Flooding and hydrologic connectivity modulate community assembly in a dynamic river-floodplain ecosystem.

ABSTRACT: Braided river floodplains are highly dynamic ecosystems, where aquatic communities are strongly regulated by the hydrologic regime. So far, however, understanding of how flow variation influences assembly mechanisms remains limited. We collected benthic chironomids and oligochaetes over a year across a lateral connectivity gradient in the semi-natural Tagliamento River (Italy). Four bankfull flood events occurred during the study, allowing the assessment of how flooding and hydrologic connectivity mediate the balance between stochastic and deterministic community assembly. While invertebrate density and richness were positively correlated with connectivity, diversity patterns showed no significant correlation. Species turnover through time increased with decreasing connectivity. Contrary t

SUBMITTER: Larsen S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6461263 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature