Upstream cascade reservoirs drive temporal beta diversity increases through species loss in a dammed river

Abstract

Changes in biodiversity of aquatic environments over time and space due to human activities are a topic of theoretical and conservational interest in ecology. Thus, variation in taxonomic beta diversity of planktonic ciliates community was investigated along a temporal and spatial gradient in two subsystems of a Neotropical floodplain, one impacted by dams (Paraná) and the other free of them along its course (Ivinhema). For the spatial analysis, Paraná subsystem did not show a significant decrease in beta diversity, presenting a pattern like that observed for Ivinhema subsystem. Therefore, biotic homogenization was not observed for the ciliate's community downstream of the dams. It was noted a fluctuation in the relevance of the components of beta diversity regardless of the subsystem analyzed. For the temporal analysis there was a significant change in species composition from the first to the last year investigated, essentially for the subsystem impacted by dams and this was determined mainly by species loss. Although spatial beta diversity remained high without a clear process of biotic homogenization, dams promoted remarkable changes in ciliate species composition over the years mainly by continuous loss of species.