Identifying environmental drivers of benthic diatom diversity: the case of Mediterranean mountain ponds

Abstract

This study aims at elucidating the environmental factors controlling benthic diatom diversity and uniqueness in Mediterranean mountain ponds. Samples of periphytic diatoms were collected in 45 ponds in Andalusia, south of Spain, and analysed by standard methods. Data analysis reveals that diatom diversity is mainly controlled by elevation and hydroperiod. Contrary to the usual findings in the literature, the highest scores on Shannon’s diversity index were found in high-elevation temporary ponds, but this effect is hidden by lake clustering in the analysed dataset. Significant distance-decay similarity (DDS) trends were detected in the analysis of floristic composition among the samples, stressing the importance of spatial factors that may override the effect of other abiotic factors. These findings highlight the role of isolation and dispersal limitation in the configuration of the biogeographical patterns of benthic diatoms.

The ecology of diatoms inhabiting cryoconite holes in Antisana Glacier, Ecuador

“…A number of studies, in contrast, show other variables as the major drivers of community structure and composition in these habitats, in particular nutrient levels (Foreman and others, 2007; Vonnahme and others, 2016) or hole size (area, depth) (Weisleitner and others, 2020). Despite we did not measure particular nutrient concentrations, the lack of response to water conductivity, which is to be considered an excellent proxy of ecological status in freshwaters (Blanco and others, 2020), argues against the consideration of Antisana diatoms as a true biocenosis. Mueller & Pollard (Mueller and Pollard, 2004) describe a similar situation in White Glacier (Nunavut Territory, Canada), with an insignificant association of diatom data to abiotic predictors attributed in this case to micro-habitat patchiness (absence of an ice cover and thus a community homogenization).…”

Relations between Benthic Diatom Community and Characteristics of Karst Ponds in the Alpine Region of Slovenia

“…The diatom species richness did not correlate with altitude, but pond at the highest altitude (KRV1) had the lowest number of species, while pond at the lowest altitude (JEL1) had the highest diversity. On the contrary for mountain ponds in Spain Blanco et al [31] report positive correlation of diatom diversity with altitude.…”

“…Even the studies of periphytic diatom communities in ponds are rare, which had been discovered by Šumberova et al [28]. In central Europe, we have found one paper about epipelic diatoms in ponds [29], while in southern Europe there are some papers that analyze epipelic diatoms (e.g., [16,[30][31][32][33]).…”

Temporal Evolution of Diatoms in a Temporary Pond Situated in the Massif du Sancy Mountains (Massif Central, France) and Description of a New Pinnularia Species

“…Other studies specifically concentrated on the geology and geomorphology of this particular ecosystem in high mountains [1], on the influence of seasonality and watershed on nutrients concentration [9], and on the relative contribution of scale-dependent catchment physical elements to ecosystem formation [10]. A few studies investigated the diatom diversity in pools in different mountains all around the world, such as in Japan and the Alpine, Pyrenean, Bulgarian, and Mediterranean massifs [11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. These studies focused on the environmental factors controlling benthic diatom diversity using taxonomic and ecological characterization.…”

“…All studies underlined the potential contribution of these habitats to conservation of diatom biodiversity. Despite these published studies, little attention has been paid to macroinvertebrates [6,8] and diatoms [15,17] living in temporary ponds situated in mountains. Moreover, at present, no studies have been conducted for this type of pond in the French Massif Central.…”