Distribution and ecology of rotifer communities in high-altitude alpine sites ? a multivariate approach

Jersabek, Christian D.

doi:10.1007/bf00025934

Cited by 19 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Species assemblages of the genus Synchaeta are common in pelagic and littoral zones (Hollowday, 2002) and are often found in lake zooplankton (e.g. Hofmann, 1975;Mikschi, 1989;Jersabek, 1995;Persaud & Williamson, 2005), but taxonomic difficulties obstruct ecological studies, despite the availability of environmental data. Identification of fixed material to species is feasible using morphology of trophi, even if clear and unambiguous descriptions of trophi are not available for all Synchaeta species, such as S. tremula (O.F.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using DNA taxonomy to investigate the ecological determinants of plankton diversity: explaining the occurrence of Synchaeta spp. (Rotifera, Monogononta) in mountain lakes

2012

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Summary 1. The occurrence of unresolved complexes of cryptic species may hinder the identification of the main ecological drivers of biodiversity when different cryptic taxa have different ecological requirements. 2. We assessed factors influencing the occurrence of Synchaeta species (monogonont rotifers) in 17 waterbodies of the Trentino‐South Tyrol region in the Eastern Alps. To do so, we compared the results of using unresolved complexes of cryptic species, as is common practice in limnological studies based on morphological taxonomy, and having resolved cryptic complexes, made possible by DNA taxonomy. 3. To identify cryptic species, we used the generalised mixed Yule coalescent (GMYC) model. We investigated the relationship between the environment and the occurrence of Synchaeta spp. by multivariate ordination using two definitions of the units of diversity, namely (i) unresolved species complexes (morphospecies) and (ii) putative cryptic species (GMYC entities). Our expectation was that resolving complexes of cryptic species could provide more information than using morphospecies. 4. As expected, DNA taxonomy provided greater taxonomic resolution than morphological taxonomy. Further, environmental‐based multivariate ordination on cryptic species explained a significantly higher proportion of variance than that based on morphospecies. Occurrence of GMYC entities was related to total phosphorus (TP), whereas no relationship could be found between morphospecies and the environment. Moreover, different cryptic species within the same morphospecies showed different, and even opposite, preferences for TP. In addition, the wide geographical distribution of haplotypes and cryptic species indicated the absence of barriers to dispersal in Synchaeta.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using DNA taxonomy to investigate the ecological determinants of plankton diversity: explaining the occurrence of Synchaeta spp. (Rotifera, Monogononta) in mountain lakes

2012

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“…We focused on planktonic monogonont rotifers as a general model to study biodiversity because they are: (1) widely distributed, (2) an important component of the pelagic food web, and (3) readily susceptible to changes in their environment (Reynolds, 1998; Lampert & Sommer, 2007). In addition, a comprehensive study on rotifer richness in relation to altitude is lacking, and only ancillary information is available: monogonont rotifer richness in high‐altitude lakes decreases with altitude (Jersabek, 1995) and Synchaeta species show a preference for lakes of specific altitudinal belts (Obertegger et al ., 2008). Our aims were twofold: (1) investigate the pattern of the rotifer richness–altitude relationship (linear or hump‐shaped) and ascertain its consistency across altitudinal bands, and (2) identify the environmental predictors for which altitude is a proxy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rotifer species richness along an altitudinal gradient in the Alps

Obertegger

Thaler

Flaim

2010

Global Ecology and Biogeography

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Aim Biodiversity patterns along altitudinal gradients are less studied in aquatic than terrestrial systems, even though aquatic sites provide a more homogeneous environment independent of moisture constraints. We studied the altitudinal species richness pattern for planktonic rotifers in freshwater lakes and identified the environmental predictors for which altitude is a proxy.Location Two hundred and eighteen lakes of Trentino-South Tyrol (Italy) in the eastern Alps; lakes covered 98% (range 65-2960 m above sea level) of the altitudinal gradient in the Alps. MethodsWe performed: (1) linear regression between species richness and altitude to evaluate the general pattern, (2) multiple linear regression between species richness and environmental predictors excluding altitude to identify the most important predictors, and (3) linear regression between the residuals of the best model of step (2) and altitude to investigate any additional explanatory power of altitude. Selection of environmental predictors was based on limnological importance and non-parametric Spearman correlations. We applied ordinary least squares regression, generalized linear, and generalized least squares modelling to select the most statistically appropriate model. ResultsRotifer species richness showed a monotonic decrease with altitude independent of scale effects. Species richness could be explained (R 2 = 51%) by lake area as a proxy for habitat diversity, reactive silica and total phosphorus as proxies for productivity, water temperature as a proxy for energy, nitrate as a proxy for human influence and north-south and east-west directions as covariates. These predictors completely accounted for the species richness-altitude pattern, and altitude had no additional effect on species richness. Main conclusionsThe linear decrease of species richness along the altitudinal gradient was related to the interplay of habitat diversity, productivity, heat content and human influence. These factors are the same in terrestrial and aquatic habitats, but the greater environmental stability of aquatic systems seems to favour a linear pattern.

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“…Regarding habitat demands, many Rotifera species -including many of those inhabiting raised bogs -are called ubiquitous or eurytopic, as they occur in a broad range of pH values (B" erzin ßsˇ& Pejler, 1987) and are not very specific in their substrate choice (Pejler & B" erzin ßsˇ, 1993b(Pejler & B" erzin ßsˇ, , c, 1994. In total 46 of the species found in the Dutch raised bog remnants were classified as characteristic species, but within bogs most species can be found in various ecotopes (Pejler & B" erzin ßsˇ, 1993a;Jersabek, 1995). Eight of the characteristic species, as well as 14 non-characteristic species, were found in more than 50% of the water bodies sampled in the present study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Effects of rewetting measures in Dutch raised bog remnants on assemblages of aquatic Rotifera and microcrustaceans

Duinen¹,

Yang²,

Verberk³

et al. 2006

Living Rivers: Trends and Challenges in Science and Management

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Species differ in their life cycle, habitat demands and dispersal capacity. Consequently different species or species groups may respond differently to restoration measures. To evaluate effects of restoration measures in raised bog remnants on aquatic microinvertebrates, species assemblages of Rotifera and microcrustaceans were sampled in 10 rewetted and 10 non-rewetted sites, situated in 7 Dutch raised bog remnants. A total of 129 species (Rotifera 108, Cladocera 15, Copepoda 6 species) were found. The species assemblages, total numbers of species and numbers of characteristic raised bog species did not differ between the 10 rewetted and 10 non-rewetted sites. The dominant pattern in the variation in microinvertebrate assemblages could be explained by the presence or absence of open water and variation in physico-chemical variables of surface water and organic matter. Furthermore, the species assemblages of water bodies situated in the same area were on average more similar to each other than to assemblages from other areas. These differences between areas may be due to differences in environmental conditions of water bodies, and possibly also to differences in the local species pool and the subsequent immigration sequence of species. We conclude that, in contrast to earlier findings on aquatic macroinvertebrates, populations of microinvertebrate species, including characteristic species, can either persist in the raised bog remnants during the process of rewetting or (re-)establish within a relatively short period of time (less than about 5 years).

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Distribution and ecology of rotifer communities in high-altitude alpine sites ? a multivariate approach

Cited by 19 publications

References 25 publications

Using DNA taxonomy to investigate the ecological determinants of plankton diversity: explaining the occurrence of Synchaeta spp. (Rotifera, Monogononta) in mountain lakes

Using DNA taxonomy to investigate the ecological determinants of plankton diversity: explaining the occurrence of Synchaeta spp. (Rotifera, Monogononta) in mountain lakes

Rotifer species richness along an altitudinal gradient in the Alps

Effects of rewetting measures in Dutch raised bog remnants on assemblages of aquatic Rotifera and microcrustaceans

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