Zooplankton functional diversity as a bioindicator of freshwater ecosystem health across land use gradient.

ABSTRACT: Zooplankton are critical indicators of pressures impacting freshwater ecosystems. We analyzed the response of zooplankton communities across different sub-catchment types-headwaters, natural, urban, urban-agricultural, and agricultural-within the Łyna river-lake system in Northern Poland. Using taxonomic groups and functional traits (body size, feeding strategies), we applied Partial Least Squares Regression (PLS-R) to elucidate the relationships between environmental conditions, land use, and zooplankton metacommunity structure. Two-Way Cluster Analysis (TWCA) identified local subsets with characteristic patterns, while Indicator Species Analysis (ISA) determined area-specific taxa. The natural river zone exhibited significant habitat heterogeneity and feeding niches, whereas urban areas

SUBMITTER: Gozdziejewska AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11310481 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature