Realized ecological niche-based occupancy–abundance patterns of benthic diatom traits

Abstract

Nowadays, when aquatic habitats are threatened by human and climatic disturbances leading to reductions in biodiversity and ecosystem functions, the study of the abundance–occupancy relationships of species traits and their underlying mechanisms is of great importance to future conservation management. To study the distribution patterns of benthic diatom traits, lakes were sampled during the summer and early autumn. Niche breadth, niche position (NP), regional occupancy and local abundances (LAs) of benthic diatom traits and their combinations were determined along different environmental gradients. Benthic diatom traits were identified in all possible niche types (14% non-marginal–narrow, 37% non-marginal–broad, 8% marginal–narrow and 41% marginal–broad niche). On the basis of increased niche differentiation, it is possible to achieve an improved and more effective utilization of the eco-morphological concept of diatom traits. The relationships between the occupancy, abundance and niche characteristics suggest that the broader the niche, the wider the distribution and the greater the LA; the more marginal the NP, the more restricted spatially the distribution and the lower the LA. With regard to the key factors driving the occupancy of benthic diatom traits in lentic ecosystems, the NP hypothesis proves to be the best predictor of its variation.

Abundance-Occupancy Relationships Along Taxonomic Ranks Reveal a Consistency of Niche Differentiation in Marine Bacterioplankton With Distinct Lifestyles

“…Previous studies highlighted the importance of feedback between local abundance and occupancy in the identification of taxa with strong temporal signatures, thus demonstrating the ability of AORs to reveal large-scale microbial community-environment relationships and taxon persistence ( Barberán et al, 2012 ; Choudoir et al, 2018 ; Grady et al, 2019 ). In terms of metacommunity dynamics, changes in local abundance and regional distribution may be a function of a species’ niche breadth ( Barberán et al, 2012 ): the broader the niche, the wider the distribution and the greater the local abundance ( Lengyel et al, 2020 ). For microorganisms, even close relatives may be ecologically and physiologically distinct and thereby occupy distinct microbial habitats ( Hunt et al, 2008 ; Koeppel and Wu, 2013 ; Larkin and Martiny, 2017 ).…”

Abundance-occupancy relationships along taxonomic ranks reveal a consistency of niche differentiation in marine bacterioplankton with distinct lifestyles

“…Previous studies highlighted the importance of feedback between local abundance and occupancy in the identification of taxa with strong temporal signatures, thus demonstrating the ability of AORs to reveal large-scale microbial community-environment relationships and taxon persistence (Barberán et al, 2012; Choudoir et al, 2017; Grady et al, 2019). In terms of metacommunity dynamics, changes in local abundance and regional distribution may be a function of a species’ niche breadth (Barberán et al, 2012): the broader the niche, the wider the distribution and the greater the local abundance (Lengyel et al, 2020). For microorganisms, even close relatives may be ecologically and physiologically distinct and thereby occupy distinct microbial habitats (Hunt et al, 2008; Koppel and Wu, 2013; Larkin and Martiny, 2017).…”

Benthic Diatom Composition in Coastal Zone of Black Sea, Sasyk Reservoir (Ukraine)

“…Phytobenthos is widely recognized as a sensitive indicator to many environmental variables in rivers, streams, and lakes [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. In this matter, a composition of diatom algae is considered as the most important component of benthic flora.…”