Abstract
A phase diagram method, using indices of biological diversity, was applied to describe the dynamics of zooplankton and fish community structure in natural and experimental conditions. The phase diagram is constructed in the coordinates H′ and dH′ × dt−1, where H′ is the index of diversity of the community. The method reveals zones of steady state of a community and demonstrates community dynamics in undisturbed and disturbed conditions. Analysis of zooplankton dynamics in a fishless pond showed that in the absence of disturbances the community enters a zone of steady state (around dH′ × dt−1=0) and stays in it for a long time. Under the action of disturbances (e.g. oxygen depletion for fish, influence of heavy metals for zooplankton) the community leaves the steady state zone. The greater the disturbance, the more the system deviates from steady state.
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Verbitskii, V.B., Tereshchenko, V.G. Structural phase diagrams of animal communities in assessment of freshwater ecosystem conditions. Hydrobiologia 322, 277–282 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00031840
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00031840