Abstract
Zooplankton play a key role in freshwater ecosystems; however, their community succession and responses to environmental stress remain poorly understood. To fill this gap, zooplankton community dynamics in the main stream, five tributaries and three reservoirs of the Yanhe River Basin (China) were studied in spring and autumn at the zooplankton functional group (ZFG) level. Principal component analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling were used to reveal the spatiotemporal characteristics of aquatic environmental and zooplankton community structure (ZCS), respectively. Subsequently, redundancy analysis and niche measures were conducted to explore the effects of environmental factors and biotic interactions on ZCS. Significant spatiotemporal heterogeneity in both aquatic environment and ZCS were found. Turbidity, total nitrogen, nitrite-nitrogen, chemical oxygen demand, pH, water depth, water temperature, and chlorophyll a emerged as primary environmental drivers of ZCS. Regarding biotic interactions, weak competition in spring contributed to the positive community succession, while in autumn, intense competition and predation between ZFGs, along with elimination of vulnerable groups, led to community instability. Niche processes emerged as significant shaping factors in the Yanhe River Basin’ ZCS. Our study provides valuable insights into zooplankton community response to environmental changes and offers potential applications for understanding other aquatic organisms and ecosystems.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
An, R., F. Wang, H. Yu & C. M. J. A. E. Sinica, 2017. Seasonal dynamics of zooplankton functional groups and their relationships with environmental factors in the sanhuanpao wetland reserve. Acta Ecologica Sinica 37: 1851–1860. https://doi.org/10.13601/jissn.1005-5215.2018.08.022 (in Chinese).
Anton-Pardo, M., C. Olmo, J. M. Soria & X. Armengol, 2013. Effect of restoration on zooplankton community in a permanent interdunal pond. Annales De Limnologie-International Journal of Limnology 49: 97–106. https://doi.org/10.1051/limn/2013042.
Bates, O. K., S. Ollier & C. Bertelsmeier, 2020. Smaller climatic niche shifts in invasive than non-invasive alien ant species. Nature Communications 11: 5213. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19031-1.
Baxter, R., 1977. Environmental effects of dams and impoundments. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 8: 255–283. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.es.08.110177.001351.
Carscadden, K. A., N. C. Emery, C. A. Arnillas, M. W. Cadotte, M. E. Afkhami, D. Gravel, S. W. Livingstone & J. J. Wiens, 2020. Niche breadth: causes and consequences for ecology, evolution, and conservation. The Quarterly Review of Biology 95: 179–214.
Chai, Z., C. Sun, D. Wang & W. Liu, 2016. Interspecific associations of dominant tree populations in a virgin old-growth oak forest in the Qinling Mountains. China. Botanical Studies 57: 23. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40529-016-0139-5.
Chen, Y., K. Chen & Y. Hu, 2006. Discussion on possible error for phytoplankton chiorophyll-A concentration analysis using hot-ethanol extraction method. Journal of Lake Science 18: 550–552. https://doi.org/10.18307/2006.0519 (in Chinese).
Chen, Y., Z. Yuan, S. Bi, X. Wang, Y. Ye & J. C. Svenning, 2018. Macrofungal species distributions depend on habitat partitioning of topography, light, and vegetation in a temperate mountain forest. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-31795-7.
Cote, D., G. K. Dan, C. Bourne & Y. F. Wiersma, 2009. A new measure of longitudinal connectivity for stream networks. Landscape Ecology 24: 101–113. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-008-9283-y.
Coz, M. L., S. Chambord, S. Souissi, P. Meire, J. Ovaert, E. Buffan-Dubau, J. Prygiel, F. Azémar, A. C. Sossou & S. Lamothe, 2018. Are zooplankton communities structured by taxa ecological niches or by hydrological features? Ecohydrology. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1956.
Ding, Y., B. Pan, G. Zhao, C. Sun, X. Han & M. Li, 2021. Geo-climatic factors weaken the effectiveness of phytoplankton diversity as a water quality indicator in a large sediment-laden river. Science of the Total Environment 792: 148346. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148346.
Dodson, S. I., 2003. Introduction to Limnology. McGraw-Hill Higer Education, New York
Freilich, M. A., E. A. Wieters, B. R. Broitman, P. A. Marquet & S. A. Navarrete, 2018. Species co-occurrence networks: can they reveal trophic and non-trophic interactions in ecological communities? Ecology 99: 690–699. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2142.
Gao, P., G. Jiang, Y. Wei, X. Mu, F. Wang, G. Zhao & W. Sun, 2015. Streamflow regimes of the Yanhe River under climate and land use change, Loess Plateau, China. Hydrological Processes 29: 2402–2413. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10309.
Ghadouani, A., B. Pinel-Alloul, Y. Zhang & E. E. Preapas, 2010. Relationships between zooplankton community structure and phytoplankton in two lime-treated eutrophic hardwater lakes. Freshwater Biology 39: 775–790. https://doi.org/10.1046/J.1365-2427.1998.00318.X.
Gu, L., K. L. O’Hara, W. Li & Z. Gong, 2019. Spatial patterns and interspecific associations among trees at different stand development stages in the natural secondary forests on the Loess Plateau, China. Ecology and Evolution 9: 6410–6421. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5216.
Havel, J. E., K. A. Medley, K. D. Dickerson, T. R. Angradi, D. W. Bolgrien, P. A. Bukaveckas & T. M. Jicha, 2009. Effect of main-stem dams on zooplankton communities of the Missouri River (USA). Hydrobiologia 628: 121–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-009-9750-8.
Hébert, M. P., B. E. Beisner & R. Maranger, 2017. Linking zooplankton communities to ecosystem functioning: toward an effect-trait framework. Journal of Plankton Research 39: 3–12. https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbw068.
Heino, J., A. S. Melo & L. M. Bini, 2015. Reconceptualising the beta diversity-environmental heterogeneity relationship in running water systems. Freshwater Biology 60: 223–235. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.12502.
Houliez, E., S. Lefebvre, A. Dessier, M. Huret & C. Dupuy, 2021. Spatio-temporal drivers of microphytoplankton community in the Bay of Biscay: do species ecological niches matter? Progress in Oceanography 194: 102558. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2021.102558.
Houser, J. N., D. W. Bierman, R. M. Burdis & L. A. Soeken-Gittinger, 2010. Longitudinal trends and discontinuities in nutrients, chlorophyll, and suspended solids in the Upper Mississippi River: implications for transport, processing, and export by large rivers. Hydrobiologia 651: 127–144. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0282-z.
Hubbell, S. P., 2001. The Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity and Biogeography. Monographs in Population Biology, Vol. 32. Princeton University Press, Princeton.
Hussherr, R., M. Levasseur, M. Lizotte, J. E. Tremblay, J. Mol, H. Thomas, M. Gosselin, M. Starr, L. A. Miller, T. Jarníková, N. Schuback & A. Mucci, 2016. Impact of ocean acidification on Arctic phytoplankton blooms and dimethyl sulfide concentration under simulated ice-free and under-ice conditions. Biogeosciences 14: 2407–2427. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-2407-2017.
Hutchinson, G. E., 1957. Concluding remarks. Cold spring harbor symposia on quantitative biology. GS Search 22: 415–427. https://doi.org/10.1101/SQB.1957.022.01.039.
Jiang, X. & N. Du, 1979. Fauna Sinica·Crustacea·Freshwater Cladocera. Science Press, Beijing (in Chinese).
Kamboj, V. & N. Kamboj, 2020. Spatial and temporal variation of zooplankton assemblage in the mining-impacted stretch of Ganga River, Uttarakhand, India. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 27: 27135–27146. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-09089-1.
Kassambara, A. & Mundt, F., 2020. Factoextra: extract and visualize the results of multivariate data analyses. Version 1.0.7. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=factoextra.
Keddy, P. A., 1992. Assembly and response rules: two goals for predictive community ecology. Journal of Vegetation Science 3: 157–164. https://doi.org/10.2307/3235676.
Kim, H. K., Kwang Woo, H. W. Chang, S. Jeong, Gea & J.-H. Joo, 2005. The spring metazooplankton dynamics in the river-reservoir hybrid system (Nakdong River, Korea): its role in controlling the phytoplankton biomass. Korean Journal of Limnology 36: 420–426.
Ko, E. J., E. Jung, Y. Do, G. J. Joo, H. W. Kim & H. Jo, 2022. Impact of river-reservoir hybrid system on zooplankton community and river connectivity. Sustainability 14: 5184. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095184.
Lancaster, J., 2006. Using neutral landscapes to identify patterns of aggregation across resource points. Ecography 29: 385–395.
Larned, S. T., T. Datry, D. Arscott & K. Tockner, 2010. Emerging concepts in temporary-river ecology. Freshwater Biology 55: 717–738. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2427.2009.02322.x.
Leibold, M. A. & M. A. McPeek, 2006. Coexistence of the niche and neutral perspectives in community ecology. Ecology 87: 1399–1410. https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(2006)87[1399:cotnan]2.0.co;2.
Levins, R., 1968. Evolution in changing environments: some theoretical explorations. Monographs in Population Biology. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691209418.
Li, Y., C. Liu & P. Huang, 2014. Survey on the diversity of planktonic communities in the Yanhe River basin. Journal of Yanan University (natural Science Edition) 33: 61–64. https://doi.org/10.3969/J.ISSN.1004-602X.2014.01.061 (in Chinese).
Li, C., W. Feng, H. Chen, X. Li, F. Song, W. Guo, J. P. Giesy & F. Sun, 2019. Temporal variation in zooplankton and phytoplankton community species composition and the affecting factors in Lake Taihu—a large freshwater lake in China. Environmental Pollution 245: 1050–1057. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.11.007.
Lian, Y., M. Sun, J. Wang, Q. Luan, M. Jiao, X. Zhao & X. Gao, 2021. Quantitative impacts of climate change and human activities on the runoff evolution process in the Yanhe River Basin. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 122: 102998. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pce.2021.102998.
Lindegren, M., M. K. Thomas, S. Jónasdóttir, T. G. Nielsen & P. Munk, 2020. Environmental niche separation promotes coexistence among ecologically similar zooplankton species—North Sea copepods as a case study. Limnology and Oceanography 65: 545–556. https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.11322.
Litchman, E., M. D. Ohman & T. Kiørboe, 2013. Trait-based approaches to zooplankton communities. Journal of Plankton Research 35: 473–484. https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbt019.
Louette, G. & L. D. Meester, 2005. High dispersal capacity of cladoceran zooplankton in newly founded communities. Ecology 86: 353–359. https://doi.org/10.1890/04-0403.
Ma, C., P. C. Mwagona, H. Yu, X. Sun, L. Liang, S. Mahboob & K. A. Al-Ghanim, 2019. Seasonal dynamics of zooplankton functional group and its relationship with physico-chemical variables in high turbid nutrient-rich Small Xingkai Wetland Lake, Northeast China. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 34: 65–79. https://doi.org/10.1080/02705060.2018.1443847.
Manlick, P. J. & J. N. Pauli, 2020. Human disturbance increases trophic niche overlap in terrestrial carnivore communities. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117: 26842–26848. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2012774117.
Marques, S. C., U. M. Azeiteiro, J. C. Marques, J. M. Neto & M. A. Pardal, 2006. Zooplankton and ichthyoplankton communities in a temperate estuary: spatial and temporal patterns. Journal of Plankton Research 28: 297–312. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0260-8774(96)00041-6.
Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China, 2002. Water and wastewater detection and analysis method. 4th edition. China Environmental Science Press (in Chinese).
Neto, A. J. G. & L. C. D. Â. O. SilvaSaggioRocha, 2014. Zooplankton communities as eutrophication bioindicators in tropical reservoirs. Biota Neotropica 14: 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1590/1676-06032014001814.
Ofomata, V. C., W. A. Overholt, A. Huis, R. I. Egwuatu & A. J. Ngi-Song, 1999. Niche overlap and interspecific association between Chilo partellus and Chilo orichalcociliellus on the Kenya coast. Entomologia Experimentalis Et Applicata 93: 141–148. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1570-7458.1999.00572.x.
Oksanen, J., Simpson, G., Blanchet, F., Kindt. R, Legendre, P, Minchin, P., O'Hara, R., Solymos, P., Stevens, M., Szoecs, E., Wagner, H., Barbour, M., Bedward, M., Bolker, B., Borcard, D., Carvalho, G., Chirico, M., De Caceres, M., Durand, S., Evangelista, H., FitzJohn, R., Friendly, M., Furneaux, B., Hannigan, G., Hill, M., Lahti, L., McGlinn, D., Ouellette, M., Ribeiro Cunha, E., Smith, T., Stier, A., Ter Braak, C. & Weedon, J., 2022. Vegan: community ecology package. Version 2.6-4, https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=vegan.
Paturej, E. & A. M. Goździejewska, 2005. Zooplankton-based assessment of the trophic state of three coastal lakes—Łebsko, Gardno and Jamno. Bulletin of the Sea Fisheries Institute 3: 7–25.
Peng, S., X. Li, H. Wang & B. Zhang, 2015. Niche analysis of dominant species of macrozoobenthic community in the southern Yellow Sea in spring. Acta Ecologica Sinica 35: 1917–1928. https://doi.org/10.5846/stxb201305311254 (in Chinese).
Petts, G. E. & A. M. Gurnell, 2005. Dams and geomorphology: research progress and future directions. Geomorphology 71: 27–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2004.02.015.
Pianka, E. R., 1973. The structure of lizard communities. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 4: 53–74. https://doi.org/10.1146/ANNUREV.ES.04.110173.000413.
Pinto-Coelho, R., B. Pinel-Alloul, G. Méthot & K. E. Havens, 2005. Crustacean zooplankton in lakes and reservoirs of temperate and tropical regions: variation with trophic status. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 62: 348–361. https://doi.org/10.1139/f04-178.
Pomerleau, C., A. R. Sastri & B. E. Beisner, 2015. Evaluation of functional trait diversity for marine zooplankton communities in the Northeast subarctic Pacific Ocean. Journal of Plankton Research 37: 712–726. https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbv045.
Portinho, J. L., G. Perbiche-Neves & M. G. Nogueira, 2016. Zooplankton community and tributary effects in free-flowing section downstream a large tropical reservoir. International Review of Hydrobiology 101: 48–56. https://doi.org/10.1002/iroh.201501798.
R Core Team, 2023. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. https://www.R-project.org/.
Raabe, J. & J. E. Hightower, 2014. Assessing distribution of migratory fishes and connectivity following complete and partial dam removals in a North Carolina river. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 34: 955–969. https://doi.org/10.1080/02755947.2014.938140.
Sandlund, O. T., 1982. The drift of zooplankton and microzoobenthos in the river Strandaelva, western Norway. Hydrobiologia 94: 33–48. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00008632.
Sarma, S., S. Nandini & R. D. Gulati, 2005. Life history strategies of cladocerans: comparisons of tropical and temperate taxa. Hydrobiologia 542: 315–333. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-004-3247-2.
Schluter, D., 1984. A variance test for detecting species associations, with some example applications. Ecology 65: 998–1005. https://doi.org/10.2307/1938071.
Shen, J., 1979. Fauna Sinica·Arthropoda·Crustacean·Freshwater Copepoda. Science Press, Beijing (in Chinese).
Shi, H. Y., 2019. Prospects for the construction of flood control monitoring and early warning system for warping dams on the Loess Plateau. China Flood & Drought Management 29: 16–19. https://doi.org/10.16867/j.issn.1673-9264.2018088 (in Chinese).
Soininen, J., R. Mcdonald & H. Hillebrand, 2007. The distance decay of similarity in ecological communities. Ecography 30: 3–12. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0906-7590.2007.04817.x.
Steiner, C. F. & A. H. Roy, 2003. Seasonal succession in fishless ponds: effects of enrichment and invertebrate predators on zooplankton community structure. Hydrobiologia 490: 125–134. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023470730397.
Tarjuelo, R., M. B. Morales, B. Arroyo, S. Mañosa, G. Bota, F. Casas & J. Traba, 2017. Intraspecific and interspecific competition induces density-dependent habitat niche shifts in an endangered steppe bird. Ecology and Evolution 7: 9720–9730. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3444.
Thompson, P. L., T. J. Davies & A. Gonzalez, 2015. Correction: ecosystem functions across trophic levels are linked to functional and phylogenetic diversity. PLoS ONE 10: e0117595. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0117595.
Tornés, E., M. C. Pérez, C. Durán & S. Sabater, 2014. Reservoirs override seasonal variability of phytoplankton communities in a regulated Mediterranean river. Science of the Total Environment 475: 225–233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.04.086.
Verity, P. & V. Smetacek, 1996. Organism life cycles, predation, and the structure of marine pelagic ecosystems. Marine Ecology Progress Series 130: 277–293.
Wang, J., 1961. Freshwater Rotifera Sinica. Science Press, Beijing (in Chinese).
Wang, M., 2020. Practice and exploration of soil and water conservation supervision in the Yellow River Basin. Soil and Water Conservation of China 9: 53–56. https://doi.org/10.14123/j.cnki.swcc.2020.0215 (in Chinese).
Wang, H., L. Zhu, X. Xuan, X. Xue, G. Zhang & Z. Wang, 2022. Investigation and diversity analysis of aquatic biological resources in the Yanhe River basin. Acta Ecologiae Animalis Domastici 43: 36–42. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1673-1182.2022.01.007 (in Chinese).
Wen, X. L., Y. L. Xi, F. P. Qian, G. Zhang & X. L. Xiang, 2011. Comparative analysis of rotifer community structure in five subtropical shallow lakes in East China: role of physical and chemical conditions. Hydrobiologia 661: 303–316. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0539-6.
Wu, L., L. Ji, X. Chen, J. Ni, Y. Zhang & M. Geng, 2022. Distribution of zooplankton functional groups in the Chaohu Lake Basin, China. Water 14: 2106. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14132106.
Xie, H., R. Li, Q. Yang, J. Li & W. Liang, 2009. Effect of returning farmland to forest (pasture) and changes of precipitation on soil erosion in the Yanhe Basin. Scientia Agricultura Sinica 42: 569–576. https://doi.org/10.3864/j.issn.0578-1752.2009.02.023 (in Chinese).
Xie, H., R. Shao, J. Wang, S. Cui, R. Shi & Y. Xiao, 2022. Relationship between distribution of plankton community and environmental factors in Yanhe River during wet season. Environmental Protection Science 48: 108–114. https://doi.org/10.16803/j.cnki.issn.1004−6216.2022.01.18 (in Chinese).
Xu, S., Y. Wang, B. Huang, Z. Wei, A. Miao & L. Yang, 2015. Nitrogen and phosphorus limitation of phytoplankton growth in different areas of Lake Taihu, China. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 30: 113–127. https://doi.org/10.1080/02705060.2014.960901.
Yan, Q., Y. Bi, Y. Deng, Z. He, L. Wu, J. D. Van Nostrand, Z. J. Shi, J. Li, X. Wang, Z. Hu, Y. Yu & J. Zhou, 2015. Impacts of the three Gorges Dam on microbial structure and potential function. Scientific Reports 5: 8605. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep08605.
Yang, K.-T. & C. Lu, 2018. Evaluation of land-use change effects on runoff and soil erosion of a hilly basin—the Yanhe River in the Chinese Loess Plateau. Land Degradation & Development 29: 1211–1221. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2873.
Yue, X., X. Mu, G. Zhao, H. Shao & P. Gao, 2014. Dynamic changes of sediment load in the middle reaches of the Yellow River basin, China and implications for eco-restoration. Ecological Engineering 73: 64–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2014.09.014.
Zhang J., 2016. spaa: Species association analysis. Version 0.2.2, https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=spaa.
Zhang, Y., L. Zhang, R. Yin, H. Luan, Z. Liu, J. Chen & R. Jiang, 2021. Spatial niches of dominant zooplankton species in Yueqing Bay, Zhejiang Province. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology 32: 342–348. https://doi.org/10.13287/j.1001-9332.202101.039 (in Chinese).
Zhang, Z. & X. Huang, 1991. Research methods in limnoplankton. Science Press, Beijing (in Chinese).
Zhao, W., 2015. Hydrobiology, 2nd ed. China Agriculture Press, Beijing (in Chinese).
Zhao, K., K. Song, Y. Pan, L. Wang, L. Da & Q. Wang, 2017. Metacommunity structure of zooplankton in river networks: Roles of environmental and spatial factors. Ecological Indicators 73: 96–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.07.026.
Acknowledgements
We are very grateful to Zehao Wang and Xifeng Han for they contribution to the field investigation. Thanks are also due to anonymous reviewers for their comments and valuable suggestions on the manuscript particularly on statistical approaches.
Funding
This project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. (No. 51939009) and Key Research and Development Program of Shaanxi (2021ZDLSF05-10).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
ZY conceived the ideas, collected the samples, and wrote the original draft; ZY, GL and JH analyzed the data; ZY, XL, EH and ZH led the writing of the manuscript. All authors commented on earlier drafts of this manuscript and approved its final version.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Handling editor: Ülkü Nihan Tavşanoğlu
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Yang, Z., Pan, B., Liu, X. et al. Niche processes shape zooplankton community structure in a sediment-laden river basin. Hydrobiologia 851, 1353–1370 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-023-05355-8
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-023-05355-8