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Dissimilarity of phytoplankton assemblages in two connected tropical reservoirs: effects of water transportation and environmental filtering

  • PHYTOPLANKTON & SPATIAL GRADIENTS
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Abstract

To evaluate the importance of dispersal by water transportation in structuring phytoplankton community, we compared phytoplankton composition and succession between two connected tropical reservoirs: a large reservoir with a bottom outlet that periodically feeds a small reservoir via a 40 km open channel. Multivariate analysis was carried out on datasets of phytoplankton for exploring the relationship between phytoplankton and environmental variables. Differential survival of phytoplankton taxa during long channel transportation contributed to high dissimilarity of phytoplankton community between the two reservoirs. Local ecological filtering was mainly responsible for structuring the phytoplankton community with a few dominant functional groups in the large reservoir. Phytoplankton community succession in the large reservoir also showed a clear seasonal pattern. The community in the small reservoir had a more diverse functional group composition and did not show a clear seasonal succession because of strong hydrodynamic disturbance and phytoplankton inoculation with periodic water transportation. In conclusion, periodical transportation and mass effect by dispersal disturb succession and seasonal dynamics, and phytoplankton community assemblage depends on both environmental filtering (habitat selection) and dispersal in the small (receiving) reservoir. In addition, the dissimilarity of phytoplankton community between the connected waters was caused by both habitat difference and differential survival of phytoplankton taxa during transportation.

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Acknowledgments

The research was supported by a grant from the cultivation and innovation fund of scientific research of Jinan University (No. 21612329), a grant for leading talent scientists of Guangdong Province to Dr Henri Dumont, and a grant from Chinese NSF (No. 31170437). We are grateful to Drs Ken Chen from Australia and Henri Dumont from Belgium for their comments on the manuscript. We also thank colleagues and students at the field station for their help with sampling.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Institute of Hydrobiology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China

    Li-Juan Xiao, Ren Hu, Liang Peng, La-Mei Lei, Yu Feng & Bo-Ping Han

Authors
  1. Li-Juan Xiao
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  2. Ren Hu
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  3. Liang Peng
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  4. La-Mei Lei
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  5. Yu Feng
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  6. Bo-Ping Han
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Correspondence to Li-Juan Xiao or Bo-Ping Han.

Additional information

Guest editors: Luigi Naselli-Flores & Judit Padisák / Biogeography and Spatial Patterns of Biodiversity of Freshwater Phytoplankton

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Xiao, LJ., Hu, R., Peng, L. et al. Dissimilarity of phytoplankton assemblages in two connected tropical reservoirs: effects of water transportation and environmental filtering. Hydrobiologia 764, 127–138 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2400-4

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