Changes and drivers of zooplankton diversity patterns in the middle reach of Yangtze River floodplain lakes, China

Abstract

Anthropogenic habitat alteration interferes the natural aquatic habitats and the system's hydrodynamics in the Yangtze River floodplain lakes, resulting in a serious decline in freshwater biodiversity. Zooplankton communities possess major position in freshwater ecosystems, which play essential parts in maintaining biological balance of freshwater habitats. Knowledge of processes and mechanisms for affecting variations in abundance, biomass, and diversity of zooplankton is important for maintaining biological balance of freshwater ecosystems. Here, we analyzed that the temporal and spatial changes in the structure of zooplankton community and their temporal and spatial variations respond to changes in environmental factors in the middle reach of Yangtze River floodplain lakes. The results showed that zooplankton samples were classified into 128 species, and Rotifera was the most common taxa. Significant seasonal differences were found among the abundance and diversity of zooplankton. Similarly, we also found significant seasonal differences among the biomass of zooplankton functional groups. The spatial turnover component was the main contributor to the β diversity pattern, which indicated that study areas should establish habitat restoration areas to restore regional biodiversity. The NMDS plot showed that the structure of zooplankton community exhibited significant seasonal changes, where the community structure was correlated with pH, water temperature, water depth, salinity, total nitrogen, chlorophyll‐a, and total phosphorus based on RDA. This study highlights that it is very important to ensure the floodplain ecosystem's original state of functionality for maintaining the regional diversity of the ecosystem as a whole.

Seasonal and spatial variability of zooplankton diversity in the Poyang Lake Basin using DNA metabarcoding

“…Significant differences in the diversity of zooplankton were found among the different seasons. The diversity of zooplankton in spring and summer was greater than those in autumn and winter, which was similar to those in studies based on traditional biomonitoring methods (Chen et al, 2020 ; Lu et al, 2021 ; Lv, 2019 ). Such temporal distribution patterns of zooplankton in the Poyang Lake Basin have also been reported by previous microscopy‐based studies (Chen et al, 2020 ; Lu et al, 2021 ; Lv, 2019 ).…”

“…The diversity of zooplankton in spring and summer was greater than those in autumn and winter, which was similar to those in studies based on traditional biomonitoring methods (Chen et al, 2020 ; Lu et al, 2021 ; Lv, 2019 ). Such temporal distribution patterns of zooplankton in the Poyang Lake Basin have also been reported by previous microscopy‐based studies (Chen et al, 2020 ; Lu et al, 2021 ; Lv, 2019 ). The temporal distribution in the relative abundance of zooplankton major groups was also consistent with the plankton ecology group model (PEG model emphasized the role of physical factors, grazing and nutrient limitation for phytoplankton, and the role of food limitation and fish predation for zooplankton; Sommer et al, 2012 ).…”

“…In this study, to determine the seasonal and spatial zooplankton variations and association of water quality, the diversity of zooplankton was analyzed using DNA metabarcoding in the Poyang Lake Basin. The results showed that the combined OTU‐table of the same zooplankton species from the Poyang Lake Basin was categorized into 92 species, 45 genera, 26 families, eight orders, four classes, and two phyla using DNA metabarcoding, which was similar to a recent study using traditional biomonitoring methods (Chen et al, 2020 ; Lu et al, 2021 ; Lv, 2019 ). In addition, rotifers constitute the most diverse group within the zooplankton community using traditional biomonitoring methods (Chen et al, 2020 ; Hu et al, 2019 ; Lu et al, 2021 ; Lv, 2019 ; Qin et al, 2020 ), and DNA metabarcoding in this study also revealed rotifers as the most diverse group.…”

“…To understand these degradation issues, it is imperative to assess the status of the ecosystem. Previous research points to the seasonal and spatial variability in zooplankton diversity using traditional monitoring methods in Poyang Lake Basin (Chen et al, 2020 ; Lu et al, 2021 ; Lv, 2019 ), but no study used DNA metabarcoding to analyze the seasonal and spatial variability in zooplankton diversity. Here, we aimed to analyze the seasonal and spatial variability in zooplankton diversity using DNA metabarcoding and to explore the correlation between environmental parameters and zooplankton community composition.…”

Plankton Diversity in Tropical Wetlands Under Different Hydrological Conditions (Lake Tana, Ethiopia)

“…However, the regional phytoplankton taxa richness in our wetlands was lower than the 360 phytoplankton species in the Bhoj wetland of India (Bhat et al, 2015), 97 species in of Pantanal wetland of South America (Cardoso et al, 2012), and 200 species in Danube Riverine wetlands of Austria (Chaparro et al, 2018). Similarly, the regional taxon richness of zooplankton in our study was higher than the 32 species reported from the wetland of Opa Reservoir (Adebayo et al, 2021), but lower than the 128 species reported from the Yangtze River floodplain (Lu et al, 2021).…”