Seasonal and inter-annual community structure characteristics of zooplankton driven by water environment factors in a sub-lake of Lake Poyang, China

Abstract

Background Sub-lakes are important for the maintenance of the ecosystem integrity of Lake Poyang, and zooplankton play an important role in its substance and energy flow. Methods A seasonal investigation of zooplankton was conducted in spring (April), summer (July), autumn (October) and winter (January of the following year) from 2012 to 2016 in a sub-lake of Lake Poyang. The aim of the present study was to understand the seasonal dynamics and interannual variation of zooplankton communities and their relationship to environmental factors. Results A total of 115 species were identified in all samples in the four years, which comprised of 87 Rotifera, 13 Cladocera and 15 Copepoda. Rotifera was the dominant group in terms of quantity, and its species richness and abundance were significantly higher when compared to Cladocera and Copepoda (P < 0.05), while Cladocera dominated in terms of biomass. The species richness of Rotifera exhibited a significant seasonal difference (P < 0.05). Both the density and biomass of zooplankton revealed significant seasonal differences (P < 0.05). In general, the density and biomass of zooplankton were higher in summer and autumn, when compared to winter and spring. Biodiversity indices were dramatically lower in spring than in the other seasons. The non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analysis suggested that these zooplankton communities can be divided into three groups: spring community, summer-autumn community, and winter community. The seasonal succession of zooplankton communities did not have interannual reproducibility. In high water level years, the dominant species of zooplankton (Cladocerans and Copepods) in the wet season had a lower density, and the result in low water level years was exactly the opposite. The redundancy analysis revealed that water temperature (WT), conductivity, pH and dissolved oxygen (DO) had significant effects on the zooplankton community. Conclusions The community structure of zooplankton has a significant seasonal pattern, but has no interannual repeatability. In high water level years, the dominant species of zooplankton (Cladocerans and Copepods) in the wet season had a lower density, and the result in low water level years was exactly the opposite. The density, biomass and diversity indices of zooplankton were significantly different in different seasons. The present study was helpful in the further understanding of the ecosystem stability of lakes connected with rivers, providing scientific guidance for the protection of lake wetlands.

A long-term study on zooplankton in two contrasting cascade reservoirs (Iguaçu River, Brazil): effects of inter-annual, seasonal, and environmental factors

“…The interactions among factors such as decreased transparency, competition for resources, and fish predation pressure may have limited the development of these winter favored populations in the summer. Like phytoplankton, zooplankton have characteristic seasonal cycles that are strongly linked to temperature seasonality, hydrology, food availability, and predation pressure, and variations in these factors can affect the populations of these organisms (Havens et al, 2009;Beaver et al, 2018;Hu et al, 2019). However, previous studies (e.g., Havens, 2002;Pinto-Coelho et al, 2005) and our results indicate that there appears to be a greater correlation between microcrustaceans and TP concentrations than between microcrustaceans and Chl-a in the SS reservoir.…”

The Role of External Factors in the Variability of the Structure of the Zooplankton Community of Small Lakes (South-East Kazakhstan)

“…The listed complex of widespread species is also typical of water bodies under the influence of planktivorous fish [79][80][81]. In the absence of a press of planktivorous fish and in water bodies with macrophytes, crustaceans D.pulex, Ceriodaphnia quadrangula were typical species in zooplankton in Kazakstan [36] and other regions [82,83].…”

Cyanobacterial bloom associated with a complete turnover of a Daphnia population in a warm‐temperate eutrophic lake in Eastern China

“…rotifers reach high density in spring, whereas cladocerans and copepods achieve their peaks in autumn (Hu et al, 2019). Here, we found a seasonal succession in the zooplankton community (composed of Cladocera, Copepoda, and Rotifera) in a warm-temperate lake from Eastern China.…”

“…Seasonal dynamics is a common phenomenon in zooplankton communities (Sommer et al., 1986). For example, a significant seasonal succession has been found in one Chinese lake: rotifers reach high density in spring, whereas cladocerans and copepods achieve their peaks in autumn (Hu et al., 2019). Here, we found a seasonal succession in the zooplankton community (composed of Cladocera, Copepoda, and Rotifera) in a warm–temperate lake from Eastern China.…”