Re-establishment of zooplankton communities in temporary ponds after autumn flooding: Does restoration age matter?

Abstract

a b s t r a c tIn temporary ponds, reestablishment of zooplankton communities depends on recruitment from the egg bank, the arrival of dispersers from within the region, and on successful establishment of newly arrived species following interaction with local abiotic and biotic factors. When the ponds dry up, zooplankton species may survive as dormant eggs, and since not all eggs hatch in the next season, eggs will accumulate in the sediment over time, representing an archive of the pond's historical biodiversity.To study the effect of "restoration age" (the time since a water body was restored), we studied groups of ponds that were restored in different years (1998, 2003 and 2007). The restoration process involved extensive dredging of sediments which were used to bury the ponds in the 1960s. Our expectation was that the oldest ponds would have the richest zooplankton community, as they have been accumulating biodiversity over a longer time period. We took weekly quantitative samples of zooplankton during four consecutive weeks after flooding to compare taxon richness and zooplankton community composition between ponds of different restoration age during an early stage of zooplankton community re-establishment.Taxon richness was high and similar to regional levels in all the ponds under investigation, suggesting restoration success and unlimited dispersal. Although cumulative richness at the end of the period was not significantly different between ponds, we observed temporal changes within the study period and certain age-related trends in relation to differences in zooplankton composition. These results suggest a difference in the succession of zooplankton communities depending on restoration age (which could be due to historical or local factors) and that this effect becomes evident from the beginning of the pond hydroperiod.

Human-mediated dispersal of aquatic invertebrates with waterproof footwear

“…Some cryptic species of the ostracod E. virens species group can be considered endemic to Central Spain (Schmit et al 2013), but others are known as exotic invasive species in Australia (Koenders et al 2012). D. magna was the most abundant cladoceran and the first crustacean colonizing several recently restored temporary ponds in dune slacks of Spain (Olmo et al 2012). Daphnia lumholtzi, a congeneric of D. magna from African and Asiatic lakes, is also an exotic invader in America (Havel et al 1995), and American clones of D. pulex have been considered as exotic invaders in Africa (Mergeay et al 2005).…”

Effect of restoration on zooplankton community in a permanent interdunal pond

“…This pond is located in an area with high regional diversity with many water bodies, including rice fields and a large lagoon (Albufera) and hence, these surrounding ponds can act as important zooplankton reservoirs (Anto´n-Pardo and Armengol, 2010;Olmo et al, 2012). The arrival of new species from external sources can take place through several dispersal vectors.…”

Seasonal strengths of the abiotic and biotic drivers of a zooplankton community

“…Species populations grow after the ice melts in the spring, when the zooplankton community is dominated by C. vicinus copepodites and the rotifers S. oblonga , K. cochlearis , and Conochinus sp. Both rotifers and copepodites of cyclopoida copepods are the first individuals to appear in the spring since they have the capacity to rapidly colonise the water column after hatching from diapausing life stages (Cáceres & Soluk, ; Frisch, Green, & Figuerola, ; Olmo, Armengol, & Ortells, ). Daphnia galeata and B. longirostris were the most representative cladoceran species (i.e.…”