diversity of floodplain copepods (Crustacea) modified by flooding: species richness, diapause strategies and population genetics. Archiv für Hydrobiologie, 162, 1–17.
Gabaldón, C., Montero-Pau, J., Carmona, M. J., & Serra, M. (2015). Life-history variation, environmental fluctuations and competition in ecologically similar species: modeling the case of rotifers. Journal of Plankton Research, 37(5), 953–965.
Galir Balkić, A., Ternjej, I., & Špoljar, M. (2017). Hydrology driven changes in the rotifer trophic structure and implications for food web interactions. Ecohydrology, 11. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1917.
Galir, A., & Palijan, G. (2012). Change in metazooplankton abundance in response to flood dynamics and trophic relations in Danubian floodplain lake (Kopački rit, Croatia). Polish Journal of Ecology, 60, 777–787.
George, D. G. (1976). Life cycle and production of Cyclops vicinus in a shallow eutrophic reservoir. Oikos, 27(1), 101–110.
Gonzalez, A. (2009). Metacommunities: spatial community ecology, Encyclopedia of life sciences (ELS). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.
Górski, K., Collier, K. J., Duggan, I. C., Taylor, C. M., & Hamilton, D. P. (2013). Connectivity and complexity of floodplain habitats govern zooplankton dynamics in a large temperate river system. Freshwater Biology, 58, 1458–1470. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.12144.
Goździejewska, A., Glińska-Lewczuk, K., Obolewski, K., Grzybowski, M., Kujawa, R., Lew, S., & Grabowska, M. (2016). Effects of lateral connectivity on zooplankton community structure in floodplain lakes. Hydrobiologia, 774, 7–21.
Hoffman, W. (1977). The influence of abiotic environmental factors on population dynamics in planktonic rotifers. Archiv für Hydrobiologie–BeiheftErgebnisse der Limnologie, 8, 77–83.
Illyová, M. (2006). Zooplankton of two arms in the Morava River floodplain in Slovakia. Biologia (Bratisl), 61(5), 531–539.
Jeppesen, E., Nõges, P., Davidson, T. A., Haberman, J., Nõges, T., Blank, K., Lauridsen, T., Søndergaard, M., Sayer, C., Laugaste, R., Johansson, L. S., Bjerring, R., & Amsinck, S. L. (2011). Zooplankton as indicators in lakes: a scientific-based plea for including zoo-plankton in the ecological quality assessment of lakes according to the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). Hydrobiologia, 676, 279–297.
Jost, L. (2006). Entropy and diversity. Oikos, 113(2), 363–375.
Junk, W. J., Bayley, P. B., & Sparks, R. E. (1989). The flood pulse concept in river-floodplain system. Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 106, 110–127.
Keckeis, S., Baranyi, C., Hein, T., Holarek, C., Riedler, P., & Schiemer, F. (2003). The significance of zooplankton grazing in a floodplain system of the River Danube. Journal of Plankton Research, 25(3), 243–253.
Kelso, B. H. L., Smith, R. V., Laughlin, R. J., & Lenox, S. D. (1997). Dissimilatory nitrate reduction in anaerobic sediments leading to river nitrite accumulation. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 63, 4679–4685.
Kneitel, J. M. (2014). Inundation timing, more than duration, affects the community structure of California vernal pool mesocosms. Hydrobiologia, 732, 71–83.
Korhola, A. (1999). Distribution patterns of Cladocera in subarctic Fennoscandian lakes and their potential in environmental reconstruction. Ecography, 22, 357–373.
Korhola, A., Olander, H., & Blom, T. (2000). Cladoceran and chironomid assemblages as qualitative indicators of water depth in subarctic Fennoscandian lakes. Journal of Paleolimnology, 24(1), 43–54.
Koste, W. (1978). Die Rädertiere Mitteleuropas. Berlin: Gebrüder Borntraeger.
Lopes, P. M., Bini, L. M., Declerck, S. A. J., Farjalla, V. F., Vieira, L. C. G., Bonecker, C. C., Lansac-Toha, F. A., Esteves, F. A., & Bozelli, R. L. (2014). Correlates of zooplankton beta diversity in tropical lake systems. PLoS One, 9(10), e109581. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0109581.
Magurran, A. (2004). Measuring biological diversity. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Margaritoria, F. (1983). Cladoceri (Crustacea: Cladocera). Guide per il Reconoscimiento delle Specie Animali delle Acque Interne Italiane. Roma: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche.
Maričić, S. (2005). Analyses of one of the rare natural retention in the Middle Danube. In H. P. Nachtnebel & C. J. Jugović (Eds.), Proceedings of the ninth international symposium on water management and hydraulic engineering (pp. 383–395). Vienna, Austria.
Massicotte, P., Frenette, J. J., Proulx, R., Pinel-Alloul, B., & Bertolo, A. (2014). Riverscape heterogeneity explains spatial variation in zooplankton functional evenness and biomass in a large river ecosystem. Landscape Ecology, 29, 67–79. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-013-9946-1.
Melo, T. X., & Medeiros, E. S. F. (2013). Spatial distribution of zooplankton diversity across temporary pools in a semiarid intermittent river. International Journal of Biodiversity, 2013, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/946361.
Mieczan, T., Adamczuk, M., Tarkowska-Kukuryk, M., & Nawrot, D. (2016). Effect of water chemistry on zooplanktonic and microbial communities across freshwater ecotones in different macrophyte-dominated shallow lakes. Journal of Limnology, 75(2), 262–274.
Mihaljević, M., Getz, D., Tadić, Z., Živanović, B., Gucunski, D., Topić, J., et al. (1999). Kopački Rit—research survey and bibliography. Zagreb: Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Mihaljević, M., Stević, F., Horvatić, J., & Hackenberger Kutuzović, B. (2009). Dual impact of the flood pulses on the phytoplankton assemblages in a Danubian floodplain lake (Kopački Rit Nature Park, Croatia). Hydrobiologia, 618, 77–88.
Mouquet, N., & Loreau, M. (2003). Community patterns in source-sink metacommunities. American Naturalist, 162, 544–557.
Ning, N. S. P., Gawne, B., Cook, R. A., & Nielse, D. L. (2013). Zooplankton dynamics in response to the transition from drought to flooding in four Murray–Darling Basin rivers affected by differing levels of flow regulation. Hydrobiologia, 702, 45–62.
Obolewski, K., Glińska-Lewczuk, K., Jarząb, N., Burandt, P., Kobus, S., Kujawa, R., Okruszko, T., Grabowska, M., Lew, S., Goździejewska, A., & Skrzypczak, A. (2014). Benthic invertebrates in floodplain lakes of a Polish River: structure and biodiversity analyses in relation to hydrological conditions. Polish Journal of Environmental Studies, 23(5), 1679–1689.
Palijan, G. (2010). Određivanje graničnog vodostaja plavljenja Kopačkog rita na primjeru poplave u listopadu- studenom 2009. godine. Hrvatske vode, 74, 313–320.
Pedruski, M. T., & Arnott, S. E. (2011). The effects of habitat connectivity and regional heterogeneity on artificial pond metacommunities. Oecologia, 166, 221–228. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-010-1814-y.
Peršić, V., & Horvatić, J. (2011). Spatial distribution of nutrient limitation in the Danube river floodplain in relation to hydrological connenctivity. Wetlands, 31, 933–944.
Ruttner-Kolisko, A. (1974). Plankton rotifers: biology and taxonomy. Stuttgart: Schweizerbart’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung.
Siitonen, S., Väliranta, M., Weckström, J., Juutinen, S., & Korhola, A. (2011). Comparison of Cladocera-based water-depth reconstruction against other types of proxy data in Finnish Lapland. Hydrobiologia, 676, 155–172.
Simões, N. R., Ribeiro, S. M. M. S., & Sonoda, S. L. (2011). Diversity and structure of microcrustacean assemblages (Cladocera and Copepoda) and limnological variability in perennial and intermittent pools in a semi-arid region, Bahia, Brazil. Iheringia, Série Zoologia, 101(4), 317–324.
Soares, C. E. A., Velho, L. F. M., Lansac-Tôha, F. A., Bonecker, C. C., Landeiro, V. L., & Bini, L. M. (2015). The likely effects of river impoundment on beta-diversity of a floodplain zooplankton metacommunity. Natureza & Conservação, 13, 74–79.
Strickland, J. D. H., & Parsons, T. R. (1968). A practical hand-book of seawater analysis. Fisheries Research Board of Canada Bulletin, 167, 1–310.
Tadić, Z., Bonacci, O., Bognar, A., Jović, F., & Radeljak, I. (2002). Park prirode Kopački rit, Plan upravljanja. Osijek: Sektorska studija Upravljanje vodama.
Tall, L., Armellin, A., Pinel-Alloul, B., Méthot, G., & Hudon, C. (2016). Effects of hydrological regime, landcape features, and environment on macroinvertebrates in St. Lawrence River wetlands. Hydrobiologia, 778, 221–241. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2531-7.
Tavşanoğlu, U. N., Šorf, M., Stefanidis, K., Brucet, S., Türkan, S., Agasild, H., Baho, D. L., Scharfenberger, U., Hejzlar, J., Papastergiadou, E., Adrian, R., Angeler, D. G., Zingel, P., Çakıroğlu, A. İ., Özen, A., Drakare, S., Søndergaard, M., Jeppesen, E., & Beklioğlu, M. (2017). Effects of nutrient and water level changes on the composition and size structure of zooplankton communities in shallow lakes under different climatic conditions: a pan-European mesocosm experiment. Aquatic Ecology, 51, 257–273. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-017-9615-6.
ter Braak, C. J. F., & Šmilauer, P. (2002). CANOCO reference manual and CanoDraw for windows user’s guide: software for canonical community ordination (version 4.5). Ithaca: Microcomputer Power.
Thomaz, S. M., Bini, L. M., & Bozelli, R. L. (2007). Floods increase similarity among aquatic habitats in river-floodplain systems. Hydrobiologia, 579, 1–13.
Tockner, K., Malard, F., & Ward, J. V. (2000). An extension of the flood pulse concept. Hydrological Processes, 14, 2861–2883.
Trudeau, M. P., & Morin, A. (2016). Associations of event-scale flow hydrology with fish richness in urbanizing Canadian watersheds of Lake Ontario. Ecohydrology, 10. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1807.
UNESCO. (1966). Determinations of photosynthetic pigments in seawater. Report of SCOR––UNESCO.
Vadadi-Füllop, C. (2013). Microcrustacean assemblages in a large river: on the importance of the flow regime. Hydrobiologia, 702, 129–140.
Ward, J. V., & Tockner, K. (2001). Biodiversity: towards a unifying theme for river ecology. Freshwater Biology, 46, 807–819.
Weigelhofer, G., Preiner, S., Funk, A., Bondar-Kunze, E., & Hein, T. (2014). The hydrochemical response of small and shallow floodplain water bodies to temporary surface water connections with the main river. Freshwater Biology, 60, 781–793. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.12532.
Wetzel, R. G. (2001). Limnology. Lake and river ecosystems. San Diego: Academic press.
White, J. C., Hannah, D. M., House, A., Beatson, S. J. V., Martin, A., & Wood, P. J. (2017). Macroinvertebrate responses to flow and stream temperature variability across regulated and non-regulated rivers. Ecohydrology, 10. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1773.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to project leader Prof. Jasna Vidaković for her support. Many thanks to Goran Palijan PhD, Filip Stević PhD, Dubravka Špoljarić Maronić PhD and Željko Zahirović for field and laboratory assistance.
Funding
This study was supported by the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports, research project No. 285-0000000-2674.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Galir Balkić, A., Ternjej, I. & Bogut, I. Impact of habitat heterogeneity on zooplankton assembly in a temperate river-floodplain system. Environ Monit Assess 190, 143 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-018-6524-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-018-6524-7