Flood‐Pulse Effects on Zooplankton Assemblages in a River‐Floodplain System (Gemenc Floodplain of the Danube, Hungary)

Schöll, Károly; Kiss, Anita; Dinka, Mária; Berczik, Árpád

doi:10.1002/iroh.201111427

Cited by 20 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 38 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This homogenising effect has been demonstrated in fish assemblages in Neotropical floodplain lakes (Gomes et al., ; Tejerina‐Garro et al., ), where reduced variability in assemblages occurred after flooding, compared to after drawdown. In temperate environments, homogenisation of zooplankton communities during flooding and redevelopment of assemblages during flood recession have also been well documented (Schöll, Kiss, Dinka, & Berczik, ). In the Upper Zambezi and Kavango rivers, all sampling sites and habitats were accessible from the main channel by boat.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Comparing the fish assemblages and food‐web structures of large floodplain rivers

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Upper Zambezi, Kavango and Kwando are large floodplain rivers with substantial biodiversity, providing water and ecosystem services to a large tract of southern Africa. These rivers differ in hydrological regime. The Upper Zambezi and Kavango rivers are in flood for 4 months (March, April, May, June) while, in the Kwando River, floods are later and last for 1–2 months in July and August. The Upper Zambezi River has the largest annual flood pulse, followed by the Kavango River, while the Kwando River experiences small and unreliable floods. During years of exceptional flooding of the Upper Zambezi and Kavango rivers, the rivers are interconnected at peak flows and therefore share a common ichthyofauna. This provided a natural experiment to investigate the responses of fish communities comprised of the same species to differing flood regimes by comparing the fish assemblages and food‐web structures between rivers. Fish assemblage structure was characterised by analysing biomass catch per unit effort data collected using gillnets in all water‐level seasons for all three rivers. Whole ecosystem‐stable isotope data collected once from each river were used to examine differences in food‐web structure and fish feeding ecology between rivers. Due to temporal differences in hydrology, the Upper Zambezi and Kavango river food webs were characterised during the low and falling water seasons, while the Kwando River food web was sampled during the rising water season. In the Upper Zambezi and Kavango rivers, fish assemblages varied with hydrological season due to the homogenising influence of the flood pulse, while in the Kwando River fish assemblages did not change seasonally. The Upper Zambezi River food web had a restricted nitrogen range (NR = 0.90), with a reduced food chain length and predators did not occupy elevated trophic positions compared to those in the Kavango and Kwando river food webs (NR = 1.05 and 0.97 respectively). The Kwando and Kavango rivers are less exploited than the heavily fished Upper Zambezi River, where fishing has reduced the abundance of primary and tertiary consumers, potentially resulting in the observed reduction in food chain length. The Upper Zambezi and Kavango river food webs were based on differing basal resources compared to the Kwando River food web. The Upper Zambezi and Kavango river food webs were likely supported by 13C‐enriched resources such as C4 riparian vegetation from the floodplain, while the Kwando River food web was likely based on 13C‐depleted resources such as filamentous algae and aquatic macrophytes. The influence of the varying flood pulses on the fish communities of these three rivers supports the flood pulse concept. There is also evidence that food‐web structures differ between rivers but, due to differing hydrological regimes in the rivers, further study is required to understand causal factors. These ecosystems are increasingly impacted by human population growth and development, as well as climate change, and improved predictions in fish communit...

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Comparing the fish assemblages and food‐web structures of large floodplain rivers

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In the lakes, rotifers were (partially) replaced by crustaceans ( Figure 4A). According to many authors [18,46,47], Rotifera predominate in both standing and flowing waters owing to their tolerance to changing environmental conditions. Their dominance is believed to be connected with their small size and relatively short development time compared to crustaceans [48][49][50].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Dias et al [15], Dittrich et al [16], Anderson and Bonecker [17] and Schöll et al [18] point out that plankton communities in floodplain lakes are determined primarily by these two factors: whether a lake is connected with the river and whether inundation causes any disturbances in a lake.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Hydrological Connectivity on the Zooplankton Structure in Floodplain Lakes of a Regulated Large River (the Lower Vistula, Poland)

Napiórkowski

Bąkowska

Mrozińska

et al. 2019

Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The zooplankton community structure and diversity were analysed against the gradient of floodplain lakes connectivity and water level under different flood-pulse dynamics in the Vistula River. The lakes differed in terms of hydrology, among others in the degree/type of their connection with the river (permanent, temporary and no connection). The study was conducted during the growing seasons in the years 2006–2013 and involved the lower Vistula River and three floodplain lakes: isolated, transitional and connected. Water samples were collected biweekly from April to September. Zooplankton was the most diverse and abundant in the transitional lake (the highest Shannon α-diversity index H’ and Pielou’s evenness index J’). The gentle washing of the lakes might have stimulated the development of zooplankton in accordance with the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis. The diversity and density of zooplankton were higher in the connected lake compared to the isolated one. We confirmed the hypothesis that zooplankton should be more abundant and diverse in floodplain lakes connected with the river (or transitional) than in isolated ones. Zooplankton analyses indicated that hydrological conditions (flood-pulse regime) contributed most substantially to zooplankton diversity and density in the floodplain lakes of the lower Vistula valley.

show abstract

“…Floodplain lakes are characterized as biodiversity hot spots within river‐floodplain systems (Dickerson, Medley, & Havel, ; Schimer & Hein, ) where low flow velocity, low turbulence, high sediment stability, thermal stability, stable light intensity, and high concentrations of nutrients influence the development of diverse biotic communities (Brunke & Gonser, ; Schimer & Hein, ; Stanković, Ternjej, Mihaljević, Furač, & Kerovec, ). The intensity and duration of flooding also play a significant role in the development of the plankton community in association with flow velocity (current) and “residence time–relative age of water” (Baranyi, Hein, Holarek, Keckeis, & Schiemer, ; Dickerson et al, ; Hein, Baranyi, Reckendorfer, & Schiemer, ; Keckeis et al, ; Saunders & Lewis, ; Schiemer, Keckeis, Reckendorfer, & Winkler, ; Schöll, Kiss, Dinka, & Berczik, ; Viroux, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrology driven changes in the rotifer trophic structure and implications for food web interactions

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Rotifers display r‐strategy life‐histories and are adaptable to environmental disturbances. Although rotifers constitute a large proportion of zooplankton in river‐floodplain systems, the influence of hydrology on their assemblage has been poorly studied. We postulated that rotifer assemblage and grazing activities were controlled by mechanisms associated with hydrological conditions. We conducted a 5‐year study (Kopački Rit Nature Park, NE Croatia) to assess the influence of hydrology on (a) rotifer assemblage during different hydrological phases, (b) the vertical distribution of rotifer abundance, functional feeding guilds, and grazing intensity, and (c) the main drivers affecting rotifer assemblage in the floodplain lake. The results indicated that (a) during isolation, longer residence time and high phytoplankton biomass microfilter‐feeders (mIff) and macrofilter‐feeders (mAff) grazing rates were similar whereas predators (Pr) were the most efficient consumers, (b) during high flow pulses, high conductivity and variable water level governed rotifer grazing rates of mIff and mAff at a retion of 1:2 and a decline of Pr grazing activity, and (c) during the flood pulse, reduced phytoplankton biomasss still resulted in mAff and Pr domination of the community whereas mIff grazing activity remained at the same level. Under stable hydrological conditions algivorous species codominated with bacterivores and predators, suggesting an increased biodiversity and food web interactions. In contrast, throughout the inundation period, algivorous species predominated. However, differences in rotifer assemblage between normal flow and flood pulses indicated the importance of hydrology in shaping rotifer trophic structure through modifying lower trophic levels and the availability of food sources.

show abstract

Flood‐Pulse Effects on Zooplankton Assemblages in a River‐Floodplain System (Gemenc Floodplain of the Danube, Hungary)

Cited by 20 publications

References 38 publications

Comparing the fish assemblages and food‐web structures of large floodplain rivers

Comparing the fish assemblages and food‐web structures of large floodplain rivers

The Effect of Hydrological Connectivity on the Zooplankton Structure in Floodplain Lakes of a Regulated Large River (the Lower Vistula, Poland)

Hydrology driven changes in the rotifer trophic structure and implications for food web interactions

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About