Phylogenetic and functional diversity could be better indicators of macroinvertebrate community stability

Ecological Indicators

Min Zhang¹  Longfei Du²  Yuhang Zhang³  Wenqi Peng³  Xiaodong Qu⁴  Yang Liu⁴  Naicheng Wu⁴ 

[1] College of Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China;Corresponding authors at: Department of Water Ecology and Environment, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China.;Department of Water Ecology and Environment, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China;State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China;

关键词: Macroinvertebrates;    Species diversity;    Phylogenetic diversity;    Functional diversity;    Secondary productivity;    Secondary productivity/biomass ratios;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

It is essential to understand biodiversity’s contribution to maintaining river ecosystem functioning and stability, which will us help to develop more effective strategies for river ecosystem conservation. However, knowledge regarding the relationship between multidimensional characteristics of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and stability in aquatic ecosystems remains limited. This study examined the relationships between macroinvertebrate multidimensional diversity, secondary productivity, and secondary productivity/biomass (P/B) ratios in natural river ecosystems to examine which kind of diversity could best indicate community stability. In this study, macroinvertebrates were extensively sampled from Chishui River (CSH, an undammed river) and Heishui River (HSH, a dammed river) in April and September 2019. We comparatively analyzed seasonal variations in different types of diversity (species diversity, SD; phylogenetic diversity, PD; and functional diversity, FD), secondary productivity, and P/B ratios between the two rivers. Structural equation models were used to reveal the relationships between multidimensional diversity, secondary productivity, and P/B ratios. The results showed that SD significantly decreased during September both in the undammed CSH which has dramatic seasonal hydrological fluctuations, and in dammed HSH which has stable seasonal hydrological conditions. These findings indicated that SD could not clearly distinguish the key factors that cause changes in biodiversity. Conversely, both PD and FD significantly declined during September in the undammed CSH, but they did not significantly change in the dammed HSH. This result indicated that PD and FD are more sensitive than SD for identifying the effects of disturbances on biodiversity in these natural river ecosystems. After severe hydrological disturbance, although species abundance, biomass, biodiversity, and secondary productivity decreased in CSH, the still high value of P/B ratios indicated the high functional redundancy of communities, which further demonstrated the high stability of macroinvertebrates in CSH. Structural equation models revealed that the effects of PD and FD on secondary productivity and P/B ratios were more significant than those of SD in both rivers, which suggested that PD and FD may be better indicators of macroinvertebrate community stability than SD in these natural river ecosystems. Our study provides evidence that biological functional traits and evolutionary history can help achieve a more complete understanding of biodiversity patterns that maintain river ecosystem functioning and stability.

【 授权许可】

Unknown